Intern in Israel program gets boost from U.S. firms

Young people used to come to Israel to spend their summers picking fruit. These days they might be more likely to come over to pick stocks. Or at least that's what a state-funded initiative is hoping.

Recruitment directors from a dozen major U.S. corporations were brought to Israel this week to convince Israeli firms to take on interns, specifically Jewish ones from abroad. Internship programs are common in the U.S., but are a rarity here.

Hiring interns doesn't only help young people trying to get their foot in the door, but it provides firms with practically free labor, the directors said.

The recruitment directors were brought to Israel by MASA, the government and Jewish Agency-funded organization that facilitates semester- and year-long programs in Israel for young Jews from the Diaspora, with the goal of increasing their personal identification with the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

MASA North American Director Avi Rubel says that internship programs with Israeli companies give young Jews an opportunity to experience what life is really like in Israel, and to advance their own career trajectories at the same time.

"People are looking for ways to build their resumes, add interesting things," Rubel said, "and we've been able to bring them here, and get them involved in this start-up nation that we hear so much about."

He is hoping these U.S. recruiters will convince many more Israeli start-ups to consider hiring interns through one of MASA's affiliates. The recruitment directors speak with the voice of experience: Rubel estimates that in total, their companies collectively hire about 50,000 young adults annually.

"My first reaction was, 'What do you mean by interns?'" said Shachar Pessis, head of Israeli start-up AllMyFaves. "Interns? There's no such thing in Israel! There are only interns for accountants and for lawyers."

Pessis was soon convinced of the benefits of the MASA internship program, he told an assembled audience of his peers on Wednesday at Cinema City in Herzliya.

Pessis says that despite his initial skepticism, he sent a job description to MASA program operators, and two months later they matched him up with several potential interns. He then interviewed them over the internet using free video-phone software and soon found someone that was a good fit for his firm, which is developing image-based web searches.

Next year, Pessis plans to bring several MASA interns on board.

American recruitment directors on the panel with Pessis also extolled the virtues of hiring interns, and warned Israeli entrepreneurs in the audience not to pass up the opportunity.

"One thing that I think is really important for you all to understand is that what you're competing against - is us," said Jim McGrath, Director of Recruitment at Cisco Systems. "We're back in the United States, recruiting these same students - and we pay them!"

Companies aren't the only beneficiaries. For about $3,000 plus plane fare, program participants are given lodging for five months, Hebrew lessons and tours around the country. The program is heavily subsidized by the Prime Minister's Office, and is geared toward 18-to-30-year-olds living outside of Israel that consider themselves Jewish and have at least one Jewish grandparent.

The MASA experience may convince some interns to pursue a career in Israel and establish a home here, but even if they head back to their home countries, the program will still be considered a success.

"If they do not decide to stay, they will likely be going home, looking for opportunities for employment," said Adrienne Alberts of Constellation Energy, based in Maryland.

Alberts sees in these internship graduates a potential labor pool. "We are always looking for the best and the brightest. If we see another potential pipeline to find that talent, we want to be engaged in it."