Event Recap: Internship Bootcamp 2015
ConnectVA teamed up with VCU Career Services and University of Richmond Alumni & Career Services to host Internship Boot Camp, where over 60 folks showed up to learn and get advice on how to build an internship program!
VCU’s Joslyn Bedell and University of Richmond’s Sandy Turnage expertly led a facilitated discussion on how to more effectively realize the capacity building support of student interns in community-based organizations. These benefits can include identifying and developing talent for your organization, supplementing staffing for special projects, and building the nonprofit sector talent pipeline.
Participants were encouraged to do the following when hosting an internship program:
Set goals and policies with this Goal Setting Worksheet
Outline a plan
Openly discuss expectations
Continuously manage the intern’s work
Conduct evaluations
For more assistance with building an internship program in your organization, check out this Internship Toolkit.
Joslyn and Sandy also spent some time discussing how you to attract quality candidates. They recommended that position descriptions be as specific and detailed as possible — use a skill or industry based title, explain your organization, describe what you want, etc.
Marissa Day, Director of Education at The Valentine talked about how she created and manages a successful internship program, with 3 to 5 interns assisting 15 staff members at any one time!
Sandy also talked about the Richmond Guarantee – where every UofR undergraduate student is guaranteed at least one scholarship for an internship or research project of up to $4,000 for the summer!
Find interns by visiting Connect to Students to connect directly with the individuals and offices responsible for coordinating internships at the schools and departments within our region’s university and colleges. You can also post both paid and unpaid internship opportunities in the ConnectVA job finder. If you have a paid internship position, you might consider using the RVA Internship Portal to get your internship needs posted at 7 local higher education institutions.
Make sure to register for the upcoming Regional Nonprofit Career & Internship Fair on February 19th with VCU and ConnectVA — the event is free but space is limited!
Want more advice on hosting an intern? Check out other blogs posts in this series:
Hosting an Intern: What Are the Requirements Anyway?
Hosting an Intern: Can I Hire an International Student?
