Employer Internship Guide

Employer Internship

Guide

Table of Contents

Contact:

Call (540) 464-7560 or

Email career[email protected]

Internship Overview 3

Benets for Employers 4

Creang a Successful Internship Program 5

Orientaon/ Internship Management 7

Internship Evaluaons 8

Sample Internship Evaluaon 9

Handshake Instrucons 10

Job/Internship Descripon Outline 15

Mission Statement 16

Internship Overview

VMI oers a rigorous educaon that includes a broad undergraduate program with majors in

engineering, science, liberal arts, and social sciences. Woven into every curriculum is leader-

ship and character development that benet graduates for life. We accomplish this mission

with the support of our alumni and the employer community that oer praccal experience

to our cadets.

Internship

NACE (the Naonal Associaon of Colleges and Employers) recommends this denion of an

internship:

An internship is a form of experienal learning that integrates knowledge and theory

learned in the classroom with praccal applicaon and skills development in a profes-

sional seng. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied expe-

rience and make connecons in professional elds they are considering for career

paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent. (NACE 2019)

Characteriscs of VMI cadet internships include:

 Cadets are only available for on-site internships during the summer (virtual internships

for the fall or spring semesters will be evaluated).

 May be paid or unpaid; may also be taken for academic credit (note: internships taken

for credit must be reviewed by a member of the academic department).

 May be full-me or part-me (if for credit, the academic department determines

hours).

 Provide professional experience and have dened learning outcomes, with knowledge

or skills that can used at other employment sengs.

 A balance between the needs of the organizaon and the professional and academic

development of the cadet.

 An employee, preferably with a background in the area of experse, designated to su-

pervise, evaluate, and provide feedback to the cadet.

Interns are not:

 Responsible for only “busy” work, consisng of manual labor or clerical tasks. Eighty-

ve percent of internship tasks should be substanve.

 Responsible for replacing a sta member.

 Primarily compleng the internship for monetary gain.

Internship opportunies may be posted with Career Services approval on Handshake

(informaon regarding Handshake on pg. 10).

Benets for Employers

Possible benets for employers:

 Helping the VMI community develop future leaders.

 Source of potenal employees who have experience with the organizaon.

 Develop leadership skills of current and potenal employees.

 Cost-eecve support for exisng sta.

 Candidates for temporary positons or projects.

 New, fresh perspecves.

 Posive publicity of organizaon in the community and as a prospecve employer.

Possible benets for cadets:

 Experience and skills to add to their resume.

 A potenal employment opportunity.

 Developing skills to make them compeve in the job market.

 The opportunity to see if their career eld is right for them.

 Networking with individuals in their prospecve industry.

 Further understanding of working in a professional environment.

Creang a Successful Internship Program

Preparaon

 Review the U.S. Department of Labor Internship fact sheet here.

 Determine a department or project that could benet from an intern.

 Idenfy the minimum requirements of the posion (you can nd majors and minors

oered by VMI here).

 Determine compensaon budget (more informaon on compensaon provided here).

 Create a job descripon (sample outline included on pg. 15; this is not required, but

may help organize your informaon before posng) with clear guidelines and expecta-

ons.

 The dues, responsibilies, and learning outcomes can be developed in partner-

ship with the cadet and the faculty advisor.

 The more specic the job descripon is, the less screening you may need to do lat-

er on.

 Set goals for the intern based on expectaons.

 Make sure that there is an adequate work space for the intern (desk, resources, park-

ing, etc.).

 Idenfy a suitable supervisor to provide guidance and support.

Recruing and Interviewing Prospecve Interns

 Post internship opportunity on Handshake (instrucons for creang a handshake ac-

count and posng an internship on pg. 10). Expect to do this at least 3 months before

you want the internship to start.

 You will receive a nocaon from Handshake aer your internship/job opportunity

has been reviewed. Opportunies are typically reviewed within 2 business days.

 Contact Career Services if you have any quesons.

 VMI Career Services cannot pre-screen students, but can recommend relevant in-

ternships to cadets who reach out to career services. More informaon provided

on page 10.

 Select and schedule applicants for interview.

 Interview candidates with at least two sta members present.

 Use quesons similar to quesons used while interviewing permanent sta.

 Ask how each intern will t into the organizaon’s culture.

 Make sure that the candidate has the opportunity to ask quesons as well.

Creang a Successful Internship Program

Implementaon

 Make an oer and complete necessary paperwork. An oer leer should include:

 Dates of employment and duraon

 Department/ Supervisor

 Compensaon

 Job dues

 Any important details (working condions, etc.).

 Finalize job dues, projects, and goals based on discussion with intern.

 Specic expectaons should be wrien out and signed by the intern and supervi-

sor. This prevents confusion and claries what the intern will be evaluated on

(evaluaon guidance can be found on pg. 8).

 Any necessary training should be scheduled and discussed prior to orientaon or at

orientaon.

 Schedule an internship orientaon (informaon on pg. 7).

 Put together a packet of informaon to give to the intern during orientaon, including

policies and procedures of the organizaon (when/ how long the lunch break is, hours,

how to call in sick, where to park, dress code, how to use the technology, etc.).

 Make sure that any necessary resources are prepared prior to the intern’s arrival

(oce supplies, key/key card, computer, desk, phone, etc.).

 Other employees should be aware of the intern's arrival, including security.

Orientaon/ Internship Management

Orientaon

 Make sure that the intern has a tour of the facility and is introduced to anyone that

they may be working with regularly.

 Explain the mission and a brief history of the organizaon, including any long and short

-term goals.

 Show the intern their working area, how to work the phone and computer, and where

to get supplies.

 Give them contact informaon for anyone they may need to be in contact with (IT, se-

curity, HR, supervisor in case they are unable to work, etc.).

 Provide them with any materials that may make their adjustment easier, including an

organizaon chart, any reports regarding what they will be working on, newsleers,

informaon on work procedures, safety regulaons, etc. The more thorough the orien-

taon, the quicker they can get acclimated.

 Make sure that they have a task to work on their rst day. Interns are there to work

and learn, and the rst day gives them a sense of what their me at the organizaon

will be like.

Supervision

 Supervising an intern should involve providing leadership, training, movang, dele-

gang, and evaluang.

 Make yourself (and/or their assigned supervisor) available to the intern.

 Periodically check-in with the intern, not only to provide feedback and discuss tasks,

but also to see how well they are adjusng. This includes regular one-on-one meengs,

emails, and phone calls, depending on in-person availability.

 Look for signs that the intern is not adjusng well, is confused, or is bored.

 Regularly discuss the intern’s goals; this can include: industry knowledge, job skills, and

so skills.

 Remind the intern to ask quesons and write notes; these two skills will benet both

the intern in their professional career development and the organizaon.

 When giving feedback, make sure that negave feedback is given in a way that lets

them know how they can handle the situaon in the future.

 Give them the opportunity to parcipate in meengs and professional development

opportunies.

 Encourage interns to keep a porolio of their work.

 If you have an issue with a cadet’s performance, please contact career services.

Internship Evaluaons

Interns should have at least two formal evaluaons, one in the middle of the internship and

one at the end. A formal evaluaon can be conducted earlier in the process, such as in the

rst couple of weeks, to see if any adjustments need to be made. A formal evaluaon tem-

plate is provided on the next page.

The mid-point evaluaon should assess progress made towards goals and projects and see if

any adjustments need to be made, either to the intern’s tasks, if any addional resources

need to be provided, or the cadet’s performance. Construcve feedback should be given.

The nal evaluaon should occur the last week of the internship, where the supervisor and

intern reect on the experience. This includes assessing the intern’s professional growth as

well as providing feedback on potenal areas of improvement.

As well as formal, informal evaluaons can be conducted as well to adjust expectaons, pro-

vide feedback, and get the intern’s perspecve.

Potenal Performance Factors to Review:

If the student performs well, be prepared to write a leer of recommendaon.

 Leadership

 Interpersonal Skills

 Movaon

 Planning and Organi-

zaon

 Professionalism

 Atude

 Job/Industry

Knowledge

 Problem Solving/

Decision Making

 Quality of Work

 Communicaon

 Reliability

 Iniave

 Work Ethic

 Adaptability

 Willingness to Learn

Sample Internship Evaluaon

Company/ Department:

Intern Name:

Supervisor and Title:

Date:

For each performance factor, rate the achievement level of the intern:

5=Outstanding, 4=Highly Eecve, 3=Eecve, 2=Improvement Need, 1=Unacceptable

Performance Factors: Rang:

Performance Factor 1

Performance Factor 2

Performance Factor 3

Performance Factor 4

Performance Factor 5

Performance Factor 6

Performance Factor 7

Performance Factor 8

Performance Factor 9

Performance Factor 10

Comments/ Recommendaons:

Handshake Instrucons

VMI reserves the right to not approve internship opportunies that do not fulll our

requirements, have missing informaon, or that we do not believe are in the best interest of

our cadets.

Handshake documents that may be useful:

Geng Started with Handshake

How to Post a Job

2 Minute Training Video: How to Post a Job

If you have any issues, you can view the Handshake Help Center here. The page also includes

a link to contact support if you need to contact Handshake directly.

The following pages will show secons that are included on Handshake job posngs.

Job/Internship Descripon Outline

Company:

Company Descripon:

Job Title:

Minimum Requirements:

Essenal Dues:

Learning Outcomes for Cadets:

Duraon, Full-me/Part-me:

Compensaon:

How to Apply and Deadline:

The mission of the Oce of Career Services is to provide comprehensive, state-of-the-

art resources and services for cadets to assist them in their needs relave to career

planning, career experiences, and employment or graduate educaon opportunies.