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:

brianakr@uw.edu

(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/

– brianakr@uw.edu

> Employer engagement info / consultations– careers.uw.edu/employers/

– careers.uw.edu/employer-education-workshops/

– econeill@uw.edu

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