INTERNSHIP EMPLOYERS' GUIDE

Prior to the start of an internship, consider and/or complete and following:

• Agree upon a daily internship work schedule with the student.
  • Interns work on average of 10-20 hours per week. Some interns may work more or less hours depending on the exact need of the organization.
  • Many times students are asked to work full-time during breaks and summers (40 hours per week).
• Determine the length of the internship.
  • Many organizations will have an internship that is for a fixed period of time - one semester.
  • The internship can also be ongoing until the student chooses to leave, the organization requests the student leave (rarely happens) or most likely, the student graduates from UW-Green Bay.
• Ensure hiring and payroll documents have been completed.
• Decide intern wages. The single-best strategy for feeding full-time hiring is to pay your interns.
  • Most students earn at least $15 per hour, but the rate varies depending on the internship and the technical area/expertise of the student. Many accounting students and computer science students are on the high end of the range receiving more than $20 per hour.
  • If you can't offer an hourly rate, you could instead provide a stipend, ranging from $300-$1000+.

Ideally occurring on the first day or week of the internship experience, interns should receive an orientation that includes the following:

• An introduction and welcome to the organization.
• A tour of organizational offices/facilities, if applicable.
• An introduction to individuals who will be working with the intern.
• An overview of the work schedule, access to technology, dress code, communication. policies, general conduct policies and any other organization-specific information.
• A discussion of joint expectations regarding the internship experience.
• The process for problem solving/conflict resolution.

At the outset of the internship experience, students should receive an overview of typical/expected tasks during the internship experience. Expectations for employers/site supervisor include the following:

• Interns should be assigned "meaningful" work that aligns with the organization's priorities and helps the student meet their education and professional goals.
  • The experience should be mutually beneficial for the organization and the student intern.
  • Overall, assigned tasks should align with the learning outcomes and goals agreed upon by the intern and site supervisor at the outset of the experience.
• Define clear goals for the intern, and outline what is expected regarding daily tasks, projects or other types of deliverables.
• If tasks are likely to change during the internship, this should be communicated to the intern, and possible examples should be provided.
• Provide regular opportunities for individual feedback.
• When appropriate, invite the student intern to participate in staff/department meetings, conference calls, events, staff gatherings or any other unique organizational experiences. When applicable, allowing interns to shadow or have conversations with others in the organization is also valuable.
• Assign at least one dedicated supervisor, and an alternative (if available), that can provide direction, answers, and feedback.

An opportunity should be provided for a concluding discussion with the intern about the internship experience.

• For the organization, this should be an opportunity to provide feedback to the intern about the work that was completed and other aspects of the experience (e.g., communication, general conduct). Any suggestions for improvement should be provided with the knowledge that the internship experience was likely the student's first professional experience in the field, and also in a professional setting.
• At the same time, you should also provide an opportunity for the intern to provide feedback about the experience and the organization more broadly. For example, were expectations met? Did the experience connect to material from courses or were there deviations?