Building a Winning Internship Program

Table of Contents

1. Overview

2. What Is an Internship, and Why Does It Matter?

3. Step-by-Step Process to Creating an Impactful Internship Program

4. Steps to Building a Successful Virtual Internship Program

6. Final Thoughts

7. Related Studies and Resources

I. Final Evaluation of Internship Performance

II. Internship Offer Letter Template

Overview

Internships don't just benefit students – they're also a game changer for employers. An internship program translates into a stronger pipeline, and a stronger pipeline translates into better candidate conversion and faster time to hire – both important for companies to ensure sustainable growth in today’s tight talent market.

The toolkit is designed to help employers understand the nuances of building a successful internship program and embrace this forward-thinking way of creating a solid pipeline of talent that they can tap into when they have full-time vacancies.

What Is an Internship, and Why Does It Matter?

An internship is a form of experiential learning that combines classroom knowledge and theory with practical application and skill development in a professional environment. Internships allow students to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they may be considering as a career path. Meanwhile, internships also allow employers to guide and evaluate future talent.

A professionally planned internship offers students career-focused experiences and activities comparable to those of an entry-level employee. Companies that invest in paid internship programs can secure the talent they need to fill future entry-level positions.

Benefits of Internships for Employers

• Expand the talent pool.

• Build the company’s brand in the community.

• Increase diversity in the talent pipeline and work environment.

• Benefit from the latest knowledge and techniques that interns often bring.

• Get to know the future workforce (new generation), their values, expectations, norms, latest trends, etc.

Benefits of Internships for Students

• Find a career direction.

• Internships help you explore interests and preferred work environments and increase awareness of skills and strengths that are critical in specific industries.

• Gain experience to strengthen your resume.

• Working with professionals gives you access to a network that can provide references, career advice, and information about new job opportunities.

• Valuable internships enhance your opportunities after graduation, and employers prefer to hire candidates with relevant internship experience.

Step-by-Step Process to Creating an Impactful Internship Program

Follow this step-by-step guide to launch an effective internship program in your organization.

1. Define goals.

Internship objectives are measurable expectations that employers can set for themselves and their interns. Before hiring an intern, it is essential to think carefully about the internship program and how your employees will be involved in the mentoring and supervision. 

All stakeholders need to answer some questions: What will the intern achieve by the end of the placement? How does the organization plan to assess the program's success?

Conduct a workforce needs analysis. Are there roles in your organization where you frequently recruit? Sales representatives, technicians, etc. Use the reasoning behind the "why" to create the internship guidelines and activities planned for the intern(s). Is the work to be done ongoing, or will it be based on special projects? Is there adequate office space and equipment (PC, phone, email, table)? Is your organization looking for interns for additional help, or are you primarily focusing on building a talent pipeline for future full-time positions? 

These questions need to be considered and answered carefully to draft the goals of the internship program.

It's also important to choose projects that are important or noteworthy to a large group. This will ensure that employees are invested in the intern's success. Doing so will also expand the pool of available mentors who are knowledgeable about the project and can offer guidance across varied time zones.

Your intern will likely be part of your team for a few weeks or a month. Keep this timeframe in mind when creating tasks and objectives for the internship.  It may be helpful to assign the intern to a project that can be completed from start to finish within the internship period.

Alternatively, consider whether there are specific tasks within a project that an intern could complete in a much longer timeframe. If it suits both the intern’s schedule and your organizational needs, you can also consider extending the internship duration.

2. Establish supervision and mentorship

The success of the internship program depends on supervision and mentoring. Identify an individual who can supervise the intern and is committed to their growth and skill development. 

Decide who the key people in the organization will be and how they will fit the new responsibility of supervising an intern into their working day/week. The supervisor should have the time, ability, and willingness to collaborate with an intern.

To encourage employees to participate in and contribute to an internship program, explain your organization's objectives in hiring an intern and how it can foster a positive environment for all involved.

Highlight how hiring interns can help bridge the generation gap. If you have Gen X and Y employees, how can they be great mentors to millennial and Gen Z interns? What can a millennial or Gen Z intern teach the older generations?

The mentor is expected to be able to advise and assist in the personal and professional development of the intern. Other responsibilities include:

• Participating in the interview and screening process for the applications received.

• Onboarding the intern and organizing an orientation session.

• Developing learning objectives at the beginning of the program.

• Meeting regularly with the intern to evaluate performance and whether needs/objectives are being met and to monitor the success of the internship program.

• Developing an internship work plan with the intern that outlines assigned tasks, timelines, and learning objectives.

• Ensuring that the intern has a designated workspace, required materials, equipment, information, and other resources needed to complete the assigned work.

• Promptly reviewing assignments and providing constructive feedback.

• Conducting an exit interview with the intern.

• Supervising other mentors and trainers participating in the internship program.

It is also important to ensure that the individuals identified for these roles are prepared with the resources and knowledge to execute the associated tasks. It is recommended that the supervisor come from the same department, group, or team as the intern or at least be a person with good knowledge about the tasks the intern will perform.

3. Decide on the remuneration

When an employer wishes to introduce an internship program, they must first determine whether or not their participants will be paid. It is essential to establish an internal range of what one intends to pay the interns (if it’s a paid internship) and then come up with a way of budgeting for this compensation. 

If the program is unpaid, the employer must study laws or regulations guiding unpaid internships and meet all legal requirements for offering them. There are provisions for the notion of ‘apprenticeship’ recognized by labor laws, which may be seen as something akin to interns and trainees.

Draft an internship job description

Similar to hiring full-time employees, a specific and thoughtful internship job description will attract the right candidates. Some of the essential components required to be included in the job description include:

• Explanation of the organization's goals and mission

• The intern's responsibilities and potential tasks/projects

• Required qualifications

• List of requisite skills, such as analytical, design, or communication

• Educational level (year, GPA, etc.) and qualifying majors

• Length of internship

• Required hours per week

• Flexibility with schedule or specific hours

• Whether it's paid or unpaid

• How to apply

  4. Use multiple recruitment channels

By advertising your internship opportunities on different job sites, you will be able to reach a wider pool of potential candidates. Consider advertising both online and in print.

To advertise online, ask local colleges to post your ad on their website or job board. You may also want to consider posting the internship on job boards such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and Monster. You can also use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn or set up a paid advertising campaign to target specific students, interests, and locations.

Contact your local newspaper to place an advertisement in their jobs section if you want to advertise in print.

5. Get to the final selection

Recruiting an intern is not a casual affair; the recruitment process is as rigorous as that of any other employee. It entails screening CVs based on specified criteria, such as academic qualifications, necessary technical skills, experience, etc.

Potential candidates can be interviewed based on their CV. Ideally, your recruitment process should involve an interview, during which each candidate responds to several questions. This will help you gain a better idea of whether they are up to the tasks the internship entails.

If there are a lot of candidates to be interviewed, it might be useful to conduct an assessment day or a group interview. By doing so, you will be able to manage your time appropriately. In addition, you can observe how candidates behave within a group setting and if they have the interpersonal skills needed to work in the team.

Upon finishing the recruitment process, you should be ready to make a conditional job offer to the best candidate. Depending on the organizational policy, this offer can be contingent on medical recommendations, references, or other specific stipulations.

See. Internship Offer Letter Template

6. Onboard and train

Ensure comprehensive and professional orientation in accordance with DEIB standards. The intern's orientation should include all introductory matters, such as role expectations, reporting authorities, creating desktop logins, etc. Show the interns around the workplace and introduce them to other staff members so they know where to go and who to contact. 

Cover the basics, such as parking, toilets, break rooms, printers, etc. Give them the big picture, such as the organization's mission, key projects, and goals. Make sure they are aware of any policies they need to follow, such as security, timekeeping, and dress codes. If possible, create a handbook for interns to refer to, with important information, action items, maps, contacts, etc.

Provide interns with thorough training. This will enable them to be successful in their role. A good training plan will include a progression of tasks that reflect the student's developing competencies. The supervisor should monitor this on a weekly basis to assess their progress and needs.

Explain to them the context of the work: how it fits with their major, how it maps to specific job titles, how their tasks fit with other parts of the organization, what skills they are acquiring and why those are important, and how it supports the mission and success of the organization, etc. Provide students with a reflection journal that guides them in iteratively reflecting, evaluating, and documenting key aspects and lessons learned from their internship experience. 

Assess the intern's performance and overall well-being. Provide timely and constructive feedback. Are tasks being completed? Does the performance and professionalism meet expectations? Are they developing and strengthening skills? Ensure that the organization's culture is conducive to feeling valued, supported, and informed.

1. Engage the intern

There are many ways to make the internship memorable and engaging for both the intern and the employer. For example, existing employees and the intern can go out for lunch, or employees can take the intern out for a game of golf. Participating in these activities is a great way for people to get to know each other better and on a more personal level.

Additionally, organizations can allow interns to develop their professional skills by giving them the opportunity to attend meetings and work with people from other departments for a day. They can also allow interns to attend professional development events/seminars in the community to learn new skills.

1. Complete the final evaluation

Both the intern and the mentor should complete some form of evaluation to assess the program and the intern’s development and skills. For example, a student might say that their experience would have been better if they had interacted more with other teams. This feedback can benefit you, as students will view the program from a different perspective and might suggest minor changes you hadn't considered. With minimal investment of time and money, your program could see significant improvements.

Next, conduct an exit interview to go over the evaluations and talk about their experience working for the organization. This will involve the preparation of formal evaluations by the mentor and intern. These assessments provide useful information and suggest scope for improvement.

See. Final Evaluation of Internship Performance

Culminate the program

As you reach the last leg of the program, just exchanging handshakes and saying "Thank you for your time" won't be enough. It’s important to complete the offboarding procedure before you bid farewell. This will ensure that no work falls through the cracks and interns leave with positive memories of working with you. Hence, it is essential to find ways to finish the internship strong and help the intern transition out as well as serve the needs of the organization.

Here are some recommendations to smoothly wrap up the internship program:

• Make sure everyone is aware of the intern's last day and allow enough time for any outstanding work to be passed on to another team member.

• At the end of the program, ask your interns to reflect on their experience through a presentation, project, or report.

• Plan a celebration of the intern's contributions.

• Offer to write a letter of recommendation for the intern or encourage them to apply for any full-time vacancies that might be a good fit.

Steps to Building a Successful Virtual Internship Program

If there is one thing that organizations have learned over the past few years, it is the ability to keep a dispersed workforce connected and operating seamlessly.

When COVID-19 hit the corporate work environment, organizations around the world quickly changed the way they did business. This included creating remote internship programs that allowed organizations to build a strong talent pipeline. A remote internship program offers businesses an opportunity to connect with students across geographies and expand the pool of potential candidates.

Here are some best practices to help you set your company up for an effective virtual summer internship experience that is a win-win for both your organization and the intern.

1. Start with clear communication

If a virtual work placement is to become part of the organization’s future plans, the organization must let interested students know what to expect and when to expect it.

As we continue to operate in an uncertain economic environment, taking action now to move an internship to a virtual environment will go a long way to building confidence in the organization’s future. In addition, by making the decision now and communicating it to incoming interns, your organization will have more time to create an internship experience that is as effective virtually as it is in person.

Moreover, you must set clear expectations of what success looks like, coupled with systems to track progress. Laying the groundwork early on with all employees, especially new interns, can help you avoid micromanaging projects. Instead, it creates a culture of trust and gives the team the time and space to do impactful work.

It's also important to establish clear communication protocols. If your team has a standard way of communicating, make sure interns are well-informed about which channels to use and when. How quickly will interns be expected to respond to messages? 

2. Onboard remotely

Since a remote induction won't give your interns the opportunity to meet and talk to colleagues in the office and have team lunches, you must ensure that interns feel integrated from day one with effective processes and ongoing support. For example, your onboarding process can include an onboarding buddy, checklists for specific tasks, and a comprehensive company handbook. To encourage questions and interaction, you can also set up an always-on video meeting room.

Another option could be to offer a pre-boarding program, which would give interns ample opportunity to get to know the company through access to resources and social media before their start date.

3. Check in at regular intervals

To design an effective virtual internship, look at what has worked for face-to-face internships at your company and others. Interns often have positive experiences when they feel integrated into working with the team and that people in the organization care about what they are working on. Consider how you can create an online structure of support, mentoring, and ongoing training to replicate this integration.

This should include regular 1:1s with a manager, a midsummer check-in with senior management, and an end-of-summer presentation that can be done via video conferencing, with day-to-day work done via chat, project management tools, and email. These check-ins need to be more frequent during the onboarding process, up to several times a day during the ramp-up period, to replicate a face-to-face experience. These predetermined check-ins not only give your intern set milestones to work toward but also allow the intern to get to know team members and management from afar.

4. Consider a rotational internship

A rotational internship gives interns the opportunity to experience different aspects of your business without being on-site with your team. Interns may complete two to three rotations, with weekly or fortnightly projects assigned and reviewed by mentors.

The final rotation allows interns to choose the business area they are most passionate about to complete a final project. This method allows your interns to experience different departments’ work and see what they’re good at, achieving a major internship objective.

5. Implement a practice of virtual collaboration

Beginning brainstorming sessions in writing or posting questions on shared documents gives team members, including interns, time to think, be less reactive, and make more thoughtful decisions. These practices allow collaboration across time zones and provide written documentation of how interns have made impactful contributions.

Final Thoughts

Internships have long been considered a competitive advantage for students looking to get an early start on their careers. But internships don't just benefit young talent—they also help employers. Employers seeking to build a robust talent pipeline continue to invest heavily in these programs because they know they make a difference.

With a quality internship program, companies can engage talent early, enhance their employer brand visibility, support their DEI efforts, build a skilled and knowledgeable pipeline, and streamline their recruitment strategies.