I get to do a phone screen for an intern opening we have this summer. I’m excited for several reasons. First, I love talking. Second, I love talking about programming. Third, I love meeting new people. Fourth, I love meeting people that share my passion for learning. Lastly, I’m excited we’re getting some interns applying, despite our lack of a legit Intern Program.

Joel Spolsky runs Fog Creek and about their internship program and why so many people apply, he says:

Well, part 1. It’s not my fault that 400 people applied. Well, OK, it is my fault: we have free housing, lunches, Broadway shows, unlimited free subway passes, high salaries, a boat trip, a Yankees game, two parties and a walking tour. But once all those students applied, it’s the least we can do to consider each application with the utmost care and fairness, and give the internships to the people we think have the best chance of working out well, for them and for us.

Seriously, who wouldn’t want to apply to Fog Creek?

I’m inspired by this and I hope that someday, we can resurrect our own Intern Program, which used to be half as cool as this and way better than what we have now. Don’t get me wrong, simply working at our company and getting the experience and education, especially on my team, is well worth the effort at interviewing and getting in! But we can do better. We can create a better culture. We can be much cooler. And that not for coolness as an end to itself, but to draw a more competitive pool of applicants.

Here’s to the future! IF WE create a cooler intern program, we wouldn’t have to look as hard for good people. In other words,

If you build it, they will come.