As the calendar turns to June, we all can get excited knowing that summer is finally coming. And when junior and senior college students feel summer coming, they know that they’ll soon be stepping into their summer internships. Molex is right there with those students – the company’s Lisle campus warmly welcomed its 2016 summer interns in late May!

The Molex Internship program is going strong. Over the past three years, the Lisle campus program has steadily grown to 43 interns this year – the largest number ever. This increase speaks to the success of our recruitment program and to the time and attention Molex invests in developing new talent and helping current employees advance. Many of our internship positions turn into full-time, entry-level job offers with potential for growth. In fact, at least 75% of previous Molex interns have returned for either a second summer with Molex or a full-time, entry-level position. These positions include engineering, marketing, accounting and finance.

As many of the currently selected interns know, the candidate selection process begins during the early fall semester onsite at Midwest regional universities, including Purdue University, University of Illinois, Iowa State University and Northern Illinois University. Once the interview process is complete, successful candidates receive position offers before the end of the year for the upcoming summer.

One thing is for sure – there’s no fetching coffee or filing paperwork. Instead, interns can look forward to being fully immersed within the projects their teams work on. Interns get a full 360 degree view on the impact of their projects on the bottom line of the business. The program runs from the last week of May through mid-August. This full experience allows students to see what joining a global company entails and how their work impacts key projects.

The program kicks off with an orientation day followed by training sessions and presentations on the company’s various divisions and the industries it serves. In addition to training, professional development and working on projects, interns have time to get to know one another across their assigned departments of engineering, marketing, accounting and finance through casual social outings.

Overall, there is much to look forward to. There are opportunities to network directly with C-level suite executives to gain knowledge on various parts of the business. In addition, there are scheduled tours of many different facilities and plants, continued professional development programs, and an opportunity show off what you’ve learned in an Innovation Challenge.

This summer Molex Lisle has 43 interns.

Speaking of innovation challenges, interns will soon have a first-hand look at an off-site Energy House created by Vic Zaderej, lead technologist of solid state lighting for Molex. The house is powered by solar energy and came about as a challenge during his years of studying engineering at MIT to create a 2,000-square-foot home that uses 80% less energy to heat and cool than the average home. Thirty years later, Zaderej has a home that you can step foot in and take note of all the features implemented that have made that college assignment a reality.

The people of Molex are excited to get to know each and every one of the summer 2016 interns and hope that all find the experience rich and fulfilling!