There’s snow falling outside as I write this, but my mind is on summer — and so should yours if your utility hires summer interns.

I’ve written before on the value interns can provide, especially as a means of giving them a “test drive” before you potentially hire them. Interns can do all sorts of non-critical tasks (and I’m not talking about simple busy work) that free up your regular staffers to handle more challenging things.

From experience, including having a son who’s a college student, I can tell you that more and more businesses are hiring interns. That means the competition for the best candidates is increasingly fierce.

And that means you have to start searching now. Begin your search by casting a wide net.

Post a detailed internship description on your website and mention it on your social media channels. Send a news release out to your key media outlets; they won’t write a story, but they could use it as website filler — remember that every eyeball counts.

Get in touch with the placement offices at colleges within your service area, as well as any state universities that may be outside your area but draw local students. Example: Penn State University is hours outside Philadelphia, but many Southeastern Pennsylvania resident attend.

You might want those placement offices to get your notice to multiple departments at a university, depending on where you locate interns. The communications department is a logical target if you hire interns for your public relations effort. Likewise for the engineering department if you plan to hire more technical interns.

Don’t forget about looking into career fairs (where you might already recruit), which also often present internship opportunities, too.

And post your listing on internship-related websites. Those includes sites that are specifically geared toward internships, such as internships.com, and job boards such as glassdoor.com, which include internships among their postings.

Assuming all these postings produce a plethora of qualified candidates, it’s up to your staff to conduct interviews and winnow down the resume pile to leave only the best potential interns. Don’t delay in extending internship offers, even months in advance, lest someone else hires your most promising candidates.