Post on 20-May-2015
How to Create and Implement a Successful Internship
ProgramPeter J. GallanisEditor-in-ChiefPreston Publications
NEED: What can an Intern do for you?
Provide affordable labor to relieve staff of lower-level (back-of-the-book) functions in order to concentrate on higher-level tasks.
Buyer’s Guide Research Product write ups/acquire art
What can an Intern cond.
News stories (Web or hard copy) Briefs Attend shows, take pictures Conduct Q & A interviews Copy editing Talk about you and your company—spread
goodwill.
Expectations: What an Intern can’t (or shouldn’t) do for you
Complicated stories—especially engineering, medical, or technology type.
Get stolen or assigned tasks from those outside your influence. They are not the office flunky!
Open your mail Answer your phones Fetch your dry cleaning, shine your shoes, or
walk your dog.
Have a plan
Know what you want before you post for the position.
Where do I find these wonderful people?
Columbia College—Free! ASBPE Web site—Free! Northwestern University—Free! Loyola University—Free! Roosevelt University—Free! Journalismjobs.com—Free! Craigslist.org $25 Monster and Mediabistro are very expensive. EDITOR’S NOTE: I have consistently received the
best responses from journalismjobs and Craigslist.
Posting the Job
Remember, you’re not just looking for an Intern, you’re looking for an employee and must treat the process as such.
Make it clear what you want—and don’t. J Majors get first priority. Upper Classmen? Minimal GPA (3.0) Required hours, days, etc. “Flexible,” works
well.
Posting cond.
On or off-site? I suggest on. Require published stories. (Research papers
don’t count) Always post “Local Candidates Only.” If you
don’t you’ll get resumes from all over the world and probably will anyway.
Posting again
Make it clear you want a cover letter that will WOW you. Why? Because 1. if the cover letter doesn’t wow you the intern's work won’t wow your readers and 2. a cover letter will not have been edited by 10 people before it gets to you and is a great (or not) example of your prospect’s writing skills.
Paid, unpaid, or Class Credit?
Paid is best choice (I pay mine $10 per hour) Monthly stipend w/travel expense. Unpaid will get you rich kids that might not
take the position very seriously. For credit can get you a mixed bag
depending on the prospect.
Responses—How do I make my selection?
First and foremost remember these people are not professionals.
If you get less than 100 responses you did something wrong, or your office is in an obscure location.
Engage your junior editors.
How do I make my selection cond.
It’s all in the cover letter baby! --Cover letter should tell you three things: who they
are, what they’ve done (or can do) and what they can do for you! These are winning letters!
Samples will tell you what you want to know such as: --Writing style and experience level --Eye for details (or lack of) --Editing ability
What to look for in the resume
The usual: well organized, blah, blah, blah, etc.
Multi-tasking ability Quick thinking Creative thinker Go-getter attitude
What to look for cond.
Won’t take no for an answer the first time. A joiner (Member of charity groups, etc.)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Being a member of a fraternity or sorority doesn’t count unless they indicate they were a volunteer for a project they did for said organization or held a leadership position.
What about writing samples dummy!?
If you received a 100 resumes (and you probably will) then your top picks will have those skills.
Max Necessary Lead Time—Six Weeks
Run advertisement for one month—period. One week to review resumes, pick your prospects. One week max to interview candidates. A few hours to make final selection. Call and extend offer. Call everyone you interviewed and deliver the bad
news. EDITOR’S NOTE: I acknowledge by e-mail every
candidate who sends me a resume and send thank you letters to ALL. (Actually I don’t my intern does!)
Interviews
How many do I call? Five. When do I see them? --All in one day if possible. Keep interviews to
one hour each. --All in one week at the latest. The decision maker should attend with their
right hand person and at least one junior editor.
What am I looking for?
How are they dressed? How do they present themselves (eye
contact). When you ask a question, do they answer
quickly or take a lot of time to think? This will tell you a lot.
Do they seem genuinely excited about the position?
What am I looking for cond.
Did they ask questions? If so what kind and did they reference your Web site?
Can they prioritize tasks? Can they work independently? Judge their reaction to roll play questions
such as, “give me an example when you felt you used a go-getter attitude to accomplish a goal.”
The interviews are done, now what? (Selecting the Winner)
Questions you want to ask yourself and your staff: --Does this person have the ability, or at least the
potential to do the job? --Can I count on this person to show up, etc.? --Does this person’s personality match up with ours
and our corporate culture? --Would I want to see / work with this person every
day? Then of course, check their references, make the
offer, set their start date, time, etc.
I got ‘em now what?
As referenced earlier have a plan prior to their start date.
Ensure work load is prepared for them before they arrive.
Match the work load to their experience level. Make sure they have a direct report. A junior editor is
a good choice. Set them up for success, not failure! Give them tasks
that will challenge but not overwhelm them. This one will take a few days to nail down.
Got ‘em cond…
This ought to be a no-brainer but make sure they have a workstation in place including computer, phone, e-mail address. Intern@yourpub.com.
Have them attend all staff meetings, strategy sessions. If you make them feel like they’re part of the team they will act in kind.
Ask them for suggestions/opinions, “engage them.” Initially, keep an eye on them. Identify possible
challenges before tasks are assigned and discuss a plan of action.
Got ‘em one more time
The longer they are there, the more you work with them, the faster they’ll move up the learner curve, the faster they’ll be working independently.
And it would be real nice to take them out for lunch on their first and last day and give them a little present at the end of the internship.
When the internship is over
Give them a written internship evaluation form (they eval you).
Review what went right and wrong and take the necessary steps to correct.
Then do it all over again!
Finally
No animals were harmed in the creation of this presentation.
Questions?