Effective Internship Descriptions & Programs

Let Them Know: Who You Are

Whether your compainy is a small operation or has Fortune 500 status, students can be unaware or unsure of what your company does. It is increasingly important for students to also know how and why you do it. So share details about your company's history and industry, the services or products that are being provided, and the values that inform the work being down. What type of work environment can they expect? Can you point to previous interns who have gone on to suceed at your company or in other professional opportunities as a result of taking part in the opportunity you are posting?

Sharing these types of details builds context that can help students determine if your company is right for them. This can create an applicant pool that you know is serious about the work you do and that aligns with your company's values.

Let Them Know: What They Will Do

Providing them with accurate and thorough details is also important to helping students visualize themselves as your intern and thus determining if it is an opportunity for which that should apply. List responsibilities that include day-to-day duties and tasks. Describe what the student should expect to learn through this internship, otherwise known as learning objectives. Will they participate in company meetings? What about networking events? These can be viewed as added value to the experience. Internships that will allow them to connect with professionals from whom they can learn will be an expected criteria for many of the students.

Let Them Know: The Particulars

Some companies are able to compensate students with a competitve hourly rate or significant stipend, which proves to be both wonderful and deserved. However, monetary compensation is only one type of benefit. Be sure to describe the mentoring and training the intern will receive. Ongoing mentoring and training are key elements of all internships.You are much more likely to get your internship posting approved and generate serious candidates when this type of benefit is incorporated into the student experience. Additionally, you will want to provide the dates of the internship, desired hours, and location of the internship.

Let Them Know: Who You Are Looking For

What are the requirements? Some companies will have specific majors they are looking to hire and maybe even a minimum GPA. Let the students know this. You can also set these requirements when creating your post in Handshake. Be as specific as you need to be in your description, however. If you are open to different majors and backgrounds, be sure that is clearly expressed. If you are looking for a student with prior experience, let this also be known, but be careful. Some students shy away from applying to internships that require experience because they aren’t sure if their experience applies. Many internships do not require previous experience; if this is true for your organization, be sure to state it.

Other requirements might be specific skills and abilities or experience using certain softwares or computer applications. Whatever it is, be sure the students have the opportunity to know it before applying.

Let Them Know: Your Process

Besides your contact information (name, title, email address, website, etc.), so they know to whom they are submitting their application and documents, students should also be given information about next steps in the application procedure. When possible, provide details related to your application timeline. When is the application deadline? When is the hire date? When can candidates expect contact if selected for an interview?

These details remove some of the ambiguity from the experience and help students set reasonable expectations.

Internship Description Samples

If you would like to see samples of acceptable internship descriptions, you can do so here and here. If you have additional questions or would like your internship description reviewed for feedback, please contact the Assistant Director for Internships, Katie Krikorian at kbandy@loyno.edu

Supervisor/Student Post-Internship Debrief

If you're hosting a student intern, we encourage you to have a formal debrief at towards the end of the students internship. This is a valuable time for a student to hear constructive feedback from you as their supervisor and help them continue to grow professionally. 

You can find a template of a performance evaluation debrief here to guide the conversation with your intern.