Interns Pros & Cons

January 21, 2026

by a searcher from University of Rochester - William E. Simon Graduate School of Business in Cincinnati, OH, USA

Hello all, we are considering hiring interns this year to assist with our search and light due diligence. Would love insights from those who have interns; from pay to duties and anything in between. Thank you in advance!

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Reply by a professional
from University of Wisconsin in Boston, MA, USA

I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for. Free interns get a great experience which is extremely beneficial to them. They're free for a reason. Most interns are in undergrad and you're starting from ground zero (no banking experience, little excel and PPT experience, research is entry-level etc.). AI has helped expedite initial industry research. My advice is if you use interns don't onboard too many as it'll create more work than output and become a timesuck. Better to use the time, dollars, and resources in building a strong network to pursue a deal in an industry you know well in my opinion.

Reply by a searcher
in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

^redacted‌ there are both pros and cons to having interns on board, and I'll share from my experience of working with 20+ searchers. Let's start with pros. • Often people hire interns on an unpaid basis in exchange of certificate, letter of recommendations, etc. So, without the increase in cost you can get the work done. • Helps you expedite your search by taking care of some of the tasks that you can delegate. I'm sure there are other pros as well which other searchers can share. Now let's look at some of the cons. • Interns would prove to be useless if you don't have a specific process for them to follow, and you don't have a training system in place to train them in what needs to get done. • Often times a lot of time goes by in training the interns which searchers usually are prepared for while hiring intern what they're not prepared for is interns quitting or their internship time period is over but the search is still going on and then you have to again spend time in finding and training new interns. • Interns usually have other commitments as well and they come on part-time basis, and sometimes if not often, they get caught up in other things that they fail to fulfill their commitment with you. Most often interns who come unpaid cost more in time than what it would cost in money to get done through a paid Virtual Assistant instead. In conclusion, if you have a process and training system in place that doesn't require a lot of your time it would be good to have interns on board. But if you're building up the processes, don't want to spend much of your time just need to get the work done with minimal time involvement, looking to get high level things done that need decision making, and looking for a long term solution that stays with you till you finally acquire a business, having a Virtual Assistant can help. If you consider hiring a Virtual Assistant, do send me a message and I'll share how we can help you just like we have done to other searchers.

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