When companies and organizations partner with institutions like La Roche University, students gain job-applicable experience, which benefits employers as a result.
Real-life learning experiences help students develop into college graduates who possess the specialized knowledge and skills that today’s job market requires.
According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities, employer research supports high-impact learning experiences.
- 94 percent of hiring managers say that they would be more likely to hire a recent graduate who has held an internship or apprenticeship
- 87 percent of hiring managers say it is very important that recent graduates demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings
Establishing an Internship Program
Best Practices
- Plan and write out the internship program and goals
- Determine compensation strategy
- Identify and assign specific, realistic tasks or projects to the internship position
- Write an internship job description
Recruit appropriate candidates for the position
- Develop relationships with local recruitment resources, such as colleges and universities
- Post the internship position on college and university job boards to solicit resumes
- Identify and interview selected candidates as carefully as you would choose other employees
- Review the legal implications of hiring interns
Orient the intern to the organization
- Explain the mission and organizational structure
- Provide resources such as handbooks, websites and other onboarding material
Formally train the intern
- Outline organizational and position rules, policies and expectations
- Define specific responsibilities and projects
- Establish a timeline and evaluation process
Manage the intern and assist with his/her professional development
- Give your intern the appropriate resources needed to do the job
- Observe and monitor the intern’s work
- Give the intern feedback and regularly evaluate the intern’s progress
General Ideas
- Encourage team involvement
- Hold new-hire panels to showcase your employees’ experiences
- Offer professional development/outside training opportunities
- Showcase the intern’s work
- Conduct focus groups, surveys and exit interviews to obtain feedback from the intern
- Be relatively flexible with the intern’s schedule
Other Considerations
- Will you pay the intern?
- Do you have a workspace for the intern?
- What type of academic background or experience do you want in an intern?
- Who will be the direct supervisor of the intern?
- What will the intern be doing?
- If the student is doing the internship for college credit, what are the college/university’s requirements?
Launching a Micro-Internship Program
Unlike traditional internships, micro-internships can take place year-round and often can be done remotely. These project-based internships allow students to demonstrate skills, build networks and explore careers. Typically micro-internships range from five to 40 hours of work. Short-term internships result in positive hiring and give employers the opportunity to:
- Diversify their workforce
- Create a resource to attract potential quality talent for hire
- Build relationships and employer brand on college/university campuses
- Serve as a trial employment period to assess potential for full-time hire
- Provide a workforce to complete projects and focused assignments to supplement day-to-day operations
- Minimize overhead through virtual project completion
La Roche University partners with Parker Dewey to provided virtual micro-internship opportunities for students. For more information on how to launch your project based micro-internship program, visit the Parker Dewey website.