How to Start an Internship Program
Meet Your Facilitator
Basics:
Briana Randall
Director – Internship Project
Career & Internship Center
Details:
13 years in center
2 years in this role
Goal – ensuring UW students have access to high-quality
internships
Factoid:
Did an internship at the
Indiana Women’s Prison
Contact:
(206) 685-4139
Agenda
> Explore
> Establish
> Engage
> Wrap-up
Explore
Definition
> A form of experiential learning that allows a student to do one or more of the following:
– Integrate academic learning with “hands-on” experience
– Develop or refine specific skills that are transferable to other settings
– Explore a career interest
Distinction
> Internships have a significant and intentional focus on student learning– Should not simply advance
operations of the employeror replace an employee
– Should center around learning objectives related to the intern’s academic/career goals
– Should involve frequent feedback on performance
Distinction (cont.)
> Internships are often project-based
> Internships typically have a defined end date
> Internships can be life-changing
Why Hire Interns?
> Fresh perspective / ideas
> Innovative attitude / creative
> Energy / enthusiasm
> Eager to learn
> Want to make a difference
Why Hire Interns?
> Mutual learning– “teaching someone is a great way to learn or relearn
something yourself”
> Mentoring– “it’s a pleasure to help them navigate the company and
learn how to be successful in their careers”
– “knowing we can help them grow professionally is amazing!”
Quotes from Jan 2016 Internship Best Practices workshop attendees
Why Hire Interns?
> Interns know how to reach younger audiences
> They can make substantial contributions to organizational missions and goals
> Build a pipeline for future hiring – In a national employer survey* (mostly corporations):
> 67.1% offer rate (asking interns to stay on)
> 76.4% acceptance rate (interns agreeing to stay on)
* From NACE 2017 Internship & Co-Op Survey
Typical Specs
> Most UW students intern ~ 10 wks
> During academic year, interns typically work 10-20 hours per week
> During summer, they sometimes want up to 40
10
15
40
Typical Specs
> UW - “quarter” system– Sept 27 – Dec 15, 2017
– Jan 3 – Mar 16, 2018
– Mar 26 – June 8, 2018
– June 18 – Aug 17, 2018
> 10 weeks of classes + 1 week of finals
Typical Specs
> For summer internships– Accounting, finance, consulting, some tech – Oct/Nov
– Other areas –
> Most students start thinking more seriously about summer internships in Jan/Feb, even March/April
> Growing attendance at February Internship Fair
> For other parts of the year– Students look 1-3 months in advance
Compensation
> Helps ensure students from all backgrounds have access to internships broadly, and to your position
> Increases investment of all involved
> Helps employers stay competitive– 83% of internships in HuskyJobs are paid
– Paid internships, 42 apps; Unpaid internships, 9 apps
> Helps ensure that for-profit employers are in compliance w/ federal guidelines
Compensation
> Credit is awarded for demonstrating the learning that takes place in internships, typically through structured assignments– Credit is NOT compensation
> Wages are compensation for work completed at an internship site
> Students pay money to earn internship credits
Academic Credit
> Most students do not choose to earn credit
> Students initiate the process
> Once intern is selected and registers for credit, the employer usually needs to sign a form or two in the beginning and in the end
Resource Highlight
Establish
Answer Big Picture Questions
> What are you trying to accomplish?
> Would an internship program fit your org culture?
> How much support would an intern program get from various levels in your org?
> Who’s in charge of the internship program?
Establish Manager Expectations
> Who will be allowed to serve as intern managers?
> What will be expected of managers?– Tasks, time commitment, timeline
> Will there be common expectations among different intern managers?
> How will intern performance be evaluated?
Identify Possible Managers
> Interest in supporting intern learning
> Skill in supervising others
> Willing to set aside time:– Recruiting / selection
– Onboarding / goal-setting
– Weekly project check-ins
– Mid-point performance mtg
– Final performance review
Identify Possible Projects
> Important to the organization
> Meaningful for an intern– Allows for skill development
– Involves interaction with others
> Reasonable for an intern’s:– Level of experience
– Weekly and total hours
Think Through Intern Logistics
> Intern work space
> Intern equipment/supplies
> Likely total hours needed– Minimum # hrs per week?
– Minimum # of weeks?
> Permanent hire conversion– Expectations
– Process
– Communication
Resource Highlights
Engage
Build Recruiting Timeline
> Desired intern start date
> Offer date
> Interviews
> Applications due
> Position description posted
> Position description drafted, reviewed, finalized
> Project identified and described
> Manager identified & coached
Think About Target Audience
> Realistic / conscientious / strategic
> Want to contribute / innovate
> Desire to be coached / grow / learn
> Highly prefer in-person communication
> Value honesty / integrity / authenticity
> Value social responsibility / involvement
Think About Target Audience
> What attributes would help interns be successful?
> What skills does one really need coming in?
> Think broadly about majors
> How can you appeal and market to diverse groups?
Write Position Description
> Sell your organization
> Describe the role
> List requirements
> Give app. instructions
Write Position Description
> Describe what interns will learn– What You Will Learn
– Interns Will Develop Skills In
– You Will Gain Experience In
– How You Will Benefit
> Ask interns to include a few ideas about what they’d like to learn in their cover letter
Write Position Description
> Approximate start and end dates
> Number of hours per week
> Location of internship site
> Compensation (wage, or whether its paid/unpaid)
Create Recruiting Plan
> Ask employees to push it out
> Post to social media
> Post to niche industry websites and listserves
> Post to national sites– idealist.org
– wayup.com
– internships.com
Connect with Huskies
> Post on HuskyJobs– $35, for-profit employers
– $10, other employers
– careers.uw.edu/post-a-job/
> Connect with targeted student groups and depts.– Academic areas, cultural groups, political, hobbies, etc.
– Find a group and send an email
– depts.washington.edu/thehub/sao/
Connect with Huskies
> Attend a Fair– Large, all major fairs
– Large, college-level fairs
– Smaller, niche industry fairs
– careers.uw.edu/Employers/Calendar
> Conduct On-Campus Interviews
Design a High-Impact Internship
> Onboarding
> Learning
> Engagement
> Projects
> Relationships
> Exposure
> Feedback
> Reflection
Resource Highlights
Resource Highlights
Wrap-Up
Resources
> Internship info / consultations– careers.uw.edu/employers/create-an-internship/
> Employer engagement info / consultations– careers.uw.edu/employers/
– careers.uw.edu/employer-education-workshops/
Resources
> Career Center @ Engineering– engr.uw.edu/careercenter
> Foster School of Business Undergraduate & Specialty Master’s Career Services– foster.uw.edu/careers/career-
services/employers/
Resources
How to Start an Internship Program