Recruiting leader Jaron Chatterley shares how our internships produce AI-literate hires

The best interns are young professionals, and they have ideas! Connor Group young professionals get to pitch their ideas to top partners in the firm.  

We call it 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗸.  

Teams of young professionals get an opportunity statement, then spend a couple weeks on market research, go-to-market planning, and a full business case.  

The strongest pitches are seeds for real service offerings the firm considers for clients.  

Either way, the young professionals learn what it takes to make a business case land in front of decision-makers.  

This year the format changed. Teams get a defined scope, build AI Skills with Claude Cowork for that scope, and demo the working Skills live to Partners.  

Why the narrower scope? The young professionals walking into our firm right now are 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝘂𝗽 𝗔𝗜-𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲. They've used these tools for school, side projects, and every paper they've written. When compared with more experienced professionals that are skilled in different tools, their AI fluency is off the charts.  

So we hand them a real opportunity, the tools to solve it, and mentors who've done this work before. Then we expect them to add value.  

The hard part for them is pitching to 5 partners. Most schools don't teach persuasive communication, and The Tank is usually the first time these students have had to move senior decision-makers to a yes. It's a skill they'll use every year of their career.  

If you're still handing your interns spreadsheet cleanup in 2026, you're wasting both of your time.

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