Meet our interns and discover loads of unforgettable gift ideas to welcome your interns to the office.
Giving an intern a gift shows appreciation and trust. Have you ever thought about giving a gift on their first day? The intern will feel valued, and you send the message that they're welcome.
Finding an original gift isn't always easy. We quickly fall back on the classics, which just as quickly end up gathering dust in a corner. We put together a list of original gifts guaranteed to stick in the memory.
Ready to make your interns' first day unforgettable? Then keep reading!
The first question worth asking yourself when coming up with a gift is which values or message you want to convey. Then try to translate that into a gift that fits your culture and company values. Here's a hand to get you started:
Get inspired with these 12 welcome gift ideas:
1. A relevant book
Learning is key! The whole point of offering an internship is that you want your intern to come away having learned a lot. That they've gotten a taste of working life and feel ready for the job market. At least, that's how Kevin - the founder of JustBite - sees it.
As part of that, our interns received a book that ties in with the tasks they'll be working on. Right now, we have 3 interns on board looking to learn more about digital marketing.
We gave them De Online Marketing Tornado - the blueprint for a whirlwind online business.
2. Healthier snacks
In our case… a no-brainer, but have you ever thought about gifting a box full of more nutritious snacks? More nutritious snacks help keep energy levels and focus on point. Our snacks are carefully selected based on their ingredients and, on top of that, taste absolutely delicious (win-win).
3. Valuable learning
Invest in the process of continuously developing your interns. It's not just a gift to the intern — as a company, you'll reap the rewards too.
With us, every intern got access to the full Internet Marketing Unie - Academy.
Think about the content of the internship and the goals the intern wants to achieve, then suggest a suitable training programme.
4. A fitness membership or sports club subscription
In the spirit of "a sound mind in a sound body". When employers pay attention to their employees' wellbeing, it leads to better performance and higher productivity.
Is the intern staying for 4 months? Give them a 4-month fitness or sports club membership nearby.
5. A generous breakfast
Picture this... it's your first day. Full of nerves, you arrive at the company where you'll be doing your internship. You're welcomed by your internship supervisor, get a tour, and meet your new colleagues. Then you're shown to a desk, a desk full of treats to kick off the day... 😍
Look for a local supplier who can provide these for you.
6. Headphones or earbuds
A must for weekly meetings or conference calls.
7. Drink bottle
A reusable water bottle is a genuine must-have at the office. It's also better for the environment. A trendy drink bottle encourages people to drink water and stay hydrated throughout the day. Drinking enough water gives the metabolism a boost and helps with better concentration and improved short-term memory.
8. Power bank
"Battery almost empty." Everyone knows that feeling. Nothing quite as annoying... Nobody likes a dead battery, so this gift is bound to get used. Power banks keep getting more advanced, with more and more features. Try to get creative here too, and add your own "branded touch".
9. Branded T-shirt/jumper
Give a personalised jumper with your company name or logo as a gift, so the intern feels instantly welcome on the team. Your employees, as well as your interns, are ambassadors for your company. At companies like Google, for instance, employees wear branded jumpers because they're proud to work for their employer.
10. Internship survival kit
Put together your own survival kit to help your intern get through their first day. You can build this kit however you like, for example by adding office supplies like pens (printed with your company logo), sticky notes, notebooks, but also things like mints, lip balm… It's a nice touch to add handwritten sticky notes with a fitting little message.
Adding a personal touch to your gift makes employees feel more appreciated.
11. Bluetooth speakers
Bluetooth speakers are easy to take anywhere and you can connect them to different devices. Sing along loudly to music in the shower, or enjoy a yoga session before bed…
12. VR headset
Want to show off your company as an innovative and creative place for internships? Then a VR headset makes a great gift. Let your intern work from a tropical island, or prefer a closed-off workspace instead? It's all possible, with the app Breakroom you can fully decide your own workspace. But of course, you can't be switched on all the time. The VR headset also offers plenty of ways to unwind: sports, gaming...
There you go! We hope we've inspired you with fun and fresh gift ideas to give your interns a real welcome! What's your favourite? We'd love to hear about it in the comments below.
Good luck!
Want to get to know our talents?
With great pride, we introduce 3 amazing talents who will strengthen our team in the coming period. Each with their own experience, goals and ambitions.
Let's do this ladies 🙌
Sofie van der Ha
Sofie (25) is a postgraduate student in Digital Marketing Communication at Arteveldehogeschool in Ghent. She's interning with us from April to June, providing support in digital marketing during this time. We're going to immerse her in the wonderful world of online ads, Search Engine Optimization, Conversion Rate Optimization, content marketing… and so much more!
- What does your ideal break look like? 10 minutes of ab exercises
- What's your favourite snack? As a snack, I love eating blueberries, I really enjoy them.
- Why did you choose JustBite for your internship? On one hand, the varied range of tasks appealed to me, no two days are the same! A start-up also seemed like an exciting environment to gain as much experience as possible in different areas. On the other hand, I'm also interested in more nutritious food and I love experimenting in the kitchen myself, trying out new dishes and snacks.
Femke De Keyser
Femke (21) is a marketing student at Artevelde University of Applied Sciences in Ghent. Alongside her studies and related internship, she decided to look for a student job that complements her degree. Femke supports the digital marketing efforts, with a focus on content creation.
- What does your ideal break look like? Getting fashion inspiration! Flipping through my favourite magazine or scrolling through Pinterest, that's truly relaxing to me. Creating something fun with pieces already in my closet, or finding inspiration for my next shopping spree, that's what gives me energy!
- What's your favourite snack? I really love eating fruit, mango most of all. If I add yoghurt to that, I'm happy for hours!
- Why did you choose JustBite for your internship? It's not really an internship for me, I work one day a week as a student worker. I already had a student job at Levi's, but the JustBite concept and its more nutritious snacks, plus the flexibility we get as interns, gave me more than enough reasons to take on a second student job! Now I have two student jobs that both align with my passions: nutritious snacks and fashion!
Naziha Kaddouri
Naziha (19) is a Communication Management student at Howest in Kortrijk. A real go-getter, she's thrilled to now be part of JustBite. She'll be doing a 4-week internship here, focusing mainly on digital marketing (ads, content creation, social media, email marketing, etc.)
-
What does your ideal break look like?
My ideal break is enjoying some time outdoors with colleagues. Given the circumstances, I'll be doing that from my student room 😊 -
What's your favourite snack?
An energy bar with chocolate chunks, because I love chocolate and it gives me my energy boost. -
Why did you choose JustBite for your internship?
Eating healthier at work is becoming more and more of a real trend, so I found it interesting to be part of such a budding trend and a growing business for a while, and to see how things work behind the scenes. I think it's important that people know there are plenty of more nutritious snacks that taste just as good, or even better, than snacks loaded with sugar.