If you're in the human resources business, or part of a large organization, it might benefit you to look into hiring students for HR summer internships.

Students looking for HR internships are definitely out there and will benefit from the pre-work experience. Large organizations will benefit, because interns contribute to the bottom line, not to mention they're inexpensive and productive.

According to an article by Business Management Daily, the current state of the economy is making it even more important for HR departments to find all the low-cost talent they can.

Here are a few tips to help you find HR interns and maximize their potential:

First, focus on location. Contact state and regional college chapters of the Society for Human Resource Management. Many student SHRM chapters allow organizations to post internship openings on their Web sites and some maintain databases of companies that provide internships. These Web sites can also be good places to find information to reach faculty who might be able to recommend interns.

Second, you can post internships on SHRM's Web site at no cost by contacting the organization’s student programs department.

Third, become a student mentor. This will help you get in touch with possible internship candidates. Colleges are usually in need of volunteers and becoming an HR student mentor is a great way to do so.

Next, once you've found interns, focus on productivity instead of busy work. You can do this by assigning meaningful duties that also help lighten the work of the regular HR staff. Most companies allow students to rotate through different HR functions, while others allow them to specialize in one area.

Following that, set specific qualifications for interns that match the company's needs. For instance, some employers require one to three years of undergraduate HR program experience, while others only accept HR graduate students.

Finally, require your interns to be organized and detail-oriented. They should not only be able to communicate with employees at all levels and work as a team, but also be able to work independently.