Internship Checklist for Companies

 

Step One:         Define needs & establish goals                        
Step Two:         Recruit & Hire Interns                                      
Step Three:      Orientation for Interns                                       
Step Four:        Evaluation                                                        
Step Five:        Additional Considerations                               

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The information contained herein is for the use of the Colorado BioScience community, and should not be used as a source of information for making legal decisions regarding employment and should not be considered legal advice. The staff of the Colorado BioScience Association is neither qualified nor licensed to provide legal advice. Contact your HR department or a licensed practicing attorney for professional legal counsel.

Step One:

Define needs & establish goals that you hope to gain from an internship program and that you wish to impart on a student.  Provide students with real work assignments – project based internships provide the best experience, allowing the company to dig into projects otherwise left unturned while also giving the student work with applicable methods. 

The following questions are important to consider as you design the program and experience for each student intern:

• Is your staff committed to having an intern student?
• Do you have one person dedicated to evaluate the students’ progress and set expectations for the intern?
• Where will the intern work?
• Do you have the proper physical resources (computer, lab space, etc.) for the intern to complete their assignment?
• What specific coursework, skills or work experience do you need from an intern student?
• What will your intern student be doing?  Consider developing a specific project for each intern based on the needs of your company.  Allow time to develop the projects, as the project goals will help you define the skills needed of the intern and will allow you to find the best student(s) for the projects.
• Will the internship will be paid vs. unpaid (see step 2 for additional details on this topic).

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Step Two: 

Recruit & Hire Interns – You will want to start early and get visible.  Begin your search at least two to four months before you need an intern student.  At any point in the process, please involve the career center(s) where you are interested in accessing interns.  They are an invaluable resource and can assist you through many of these steps.

– You will want to start early and get visible.  Begin your search at least two to four months before you need an intern student.  At any point in the process, please involve the career center(s) where you are interested in accessing interns.  They are an invaluable resource and can assist you through many of these steps.

Suggested Timelines for Recruiting Interns
It is very important to think ahead when you are planning an internship program.  Recruiting interns occurs at specific times each semester, especially when internships are for academic credit.

Fall Interns (start date is August/September – end date is November/December) The recruiting period is spring semester (February through April) prior to the fall semester in which you want to hire an intern. Generally, it’s difficult to engage students over summer break to fill out applications.

Spring Interns  (start date is January/February – end date is May/June)  Recruiting period is generally fall semester (late September through November).

Summer Interns (start date is May/June – end date is August/September) Recruiting period is usually spring semester (February – April).  However, when the economy is strong and specific skill sets are in demand, employers tend to move their recruiting process up to the fall semester to attract and secure highly-qualified candidates. 

• Develop a position description – specifically define the need and the skills needed to address the project.
• Decide where you want to post the internship –get connected to the career center(s) for guidance, outreach to the professors & deans working directly with students.
• Post your internship description & attend internship fairs at the universities
• Be prepared to move forward in the process without delay.  Example timeline:
  • Week 1 – post the internship(s) & attend fairs, as available
  • Week 2-3 – accept applications
  • Week 4 –schedule interviews
  • Week 5 – make an offer
• Be an ambassador for your company and notify all applicants of your final decision. 
• Work with the career center at your academic institution to develop a learning agreement for all parties (student, advisor and company).  This is essential for students earning academic credit, however not critical for those interns not getting academic credit.
• Notify the primary university contact of your hire, if not already part of the process noted.

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Step Three:

Orientation – Spend some time orienting your intern to the company’s mission, work environment, logistical information (bathroom, parking, etc.), your expectations and standards for their role and the team with which they will work and reporting structure.

– Spend some time orienting your intern to the company’s mission, work environment, logistical information (bathroom, parking, etc.), your expectations and standards for their role and the team with which they will work and reporting structure.

• Assign a supervisor/mentor for your intern student
• Provide a thorough orientation and training:
  • be sure to address all health & safety precautions & protocols
  • Set expectations for the intern on their role and responsibilities (work hours, dress code, etc.)
• Maintain contact with the internship advisor & schedule a site visit
• Contact the internship advisor if any issues arise
• Provide continued guidance on progress of intern’s role, as well as projects to support the interns academic credit

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Step Four:  

Evaluation

• Evaluate your intern & have your intern evaluate their experience. 
• Conduct a wrap-up meeting with intern and internship advisor
• Were you able to meet the goals you set?
• In what ways did your intern students add value to your organization?
• Was the supervision you provided adequate?
• Meet with the primary contact or student advisor to gain there feedback on the experience.

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Step Five: 

Additional Considerations:

Examine wage and legal requirements and consider whether a nondisclosure agreement and/or an intellectual property assignment may be appropriate.  This section primarily applies for companies offering unpaid internship experiences.  Typically, a paid intern will fall under all of the employment guidelines of the company.

• Worker’s Compensation – Be sure to check with each academic institution.  Some have worker’s compensation coverage for internship placements.  For paid internships, the employer’s worker’s compensation is responsible for providing coverage. More information is available at: http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDLE-WorkComp/CDLE/1248095316915.
  • Risk Management Considerations – Be aware of any health & safety precautions and protocols an intern will need to address prior to and during their role in your company.   This may include background checks, drug screens, or any other relevant pre-caution specific to your company.
• Confidentiality – Please respect the privacy of candidate information. The privacy of student education is federally protected through FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.  All students educational data must be used only for legitimate purposes and only when absolutely necessary.  In other words, any information about a student’s education must be safeguarded and not shared with anyone who is not directly tied to the educational pursuit, in this case, the internship.  More information is available at: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html
• Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination - Review EEOC guidelines established by Federal and Colorado state law.  Employers cannot discriminate against employees or job candidates on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
  More information is available at: http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/index.cfm and http://www.dora.state.co.us/civil-rights/Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) - Review the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) before determining whether the internship will be “paid” or “unpaid”.  There are specific criteria to qualify the internship as “unpaid” under the FLSA. 

For more information, please go to http://www.dol.gov generally and, more specifically, http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm

• Hold Harmless Agreements – Please be aware that academic institutions are bound by law to not sign a hold harmless agreement.

International Student Guidelines - Please consult the individual institution or legal counsel for specific procedures related to hiring an international student.  If you make an offer for an internship to a student for Academic/Curricula Practical Training, the student must comply with the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s regulations before the student starts to work.

1. The student requires a formal offer letter from the employer providing a description of the student duties, number of hours to be worked each week, hourly salary, start and end date, and the name and contact information (phone, email, address) of the immediate supervisor and physical address of where they will be working.  

2. The student brings this offer letter to their Internship Advisor who will write a letter to the Office of International Education confirming that the student position meets the requirements for Academic/Curricula Practical Training.

3. The International Education Advisor endorses the student’s I-20 form and the student gives it to the employer. The IE Advisor completes the student’s I-538 form, which is sent to INS.

4. The student must obtain a continuation letter from the employer each semester and obtain the necessary signatures to continue their Academic/Curricula Practical Training.

Example Non-Disclosure and Intellectual Property (IP) Agreement 
The type of agreement that you use may depend upon several factors, such as whether the internship is paid or unpaid, whether the student is employed in a research lab at their institution and what type of work the student will be doing for your company (e.g. will they have access to proprietary information? trade secrets?)

See sample agreement. Please note that the sample agreement assumes that the internship will be a paid internship where the student is classified as an employee.  This document is an example only and may need to be modified for your business.  Please consult legal counsel or your HR department to determine whether this or a similar document should be used.  

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Step Six:

REPEAT 1-5!

Please note that several of the universities, colleges, schools and research institutions have developed employer guides and policies.  The details provided by CBSA bring together some of the best practice aspects of each program.  Please speak with the primary contact(s) at the academic institution(s) partnering with CBSA to learn more about their specific requirements. 

 

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