You probably already know how hot technology hiring is.  Well, according to the Wall Street Journal, some of the hottest tech companies are also clamoring for interns in additional to full-time hires. 

Tech companies ranging from start-ups to household names are expanding their internship programs, including:

• Dropbox - plans to hire 30 engineering interns
• Google - hired 1,000 engineering interns this past summer
• Klout
• Twitter
• Facebook - plans to hire 625 interns for summer 2012

Why the sudden surge in interns?  Internships allow these companies to get a jump on young talent - some internship programs even target high school students. More importantly, internships allow them to "try-before-they-buy,"and save money in the process. Interns can usually be paid much less than traditional full-time employees, and they know from the get-go that they positions are temporary.  

The tricky thing with internships is that companies sometimes think they don't have to follow the typical employment laws with interns.  Some even try to implement unpaid internships, which are a no-no in most cases.

A better way to go would be to hire these interns as contractors employed through a contract staffing back-office.  That way, companies can benefit from the low cost, low commitment try out internships offer without all the hassles that come with employing those interns.  

Debbie Fledderjohann is the President of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.