ResourcesCreating Successful Internships

Table Of Contents1. Intern Orientation Checklist

2. Learning Agreement Overview from College of Liberal Arts (CLA)

3. Learning Goals Overview from College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS)

4. Checking in with your supervisor from CLA

5. Mid-Point Internship Evaluation from CLA

6. Intern Performance Evaluation from CFANS

Sample Intern Orientation Checklist

Welcome and Tour ▢ Welcome and discuss orientation plan for the day and week. ▢ Give a tour of the facilities including where lunch can be stored, bathrooms and parking info. ▢ Introduce interns to other staff members. ▢ If you have an electronic newsletter, include a picture, brief bio and information about what the intern will do for your organization. About the Organization ▢ Share your organization's mission statement and goals. ▢ Provide an organizational chart. ▢ Describe your organization’s commitment to equity and diversity, such as stating your organization’s values, what affinity groups you have, and other related equity and inclusion initiatives. ▢ Provide time for the intern to review your website, program information, or other relevant resources connected to their work. Logistics ▢ Provide interns with information regarding appropriate work attire and behavior. ▢ Review logistical information such as hours, breaks, attendance and punctuality and how to fill out timesheets. ▢ Arrange for training, as necessary, on computer programs, telephone systems, copy and other equipment the interns will be using. ▢ Review organizational and employee policies. Position Specifics ▢ Review goals/expectations for intern position and establish an initial work plan. ▢ Have intern complete a Learning Agreement and set up a time to review it. ▢ Is there any industry language or best practices for interacting with clients that interns should be familiar with? Provide them with resources or readings to get informed. ▢ Include interns in staff meetings when appropriate and allow for them to give updates on their progress. Safety Training ▢ Have interns complete any confidentiality, sexual harassment or anti-discrimination training other employees are required to complete. Provide interns with this U of M Sexual Harassment in an Internship resource sheet. ▢ Safety plan and emergency exit plan. Support ▢ Set up regular check in meetings with supervisor. ▢ Establish who the intern can go to with problems, questions or concerns if their supervisor is unavailable. ▢ Connect intern to both other interns and/or a mentor.

Your learning agreement provides an important opportunity to create a meaningful plan for your internship. It will allow you and your site supervisor to create clear expectations so that ultimately you can maximize what you learn during your experience. Your learning agreement should be completed in partnership with your internship site supervisor so that you are both invested in the internship experience and the outcomes related to your internship.

Internship Learning Agreement Overview

The Internship Position Information describes your on-the-job tasks, responsibilities, and projects in the form of a job description. This helps you understand the expectations of your supervisor and the learning opportunities available. We also ask your supervisor to rate the relevance of the CLA Core Career Competencies to help you understand the importance and value of the competencies in the internship setting.

The Internship Learning Goals are intended to help you identify how you will use your internship experience to make connections to the concepts, theories, and practices of your major and your liberal arts education. There are 4 main elements to writing an effective learning goal:

1. Your Learning Goals: Articulate your purpose for doing the internship at your organization through specific learning goals. Each learning goal should address a minimum of one of the Core Career Competencies, which are transferable and desirable to many professions. You may also create learning goals based on the areas in which you want to focus your development during the internship:

• Knowledge Development – understanding factual information associated with the profession, and application of discipline - specific theories or concepts

• Professional/Personal Development – exploring a career interest or learning the values, attitudes, and rules of a desired profession to succeed in the field

• Skill Development – demonstrating the specific skills associated with the profession or industry2. Action Steps: What activities will you perform to reach your learning goals? Consider the following

• Who will you consult with or shadow?• What resources (written, verbal, etc.) will you utilize?• What activities will you observe or take part in?• What steps can you take beyond your job description (reading related books or articles,

interviewing professionals in the field, attending a board meeting)?3. Measurement of Learning Goals: How will you objectively and tangibly measure your success?Ideas

include:• Journals with observations, activities, reflections, or analysis connected to learning goals• Completion of RATE to demonstrate development of Core Career Competencies• Portfolio with examples of your projects or work• Mid-point or final evaluations, feedback from supervisor• Final presentation or reflective/analytical paper

4. Rationale: Explain why this learning goal is important to you.

To effectively use the Internship Learning Agreement form, follow these steps:1. Prepare a rough draft to show your site supervisor.

2. Meet with your site supervisor to review each goal, the action steps, and how you’ll measureyour progress. Remember that you are creating something that you’ll be using throughout yourinternship experience to evaluate your progress.

3. After meeting with your supervisor, update the form with any changes and add any additionaldetail to your goals, action steps, or methods.

4. Print out a copy of the completed form, sign it, and have your supervisor sign it. Keep a copy foryourself, and give a copy to your supervisor (and instructor, if you’re earning academic credit).

V. 1.0

STUDENT INFORMATION:

Student Name:_______________________________________________________ Major: __________________________________________________________________________

Student Email:________________________________________________________ Phone:__________________________________________________________________________

SITE & SUPERVISOR INFORMATION:

Name of Site:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Internship Site Address:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supervisor’s Name & Title:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supervisor’s Email:_________________________________________________ Supervisor’s Phone: _________________________________________________

INTERNSHIP POSITION INFORMATION:

Internship Position Title:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Start Date:_______________________________________ End Date: __________________________________________

Average number of hours anticipated at the internship site, per week: ________________________________________(Total hours needed depends on the number of credits a student is registered for and course requirements.)

Is the internship paid (stipend or hourly) or unpaid?___________________________________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTION OF INTERN’S DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:(On a day-to-day basis, what is expected of the intern? What projects will be included in the intern’s assignments, etc? Attach an additional page if necessary or a copy of the position description.)

RELEVANCE OF CLA CORE CAREER COMPETENCIES TO THE POSITION:Select the top 3 Core Career Competencies relevant to this internship position overall:

Analytical & Critical ThinkingApplied Problem SolvingEthical Reasoning & Decision Making

Innovation & CreativityOral & Written CommunicationEngaging DiversityTeamwork & Leadership

Active Citizenship & Community Engagement

Digital Literacy

Career Management

Internship Learning Agreement

Internship Position Information:

To be completed by the student intern with approval from the site supervisor.

V. 1.0

Internship Learning Goals:

Learning Goal #1:

Action Steps - What, when, where, and how will you accomplish your goal?

Measurement of Goal - How will you objectively measure your success?

Rationale - Explain why this goal is important to you.

Learning Goal #2:

Action Steps - What, when, where, and how will you accomplish your goal?

Measurement of Goal - How will you objectively measure your success?

Rationale - Explain why this goal is important to you.

Related Core Career Competencies(select all that apply)

Analytical & Critical Thinking

Applied Problem Solving

Ethical Reasoning & Decision Making

Innovation & Creativity

Oral & Written Communication

Teamwork & Leadership

Engaging Diversity

Active Citizenship & Community Engagement

Digital Literacy

Career Management

Related Core Career Competencies(select all that apply)

Analytical & Critical Thinking

Applied Problem Solving

Ethical Reasoning & Decision Making

Innovation & Creativity

Oral & Written Communication

Teamwork & Leadership

Engaging Diversity

Active Citizenship & Community Engagement

Digital Literacy

Career Management

Internship Learning Agreement

Describe four primary learning goals for this internship experience by completing all the prompts below for each goal. Please refer to the Internship Learning Agreement Overview for additional instructions on how to complete this portion.

V. 1.0

Stage of Approval:Initial draft - needs review by supervisor Final copy - supervisor has approved the above learning goals

Student Signature: _________________________________________________________________ Date: ______________________________________________________________

Site Supervisor Signature: _____________________________________________________ Date: _______________________________________________________________

Learning Goal #3:

Action Steps - What, when, where, and how will you accomplish your goal?

Measurement of Goal - How will you objectively measure your success?

Rationale - Explain why this goal is important to you.

Learning Goal #4:

Action Steps - What, when, where, and how will you accomplish your goal?

Measurement of Goal - How will you objectively measure your success?

Rationale - Explain why this goal is important to you.

Related Core Career Competencies(select all that apply)

Analytical & Critical Thinking

Applied Problem Solving

Ethical Reasoning & Decision Making

Innovation & Creativity

Oral & Written Communication

Teamwork & Leadership

Engaging Diversity

Active Citizenship & Community Engagement

Digital Literacy

Career Management

Related Core Career Competencies(select all that apply)

Analytical & Critical Thinking

Applied Problem Solving

Ethical Reasoning & Decision Making

Innovation & Creativity

Oral & Written Communication

Teamwork & Leadership

Engaging Diversity

Active Citizenship & Community Engagement

Digital Literacy

Career Management

V. 1.0

Internship Learning Agreement

Learning Goals Overview & Examples

College of Food, Agricultural & Natural Resource Sciences

Learning Goals will help you focus your energy on the things you want to learn during your internship/professional experience. Here is a model showing the different categories of learning that are important for professional effectiveness.

For this assignment, you will write four Learning Goals, two of the goals are to be professional/career goals and come from the top of the T above, and two of the goals are to be technical/functional/knowledge goals and come from the bottom of the T above.

Each Learning Goal must have at least two Action Steps.

The Learning Goal statement is what you need or intend to learn by the end of the semester.

Action Steps are the specific steps that you will take to make sure you achieve the goals you have set for yourself.

Be sure the Learning Goals, and specifically the Action Steps, are SMART:

Specific Measureable Actionable Realistic Timely

To prepare to write your Learning Goals, think about the answers to these two questions:

1. What are the professional or career skills you will need to be effective in your field 2 – 3 years from now? (this is the top of the T)

2. What are the technical or knowledge skills you’ll need 2 – 3 years from now? (this is the bottom of the T)

Learning Goal Examples

Professional Goal (top of the T) Learn how to use Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest in a business setting to market services to clients and increase sales.

• Action Item 1: Meet with the current social media coordinator within my first week of the internship to learn current practices and goals for their social media sites, to learn what is working well, and to understand the company’s vision for the future.

• Action Item 2: Research and read 2-4 articles/blogs that highlight best practices and trends in social media within the first two weeks of my internship.

• Action Item 3: By the end of week three, identify 1-2 additional social media strategies and practices discovered through my research that align best with the organization’s goals and share those with the current social media coordinator for feedback.

• Action Item 4: Co-manage the office’s social media site using existing approaches and new strategies by week 4 in conjunction with the current social media coordinator.

Career Goal (top of the T): Learn the Requirements and expectations for graduate school and evaluate whether I should go.

• Action Step 1: By week 2, talk with the two graduate students in my lab, and ask them why they chose to go to graduate school.

• Action Step 2: Before the end of my undergraduate research position, browse at least 5 graduate programs and locations. Write the pros and cons of each one.

• Action Step 3: Review the list I created in Action Step 2 with the graduate students in my lab, and ask for advice on how to apply for graduate school.

Functional Learning Goal (bottom of the T): Teach student athletes how to cook.

• Action Step 1: Propose idea with my supervisor with a presentation on what I will be doing and all the logistics of it (where, when, who, what, how much will it cost, etc.) by week 3.

• Action Step 2: Produce a sign-up sheet or presentation for the athletes to get them excited about the cooking class by week 5.

• Action Step 3: Put on the cooking class and create a handout for it (recipes) to give out during the presentation by week 10.

Technical Goal (bottom of the T): To learn and practice various water testing methods.

• Action Step 1: Read information provided by the past intern and other water testing materials provided by the organization during my first week.

• Action Step 2: Shadow current water tester at the company during my first 2 weeks to observe the water testing process.

• Action Step 3: By week 3, conduct water testing alone. Make a note of my questions or problems to ask my supervisor by email. Check in with supervisor about my water testing skills by week 4.

Checking in with Your Supervisor

Tips on scheduling meetings with your supervisor:• Understand your supervisor's preferences. These may include:

° Location ° Frequency ° When to schedule a meeting versus a phone call or email for immediate questions

• Take responsibility for initiating and scheduling the meetings.• Get to know your supervisor's personality type. (Do they like to chit-chat before diving into work topics,

or are they very work focused?)• Mutually determine how often you want to meet.• Stay within the time frame allotted for your meeting to be respectful of your supervisor’s busy schedule.

How to prepare for your meeting:• Have your questions identified prior to the meeting.

° List of possible questions to ask: - Do you have any feedback on my work or performance since our last meeting? (Be open to receiving that feedback!) - Are there any new opportunities that may align with my learning goals? - What resources might help me complete this project?

• If any questions require feedback, send your request in advance. • If you are bringing a problem to your supervisor, come prepared with a possible solution/s. Be ready to

share your thought process about how you came up with your solution.

Keep a record of what you discussed:

Date of Meeting Questions Feedback Received Action Needed

This worksheet offers a basic structure you can use for scheduling and preparing for meetings with your supervisor, as well as documenting what you learn from them.

V. 1.0

Mid-Point Internship Evaluation by Student

Instructions: This form is to be completed by the student intern. This evaluation should be shared and discussed with your supervisor to touch base on intern performance to date and adjust learning goals as needed for the second half of the internship experience.

Supervisor Name & Title:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Organization/Company Name:___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Student Name:_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Internship Title/Role:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. What primary projects or tasks have you worked on so far?

2. What progress have you made on your learning goals? Are there any adjustments that need to bemade for the second half of your internship? Or any additions of new learning goals?

3. Which of the following Core Career Competencies have you primarily used or developed in theinternship position so far? Select up to three:

1 2 3 4 5Takes initiative in completing tasks or suggesting new projects.Takes responsibility for their own work.

Shows willingness to learn new concepts, ideas, and methods.

Establishes priorities and follows through.Demonstrates efficient use of time.When given feedback, takes action to improve/change.

Acts with appropriate courtesy toward colleagues and clients or customers.

Is punctual and maintains agreed-upon hours. Works effectively with supervisor.Participates effectively in the work environment.

Analytical & Critical ThinkingApplied Problem SolvingEthical Reasoning & Decision Making

Innovation & CreativityOral & Written CommunicationEngaging DiversityTeamwork & Leadership

Active Citizenship& Community EngagementDigital LiteracyCareer Management

5. What do you need to do or change to improve the second half of this experience or better prepare forthis profession and the workplace? Please be as specific as possible.

I shared and discussed my responses above with my supervisor (strongly encouraged).

4. Please rate yourself on the following areas of Self-Management Skills & Professionalism: 1 = Unsatisfactory 2 = Improvement Needed 3 = Meets Expectations 4 = Exceeds Expectations 5 = Outstanding

V. 1.0

UMN – Twin Cities Student Intern Performance Evaluation by Supervisor

Site Supervisor:

Please complete this document and then share your response with your University of Minnesota intern in a scheduled meeting. The intern will submit the completed evaluation as a requirement of the internship course they are taking. If you have any questions for the University of Minnesota staff associated with this course, you may direct them to Career and Internship Services at 612-624-2710.

Section 1: Demographics

Intern Name: ___________________________

Intern Signature: ___________________________________________________________

Supervisor Name: ____________________________

Supervisor Signature: _______________________________________________________ Name of Internship Site: _____________________________________________________ Performance Evaluation Date:

Section 2: Ranking

Please rate your intern on the following criteria using this scale:

1 = Poor 2 = Fair 3 = Meets Expectations 4 = Good 5 = Excellent _____ Reports to the internship as scheduled on time, or communicates when scheduling conflict arises.

_____ Displays effective written and oral communication skills.

_____ Effectively solves problems and makes decisions.

_____ Manages and resolves conflicts in an effective manner.

_____ Accepts responsibility for mistakes and learns from experiences.

_____ Demonstrates the ability to work on a team.

_____ Willing to take initiative when necessary.

_____ Demonstrates professionalism.

_____ Please rate your intern’s overall performance within the internship thus far.

Section 3: Qualities Evaluation a. Please describe your intern’s progress on his/her learning goals and assigned tasks or projects.

b. Please describe 1-3 strengths of your intern.

c. Please describe 1-3 areas for development and improvement.

d. Has your intern shown you their Hours Record? Are you in agreement with the hours your intern has logged up until this point and their plan to complete all hours?

e. Please share any other comments or feedback regarding your intern’s work experience.