INTRODUCTION
We've seen a sharp rise in remote working across most industry sectors in 2020, and students have also had to adapt to online learning platforms. While the initial reaction may have been to suspend work experience and internships, many employers have embraced the virtual landscape and continued to run highly successful programmes. If you are an employer considering your internship options for 2021, this guide offers a sample of best practice that will help you deliver and benefit from a world class internship experience.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HIRING A VIRTUAL INTERN? TALENT PIPELINING Internships offer organisations a great opportunity to test out potential future hires. Moving to a virtual landscape means that location and cost-of-travel are no longer prohibitive considerations and therefore recruitment is open to wider pool of candidates.
MUTUAL BENEFIT Internships offer students an invaluable opportunity for exposure to work practices and access to senior team members that can otherwise be difficult to navigate. Your business benefits in return through the unrivalled levels of enthusiasm, bringing with it fresh perspectives and new approaches to the project at hand.
FLEXIBILITY A virtual internship allows for more flexibility around working hours, allowing employers to balance workload and pivot around work requirements more productively, whilst encouraging, directing and mentoring the intern.
ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY Employers are encouraged to be intentional about the preparation of the projects they would like their interns to work on so they can be as productive as possible during their virtual internships. There is less time spent on mapping resources in the office and general day-to-day logistics.
COST SAVINGS Having a virtual intern eliminates the need for extra office space, computers, supplies and other overheads. Queen's also have internship funding programmes available to help cover a student’s salary during the internship period.
6 ESSENTIALS IN DELIVERING A WORLD-CLASS VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE TECHNOLOGY Having the right technology is key to a successful Virtual Internship. Access to email and a phone is the bear minimum but thankfully there is now a plethora of widely accessible collaborative technology tools that require very limited training. Students are already familiar with learning online and most will likely have experience in using your chosen platforms but it is important to test this on day one and identify any compatibility issues or training requirements. The most common virtual meeting platforms are Zoom and MS Teams and there are a number of instant messaging applications such as Slack, Webex or Google Meet that can help deliver a seamless and collaborative experience.
ONBOARDING Virtual onboarding preceded the pandemic and has been commonplace for many international businesses with remote teams. So many organisations have this down to a fine art. Rather than bombarding the intern with too much information, it is best to best to spread this over 2-3 days. Provide some organisational literature and materials but also encourage your intern to independently exploreinformation for themselves as part of the initial familiarisations. Set up virtual meetings with a range of people within the organisation, given them insight to different functions and opening up relevant touch points. Include some interactive tasks, encourage questions and make sure that onboarding is two-way throughout.
PROJECT PLAN It is important that there is a project plan in place to structure the internship experience. There should be clear expectations and an agreed set of deliverables with associated timelines so that the intern can work towards achieving the objectives. The project plan can be formulated collaboratively with the intern so that their objectives are central to the experience. Having a solid project plan can be a great to measure progress throughout and after the internship.
SUPPORT This is often a students first experience in a professional working environment, and it can be daunting. It is important at the outset to outline the supervisory structure and offer regular touchpoints along the way. Introducing a buddy system, often buddying with a recent graduate, is a popular way to support your intern through the programme. Queen's will ensure that the student also has an assigned point of contact within the University as an additional layer of support.
SOCIAL ACTIVITY It’s not all about the work, at least we hope it’s not! There may be some restrictions on our social activities in the current climate but the Virtual Internship still offers a great opportunity to showcase the lighter side of your work culture. Encourage social interactions through team building activities such as virtual coffee meetings, team quizzes or other activities that bring the teams together outside the core demands of work. Be conscious of individual preferences and cautious that boundaries are not crossed but where possible make it fun!
COMMUNICATION For a great Virtual Internship experience, a communication plan is key. Having regular and scheduled meetings brings a level of comfort and inclusivity to the interns and offers an ideal mechanism to track progress and identify any potential issues. Having clear and open communication channels to relevant stakeholders across the organisation is also best practice and encourages your intern to interact more freely. Always best to be proactive with communication as well as encouraging your intern to be forthcoming with communications outside the scheduled touchpoints.
HOW TO GET STARTED DEVELOP THE JOB DESCRIPTION It is essential to develop an internship description much like a regular job description that includes a brief overview and a list of key activities as well as guidelines around dates for interviews and commencement. This should also include a personal specification to help target the appropriate student applications with key skills and competencies identified.
ADVERTISE INTERNSHIP ON MYFUTURE Once you have it ready, you can promote the opportunity to Queen's student via our online recruitment portal, MyFuture. All you need to do is sign in to MyFuture, complete the form, selecting your student study area and post the job. The Employer Engagement Team can support you through this process if required by contacting recruit@qub.ac.uk.
RECRUIT YOUR INTERN When you have shortlisted applications against the set criteria, candidates should be invited to attend a virtual interview where a successful intern can be appointed. Virtual interviews can be conducted through meeting software packages such as Zoom or MS Teams. It is important to consider that this may be the first interview a student has attended so allow for some level of nervousness and offer some level of support throughout, particularly with the virtual interaction. It is important also that you ascertain through the interview that the student has the required skills to participate in the internship programme rather than this come as a surprise on commencement, where expectations could then become unrealistic.
EXPLORE YOUR FUNDING OPTIONS There are a number of programmes available in partnership with Queen's that offer employers full or partial funding for your internship. Further information on our internship programmes is available on our website. Once you have identified a programme of interest, please contact recruit@qub.ac.uk for further information or help to get started.