When to Post Internships

When Should Employers Post Internship Openings?

The rule of thumb regarding how far in advance an employer should post an internship is 7 to 10 weeks prior to the intern's expected start date.

When it comes to posting internships, a common employer error is to post openings before they've given enough thought to the internship program itself. In fact, in the 12 steps to starting an internship program, posting the position on Internships.com isn't until step 10.

Posting the internship position too far ahead of time creates a host of issues: On one hand, if you haven't moved sequentially through the steps to starting an internship program, you won't know what types of tasks you'll want to assign to interns. If you don't know what the internship position entails, how can you be sure you're hiring the best intern for the job?

Another issue that arises when you post an internship to early is that you end up caught in a time crunch prior to the intern's start date: I've seen employers with interns due to report for duty in one week, and they're still struggling to put together the program.

Essentially, employers should develop their internship programs first; you should begin the hiring process (steps 10-12) 7 to 10 weeks before an intern's start date.

And what exactly will fill that final 7-to-10-week process? Once you post the internship, you'll want to wait a week or two for resumes to roll in (so you have a larger selection). Avoid evaluating candidates too early, as you want to give yourself a good idea of what types of candidates you have to choose from.

You'll then spend time sifting through submissions, scheduling and conducting interviews and second interviews, soliciting input from employees who will supervise or work closely with interns, deliberating, and making your final decisions…which hopefully won't be the Friday before an intern is scheduled to start work!

Want to learn more? Read the following article(s) for additional information:

• How to Start an Internship Program: 12 Steps to Setting Up an Internship Program at Your Organization
• Should Employers Conduct Second Interviews When Hiring Interns?

The Best Ways to Find Interns

We’ve made finding and managing the internship recruitment process simple.  In fact you’re just three steps away from starting an internship program. 

Step 1: CREATE INTERNSHIP

• Register – complete all the fields for the best experience on internships.com

• Post an internship
  1. Use one of our sample internship descriptions, copy it and customize it for your company needs.
  2. Fill in as much information as you can – it helps the right students find you. Please use a descriptive title on your internship – that means you’ll get the right kind of applicants.
  3. Need help? Go to our Help Center to search our knowledge base or to contact us.

Step 2: REVIEW APPLICATIONS

• Get applications – when students apply to your internship you get email message to view their resume application. Just log in to internships.com site to view all applicants in one place.

Step 3: MANAGE APPLICANTS & SEARCH INTERN RESUMES

• Use the Manage Applicants part of your account to classify each application, sort, and search through applicants quickly and easier. It’s much easier than a bunch of emails with attachments!

• Search for interns in our resume database to proactively find students and invite them to apply to your internship. Find just the right candidates by reviewing resumes and then contacting students through internships.com.

• Update or edit your listings from Manage Internships part of your account. You can also close internships once you have filled them.

• Duplicate listings to create your internship posting for the next semester.

Get tips on year-round or virtual internship options here.

Sample Internship Descriptions

Read any of the sample internship descriptions below. These are meant to provide you with ideas for your internship listings. You are welcome to post any type of internship on this website; these are just a few examples to get you started.

Finding an Intern Already Trained to Deliver: iCertified

Most employers understand, or know from experience, that interns have the potential to be a great asset to a company's success. But occasionally, an intern without the proper training or preparation is hired, and then the effectiveness of that internship may not meet expectations.

Most employers would agree that an intern who has an understanding of how to work with others, communicate professionally, who understands the need to work effectively within company culture before an internship begins is valuable. To help you find that prepared intern, ICI has developed the Intern Certification Program (ICP) to give you a greater sense of confidence that the interns you hire will be an asset.

The Intern Certification Program (ICP) trains interns to deliver high performance by teaching them professional competencies and providing both you and the intern with performance and assessment tools to keep on track. Hiring interns that are iCertified reduces the need for your company to develop a lengthy internship orientation program, because your certified intern has already been prepared for the professional workplace.

To be iCertified, a candidate must prove they have successfully learned about the following 10 competencies.

• Work Quality emphasizes positive attitude and workplace etiquette as well as how to track accountability.
• Productivity teaches students how to prioritize, manage workloads and communicate clearly, especially with their supervisor. The iCertified intern has learned the importance of properly managing their time.
• Self-Development addresses proper professional appearance and dress for both men and women. This competency also instructs new interns on how to network and conduct conversations with colleagues.
• Effort & Initiative utilizes the strengths and behaviors of each intern to build credibility with your company. Interns identify their strengths in an Internship Predictor profile with tips to help them maximize those strengths.
• Effective Communication reminds the intern to write and speak professionally, and to build credibility.
• Customer Focus instructs iCertified interns to learn the business, products and customer profile at their internship site. They also learn how to be knowledgeable so employers won't have to be concerned about interns interacting with customers.
• Job Knowledge helps the intern and the supervisor jointly set feasible goals. One of the tools we provide is an Internship Roadmap, which details how to map the right course toward meeting these goals and developing a growth plan based on the 10 competencies reviewed in our program.
• Teamwork & Cooperation assures that the iCertified intern will collaborate with colleagues and accept responsibility for building work relationships. Employees will be comfortable asking proactive interns to take on more assignments, increasing organizational productivity.
• Problem Solving educates the intern on the 5 Principles to Problem Solving, ranging from identifying and clarifying the problem to implementing the best solution.
• Modeling Company Values educates the intern on the importance of learning the company values and culture. The iCertified intern has learned how to understand "how things are done," making him or her more valuable and effective.

When the internship ends, supervisors can use the Intern Performance & Development Assessment tool. The supervisor will easily be able to evaluate the intern on three levels—Exceeds Expectations, Meets Expectations, or Needs Improvement. This document may be especially useful if your company is considering offering the intern a permanent position in the future.

Internship programs are an effective recruiting tool, saving companies from spending time and money on costly recruitment. Recent surveys report that former interns make up an average of 40% of entry level employees.

"Employers can pretest a potential employee through an internship," says Colleen Sabatino, ICI's Chief Content Officer, "and an iCertified intern that has been pre-trained to high standards could be one of your most promising future hires."