| 15 Best Practices for Internship Programs |
| Best practices for internship programs, including work assignments, orientation, housing and relocation, work arrangements, and managing the program. |
| Candidate Selection, Strong Connections Yield High Internship Program Rates |
| To make its internship program a valuable source of talent, Owens Corning places emphasis on hiring interns who it feels would be successful leaders in the future and on building deep connections between interns, the company, and the community. |
| Communication Helps The Walsh Group Boost Intern Conversion Rate |
| When it comes to finding out what college students want in an internship program, who better to ask than interns themselves. The Walsh Group has used intern feedback and insight to help shape its internship program and achieve a high intern conversion rate. |
| Developing Interns’ Skills Strengthens Their Bond to the Organization |
| Professional development has always been a top priority of PSEG’s internship program. PSEG recognized that developing its interns makes them feel valued, and strengthens the bond between the organization and its interns. |
| Intern to Full-Time Hire Conversion: “Returning” vs “Nonreturning” Interns |
| Are students who repeat their internship experience with an organization more likely to convert to full-time hires? nearly 90 percent of eligible returning interns received an offer of full-time employment, and nearly 90 percent of those accepted. In comparison, just 43.5 percent of nonreturning interns were offered a job with their internship employer. |
| Key Strategies for Converting Interns |
| Successful strategies for converting interns into full-time hires. As the job market continues to improve, employers continue to look first within their internship programs for entry-level college hires. |
| Intern Offer, Conversion Rates Reach New Highs |
| This year’s intern offer rate is the highest it has been since the peak of the pre-recession market, and the conversion rate reached a 13-year high, according to results of NACE’s 2016 Internship & Co-op Survey. |
| Internships: Rates, Feedback Show Program Health |
| Combining various rates and participant feedback allows for deep insight into the health of an internship program. |
| Sourcing Interns: Open Applications, Career Center Contacts |
| On average, employers begin recruiting interns eight months before their start date. How do they source interns? |
| Trends: Insurances, 401(k) Plans Becoming Common Intern Benefits |
| Over the past decade, employers have bolstered the slate of benefits they have offered to their interns, according to NACE’s 2016 Guide to Compensation for Interns & Co-ops. |
| Employers Rate Competencies, Students’ Career Readiness |
| Employers rating NACE’s eight career readiness competencies in terms of essential need in hiring new grads put “critical thinking/problem solving” at the top. |
| Engagement the Foundation of CSRA’s Internship Program |
| One of the primary drivers of the success of CSRA’s internship program is ongoing engagement—both when interns are on site and when they return to campus. |
| Key Items to Document for Your Internship Program |
| Document aspects of your organization’s internship program on an ongoing basis to, among other things, help you clarify what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. |
| How Employers Help Interns Find Temporary Housing |
| How do employers help interns find temporary housing? Employer members of NACE’s Community noted several methods of helping interns with temporary lodging. |
| Culture Code, Focus Areas Boost Dell Internship Program |
| Dell’s “culture code” of core values and other focus areas have helped to propel its internship program through a recent large-scale integration. |
| Clearing the Obstacles of a Large-Scale Intern Program |
| Last summer, IBM provided internships for roughly 2,000 students. Having an efficient program that provides valuable experience is a key to managing it. |
| Intern Offer, Acceptance Rates Indicate Robust Market |
| The key metrics for measuring success in converting interns into full-time hires—offer and acceptance rates—indicate a robust college hiring market. |
| The Most Used, Effective Intern/Co-op Recruiting Methods |
| Career/job fairs and on-campus recruiting continue to stand out as the most highly effective techniques that employers use to recruit interns and co-ops. |
| Competencies Employers Seek in Internship/Co-Op Hires |
| When it comes to selecting students for their internship and co-op programs, employers have a set of five competencies that are “must haves.” |
| Retention Rates for Former Interns/Co-ops Decreasing |
| The retention rates of hires who have internship and co-op experience have been gradually decreasing in recent years, according to results of NACE’s 2017 Internship & Co-op Survey. |
| The Key Skills Employers Develop in Their Interns |
| The key competencies employers want in the students they hire for internships are also among the skills employers help their interns to develop. |
| Rotational Programs for Interns Remain Rare in 2017 |
| Just 14.5 percent of employers responding to NACE’s 2017 Internship & Co-op Survey featured rotational internship programs in 2017. |
| Signing Bonuses for Interns/Co-ops Making a Comeback |
| The practice of employers offering signing bonuses to candidates for intern and co-op positions seems to be making something of a comeback in recent years. |
| Company’s Intern/Co-op Conversion Efforts Yield High Rates |
| Rockwell Collins has attained high intern/co-op conversion rates by identifying strong candidates and providing them with a valuable experience. |
| Interns/Co-ops Spend Most Time on Problem-solving Tasks |
| Interns and co-ops continue to spend the bulk of their time on duties requiring analytic/problem-solving and project management skills. |
| Major the Key Factor Between Otherwise Equal Candidates |
| Employers say major was the most influential characteristic between two otherwise equally qualified candidates for an internship or co-op position. |
| How, When Employers Find Their Interns and Co-Ops |
| From where do employers source their interns and co-ops? And when do they start the recruiting process? |
| Is It an Employer’s Duty to Educate Its Interns/Co-ops? |
| Is it an employer’s responsibility to provide their interns and co-ops with honest assessments of how their lines of work may fare economically? |
| Shift in Focus Boosts CohnReznick’s Internship Program |
| CohnReznick has shifted the focus of its internship program to the early identification of entry-level hires. The numbers show the impact of this change. |
| Class of 2017: Maximizing Intern/Co-op Conversion |
| Students’ satisfaction with their internship/co-op experience has a strong effect on their likelihood of accepting a full-time offer with the same employer. |
| Impact of the Internship Experience |
| Scott Resource Group research examines students’ view of 35 internship program factors, according to their expectations and actual experiences. |
| Wolf Trap’s D&I Initiatives Offer Internship Opportunities |
| The diversity initiatives within the Wolf Trap Foundation’s internship program help to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed. |
| Internship Issues, Solutions, Best Practices |
| During a recent conference call among NACE Community members, employers discussed issues, solutions, and best practices in their internship programs. |
| Allowing Interns to Work From Home |
| Several URR professionals weigh in on a question posted in the NACE Community about allowing interns to work from home. |
| Bonus Eases Relocation Issues for Alcon Interns/Co-Ops |
| By offering a signing bonus to interns/co-ops who meet certain criteria for housing, Alcon has avoided candidate fall out and expanded its recruitment area. |
| Key Factors to Consider When Setting Intern Salaries |
| When setting intern salaries, factors such as students’ major, functional area, degree, and year of study are important considerations. |
| Developing Sexual Harassment Training for Interns, Employees |
| Two college professors who are developing a training program for interns about sexual harassment in the workplace offer tips for employers developing similar training programs. |
| MITRE Allows Interns to Work Part Time From Campus |
| MITRE allows some high-performing interns who completed a summer internship on site to work part time from campus and apply what they're learning on campus to the company’s work. |
| Introducing Interns: By Location or Company-Wide? |
| How do employers announce and introduce their interns throughout their organizations? |
| Strong Intern Ties Nets Kellogg’s High Conversion Rate |
| Kellogg’s intern conversion rates have been steadily increasing since the launch of its summer internship program in 2012. |
| Sourcing, Target Schools for Recruiting Interns, Co-ops |
| According to NACE’s 2018 Internship & Co-op Survey, organizations typically source interns via open applications and college career center contacts. |
| Intern Acceptance Rate Up; Offer, Conversion Rates Fall |
| The acceptance rate for interns increased from last year, while the offer and conversion rates both dropped. |
| Majority of NACE Employers Offer Interns Relocation Help |
| Fifty-eight percent of employers responding to NACE’s 2018 Internship & Co-op Survey offered interns relocation assistance. |
| Tips for Your Intern Orientation |
| Your intern orientation can help your interns succeed, establish goodwill at the outset, and put you one step closer to conversion. |
| Harassment in the Workplace: The Intern Conundrum |
| Employees are protected against harassment in the workplace. But what happens if the person subjected to harassment is an unpaid intern, not an “employee”? |
| Expo Allows Baxter Interns to Detail Experience, Skills |
| Baxter Healthcare’s Intern Project Expo allows interns to articulate their experiences, and gives the company a true sense of its interns’ skill sets. |
| Halliburton Realizes Value From Its Internship Program |
In recent years, Halliburton has professionalized its internship program by creating new engagement initiatives and increasing internal stakeholder interest.
|
| Rating System Has Helped Standardize Intern Evaluations |
Freeport-McMoRan’s intern evaluations include
a competency and performance rating system the company has developed. |
| Getting the Most Out of Intern Surveys |
The NACE Research
Department offers suggestions for getting the most out of your organization’s
intern surveys. |
| Invested Employers Tend to Achieve Intern Hiring Success |
Achieving success in
intern hiring requires employers and colleges to work together. To do so,
employers must overcome common misconceptions. |
| Toolkits Provide Key Information to Interns, Managers |
| Ellucian’s internship toolkits are intended to enhance the employee experience, while providing interns and their managers with key information and resources. |
| How to Classify Returning Interns Who Also Worked Part Time |
| How should organizations classify returning summer interns who also worked for the organization part time during the school year? |
| Methods Employers Use Most to Recruit Interns/Co-Ops |
| On-campus recruiting methods and services offered by the career center are prominent techniques that employers use to recruit their interns and co-ops. |
| Social Activities the Top Benefit Offered to Interns/Co-Ops |
| Planned social activities and paid holidays top the list of the benefits employers most commonly offer to their interns and co-ops. |
| The Most Used, Most Effective Methods for Recruiting Interns, Co-ops |
| The recruiting methods for interns and co-ops that employers use the most and find the most useful go hand in hand. |
| Average Hourly Wage Rises for Interns, Falls for Co-ops |
| While interns and co-ops have seen their average hourly wage grow in recent years, it grew for interns but dropped for co-ops this year. |
| Community Service Days Help Brand Internship Program |
| Offering community service days is important for Ellucian because it helps with interns’ experience and engagement, and with branding the program. |
| Employer Alcohol Policies for Interns |
What is your organization’s alcohol
policy for interns during events? Responses range from carding employees to not
serving alcohol at all. |
| How Long to Give Interns to Mull a Full-time Job Offer? |
| Employer members in the NACE Community discuss the appropriate amount of time to give an intern to decide on an offer of full-time employment. |
| Leadership Top Deciding Factor Between Intern Candidates |
| Employers deciding between two equally qualified intern candidates will most likely choose the one who has leadership experience. |
| Focus Shift Boosts Mars, Inc.’s Internship Program |
| The internship program at Mars, Inc. has undergone significant changes recently that have bolstered not only its numbers, but its value to the company. |
| Developing Interns in Areas Critical to Their Careers |
| Providing impactful professional development opportunities for interns can have positive implications for organizations. |
| Communication With Interns Critical During Uncertain Times |
| During the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, companies need to communicate the status of their summer internships to their interns. |
| Communication, Connection Keys for High-Quality Remote Internships |
| MITRE was tracking to host 500 interns this year. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the company has not abandoned plans to hold its internship program this year. |
| Challenges to Account for With Virtual Internships |
| Virtual internships are essential in the current work environment, but it is important to recognize that many benefits of a traditional internship are lost. |
| Duolingo Takes Strategic, Innovative Steps in Virtual Internship Program |
| There are several strategic and innovative steps Duolingo is taking to ensure it delivers a valuable experience for interns in the virtual work environment. |
| ECS Reconfigures Intern Summit for Virtual Delivery |
| Engineering Consulting Services has taken a different perspective to adapt its annual intern summit to the virtual space. |
| Asurion Adding Additional Training, Networking Opportunities for Virtual Interns |
| Asurion is keeping its 12-week, full-pay internship format and offering additional learning opportunities and intentional networking for its interns every week. |
| Best Practices for Virtual Internships |
| NACE quick polls, launched in March 2020, tracked members’ response to the coronavirus pandemic and revealed the evolution of members’ strategy and tactics. |
| Hosting Virtual Interns: A Primer for the Summer of COVID-19 |
| How can organizations maximize remote work experiences—such as internships—to ensure that their benefits are not lost in translation? |
| Intern Satisfaction the Key to Conversion |
| Intern conversion is a business imperative at all times, but especially in the current job market, when many organizations are shrinking budgets. |
| Investing in Technology to Close the Digital Divide |
| Marc Morial, National Urban League, discusses the digital divide for students of color—which is in danger of widening during the pandemic—and what employers can do to bridge that gap. |
| Keeping Interns Engaged Remotely |
| Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Campbell Soup Company has not altered the focus of its internship program. |
| INROADS’ Program Extends Reach of Diversity Recruiting Programs |
| INROADS has co-developed a program to help organizations recruit students at a greater number of HBCUs across the United States for paid internships. |
| PwC Preparing Interns for Its New Virtual World |
| PwC is providing its more than 3,600 summer interns with an experience that is preparing them for the new virtual world. |
| Future-Proofing Your Organization’s Talent Pipeline |
| Following the Great Recession a little more than a decade ago, many organizations learned a costly, yet valuable, lesson. |
| More Strategies for Maintaining a Talent Pipeline |
| Companies that currently do not have jobs or internships should try to provide students with learning engagement support or development, and strive to make connections with them. |
| Swinburne Initiative Provides Inclusive Experience for Students With Disabilities |
| Swinburne University created the AccessAbility Careers Hub, which provides targeted career education for students with disabilities. |
| Offboarding Interns in a Virtual Environment |
| CDK Global’s retooling of its internship offboarding process has expanded opportunities for interns to stay connected with the firm. |
| Abbott Laboratories Internship Program Exposing Diverse Students to STEM |
| Abbott Laboratories’ high school internship program exposes students from diverse backgrounds across the United States to STEM fields. |
| Addressing Student Gap Years in an Internship Program |
| Although AOIC requires potential interns to be enrolled in college, in certain cases, summer interns who did not return to school because of COVID have been allowed to stay on. |
| What Do Students Think of Their Virtual Internships? |
| How do virtual internship programs compare with their pre-pandemic counterparts? NACE members share what they have heard from students about their virtual summer internship experiences. |
| The Factors That Helped Eaton Vance Offer an Effective Virtual Internship Program |
| The value of Eaton Vance’s summer internship program is evident in the attention the firm dedicated to its transition to virtual last spring and its management last summer. |
| Open the Door: Disparities in Paid Internships |
| NACE research shows that paid internships benefit students in their initial post-graduation job search: more job offers, higher starting salaries, and a shorter search. However, the data also show that this path to employment may be exclusive, with racial/ethnic minorities, women, and first-generation students all underrepresented in paid internships. |