Developing College Internships

A Webinar for Small Businesses

SPONSORED BY THE CAPITAL REGION CAREER CONSORTIUM (CRCC)

Bob Frederick•Coordinator of Career & Employment Services•Schenectady County Community College

Suzanne O’Connor•Associate Director & Career Counselor •Siena College

Joe Aini•Assistant Director of Career Services•University at Albany

We are a collaboration of college and university career center professionals

from New York's Capital Region dedicated to advancing career services and

professional development for the benefit of employers, our students, and alumni.

www.crcareerconsortium.org

Definitions Expectations from Higher Ed Employer Responsibilities Internship Process Best Practices Sample Internships Webinar Resources

Experiential Education Co-op (aka cooperative education) Service Learning Practicum Field Work Internship

• Experiences that expand upon and support classroom learning

• Clearly defined tasks that connect workplace and career expectations to learning outcomes

• Open and timely communications between business and college

• Appropriate on-boarding process and work environment

• Strong intern supervision and regular evaluation

Job Description Task: Use contact sheet to establish 5 new prospects per shift

Learning Objective:Be able to identify and present 3 direct sales techniques using phone,

emailand social media

Job Description Task: Cover the reception desk during staff breaks/time off

Learning Objective:Learn how to use organizational skills, office technology and customer

serviceapproaches to manage the flow of information and requests for service

• Converting production based work into manageable learning tasks that allow for reflection and learning outcomes

• Understanding and enforcing legal and ethical standards

• Establishing a supportive work environment that includes training, supervision and evaluation

• Recruiting students using EEO standards

• January 15-18 ~ Internship Goals, Company Overview & Introductions

• January 22-25 ~ Systems Overview and Training / Feedback• February 3-5 ~ Customer Service Overview and Training /

Feedback• February 8-10 ~ Project Research and Statistical Review• February 13-15 ~ Shadow Company Representative• School Break• March 1-3 ~ Begin formal project • March 7-10 ~ Review Progress / Feedback• March 13-15 ~ Project Work• March 18-20 ~ Complete Project / Prep for Presentation• March 24-25 ~ Project Presentation / 360 Evaluation / Learning

Summary

Educational Partnership Positive Mentoring Role Impact students career exploration Build lasting relationships with

college/university and our students Positive/negative experiences go viral Exposure for potential employee pipeline

Centralized vs. De-centralized Offices Academic credit or non-credit Academic Calendar/Timeline College/University Points of Contact

1. Begin by defining your needs at least 6-12 months before start of internship.

2. Coordinate an intern recruitment strategy in accord with the academic calendar.

3. Create an internship job description at least 6 months prior to internship.

4. Market your internship to students for at least 1-2 months.

5. Interview and select candidates.6. Commence internship.

Fostering Strong College Relationships Building Credibility – Strong Word of Mouth Establishing Structure Designing a Training Program Providing Timely Feedback

Events with Style

Fenimore Asset Management

Meeting Industry Experts

Stacy Jubert, Siena alum and owner:Provides specific project based workMeets face-to-face bi-weekly or weeklyMaintains communication via emailInvolves intern in brainstorming sessions and post event evaluation

What worked?What didn’t?

Kevin Gioia, Junior Research AnalystProvides on-the-fly projects that mirror real-life situations.Challenges intern to learn business by being immersed into daily activities and tasks.Creates an awareness of a small company perspective through exposure to many rolesMaintains flexibility by providing supervision and guidance on the spot.Assigns end of internship presentation to encourage investment ideas that are sometimes utilized.

Brigitte Connors, Owner Initiated early discussions in

person to clearly understand process and build relationships

Informed and involved staff Developed program and

criteria Connected with faculty Built a following

CRCC: http://www.crcareerconsortium.org/

NYSCEEA: http://www.nysceea.org/resources/

CRHRA: http://www.crhra.org/

NACE: http://www.naceweb.org/home.aspx

Let’s answer some questions