How can interns get a PPO offer letter from the company?

Last Updated : 12 Jul, 2023

What is an Internship?

An internship is a professional working experience that involves practical work that is directly related to the candidate’s or student’s educational background or their related field of interest, and this is an entry-level position for those who want to start their professional career in any field after their graduation or post-graduation. Almost every industry now offers internship opportunities, and this also helps them understand whether the candidate is capable of the role or not, and on the basis of their evaluation, they can also hire them for a permanent role.

An internship helps you get real exposure to working in the field you choose. The interns are not expected to have any prior work experience, but if they have done internships before, then it is an added advantage that makes them stand out from all other candidates. It helps the candidates build their profile across various job portals, and their skills and experience from the internships help them get full-time opportunities in the early stages of their careers. Many times, good and deserving candidates also get converted to full-time or get the PPO letter before their internship ends. Nowadays, most companies have started providing internship opportunities to candidates who are in their last year of graduation or post-graduation. Many companies nowadays provide paid internships along with an internship certificate, whereas, in many companies, the candidates get only a certificate. Also, the interns are expected to support their respective teams in their work, and they also learn a lot of skills while working with their seniors and mentors.

Most companies offer internship opportunities to candidates during their summer or winter breaks. Summer internships are usually longer as the break is longer. Candidates also prefer summer internships due to the long breaks. Summer internships are usually for 2, 3, or 6 months.

The college students are also asked to submit a NOC document (No Objection Certificate) before starting the internship. Every college does not allow its students to take part in any internship programs before the completion of their studies or before entering the final year of their graduation or post-graduation due to their rules and regulations. Nowadays, students are using LinkedIn to reach out to recruiters belonging to their field, build better networks, and also use other platforms like Naukri, Internshala, Hirist, and many more job search websites.

What is PPO?

PPO refers to a “pre-placement offer”. Companies offer their interns a PPO letter when they find that the interns are performing exceptionally well. This is offered to the candidate after their internship duration is completed, and the PPO offer is valid once the employee completes his professional degree or as per the company’s guidelines. Most companies in India only offer the PPO letter once interns have completed their studies. PPO helps the candidate or intern understand that their hard work is being paid off by the employer, and this always keeps them motivated, and they always try their best to perform their best until they get the opportunity to work. A pre-placement offer is also helpful for the companies, as they get to know the candidate as they work with them before getting full-time employment.

To get a PPO from any company, the candidate should always keep in mind the stages that they had to go through during the internship. They should first try to learn about the product, the technology that they will have to use, and the tools required to fulfil the required tasks. The PPO letter boosts their morale and motivates them to perform better, as they get the idea that their good performance has been rewarded, and they always try to perform better.

Basic difference between Internship letter and PPO letter

Internship letters are provided for a specific duration, and the candidates are not expected to have any prior experience or skills required for the job, whereas a PPO offer letter is given to the deserving interns or freshers whom the company wants to join for a longer period and is offered to the candidates who have a good understanding of the tools and skills required to do the job.

In the internship letter, the candidate is not sure about their yearly package as most companies decide the packages on the basis of the candidate’s performance, but in the case of the PPO letter, it is clearly mentioned.

Internship duration can be extended when the employer finds that the candidate is interested, but the performance is not satisfactory. However, in the case of a PPO letter, the intern candidate is offered a full-time position, which is commonly offered to candidates who show good performance during their internship and the company wants to join them as full-time employee.

Companies can organize internships during summer or winter breaks as they are for a short period of time, but when any company offers their employees a PPO letter, they hire them as a full-time employees, and in that case, the employee has to be present in the company as per the working days and hours.

Why do companies hire interns?

Saves a lot of company’s costs and time: Hiring interns has nowadays become a trend, and most companies hire interns just in search of the best candidate by evaluating their performance during the internship period. This also saves a lot of time and money as full-time employees always demand higher salaries when compared to interns, and when there is a need for full-time employees, the companies can simply convert the best deserving candidates for those positions, which might save time and money that might occur in hiring a full-time employee. The risk of hiring interns is minimal as they are just hired for a few months, and if there is any underperforming candidate whom the employer thinks is not suitable for the position, they can easily remove them by providing the internship letters, whereas in the case of full-time employees, it is not easy for the employer to terminate their employment because of the terms and conditions of the company.
Higher Salary Potential: Internships help the candidates get better salaries when we compare them with candidates without any internship experience because internships help the candidates build their skills, which helps them build their profile.
Helps to get new and innovative ideas: Internships help the companies get innovative ideas from the new generations, as they are fresh graduates filled with enthusiasm and eagerness to prove their worth, which is somehow and somewhere helpful for the companies in getting more successful.
Helps to recognize the right talent: Being an employer, you always try to find the right candidate for any position in your company and that too for a longer time period and this is most helpful in filling higher positions and in leadership roles.
Helps improve the company’s work environment: Hiring interns helps improve the company’s work environment because, in the corporate industry, there is a lot of politics between co-workers just to achieve a better position in the company, but when the companies give preference to hiring interns, they always try to focus on their work to learn new skills and to gain more knowledge from their seniors.
Interns are good learners: Interns are always considered good learners, as they have limited knowledge about their job, so they always show an eagerness to learn more and more. Depending on the company’s requirements, interns or freshmen can be easily moulded. Since the interns have limited knowledge about the corporate world, the company can easily teach them new skills and processes as per the requirements, which can also be helpful for building their careers.

How companies should set up Internship Programs?

Select the correct time for internships: Companies should always try to organize the internships during summer or winter breaks so that the candidates would remain available most of the time and could learn better.

Interns should be paid a fair stipend amount: The company should always decide on a fair amount for the interns, keeping in mind the efforts they are expecting from them and their valuable time. Also, in paid internships, the candidates put more effort into learning and show more seriousness towards their work.

Internship duration and conversion details should be provided: The employer should always share details about the internship duration and details related to the conversion chances of the interns.

Final-year students should be given more preference: The companies should always give more preference to the final-year students, as the college does not provide NOCs (no objection certificates) to all the students, and this sometimes becomes a major issue as, nowadays, most of the companies ask for NOCs for starting internships.