I Know What You Did Last Summer...Intern

​Would this phrase instill fear or excitement in the typical intern at your company?
Will her hopes and dreams be slashed and cut to pieces like in the horror movie because she was relegated to ordering cupcakes and taking notes at department meetings?

Or, might she leave her internship experience with confidence, new skills and a realistic understanding of her growth needs, because her supervisor cared enough to establish goals, meet regularly regarding progress and provide a final evaluation?
Too often, internships end up with the intern endlessly following others to meetings, doing data entry and generally wondering what the heck they should be working on.  Not a lot of actual learning takes place.
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A well designed internship program, can be a tremendous learning opportunity for the intern and create a solid reputation for your organization with educational institutions, but it takes intention, commitment and nurturing on the part of your organization and individual mentors.

Legal Consideration
When considering starting an internship program, think about a few of the legal requirements:

 

1. The internship must be for the benefit of the intern, not the company
2. The intern’s learning will be similar to that in an educational institution
3. The intern’s responsibilities cannot take the place of a regular employee
4. The employer receives no immediate advantage  from the intern’s activities 

To pay or not to pay
In most cases, you should pay an intern an hourly rate.  If this is not possible, consider a stipend or class credit option.  It is common for organizations in the non-profit sector to offer unpaid internships, mainly due to budgetary constraints.  I would encourage nonprofits to find a way to offer some payment to interns.  If we are committed to diversity, inclusion and equity, we need to consider that many people in underrepresented populations cannot afford an unpaid internship.

Internship Basics
Beyond compliance, what makes a good internship program?  A colleague once told me, “An intern isn’t an intern unless they are a burden.”  While I may not go quite that far, interns are a major investment of your time and energy.  Tasks you can complete in 10 minutes may take an intern 2 hours and will likely require some course corrections and lots of coaching.  That is part of the learning process for the intern, and you are likely to learn a thing or two about yourself!

​To set your organization and intern up for success, make sure to:
·         Create an offer letter and job description, (just like any other position).  Specify the hours, responsibilities, and pay.  Emphasize that a regular schedule is required.  The fact that this is a part-time college job does not change the fact that a person needs to show up, play nice and do good work.
·         Establish clear goals and expectations.  Part of being an intern is simply learning how to “show up” in a professional setting.  Be on time, use complete sentences, and don’t text during meetings.
·         Provide meaningful work.  Are there aspects of a project or ongoing activity that the intern can truly “own”?  Think about relatively low-risk, yet still meaningful assignments.
·         Provide regular feedback.  Coaching, constructive feedback and encouragement will enhance the internship experience and boost the intern’s confidence.  The intern is in unfamiliar territory and may not solicit feedback proactively, even though it is desperately wanted.
·         Make time.  Make time for the intern to meet with you to just talk about how things are going and to “pick your brain”. As a seasoned professional you have likely forgotten more than the intern knows right now.  Some of your knowledge is so innate to you, that you can’t remember a time when you did not know it.

If and when you decide to create an internship program, make sure it benefits both the intern and your organization.