Is the internship site a good one?

How to Screen an Internship Site - Tips for Students: 

• What do you know about the organization/agency you are considering interning with?

• Who will be your supervisor?

• Does the organization have a plan for you, and the work you will do?

• Money, housing, transportation?

What do you know about the organization/agency you are considering interning with?

• Does your target organization seem to have a reputation for quality?
  Remember, you want to gain experience working with organizations and professionals who are highly regarded in their field.
  
  Experience and employment references from an organization that is not respected will not be a career building experience for you.
  
   

• Talk with Unity faculty, CRC staff, Unity alumni, and professionals and other students in your field.  Have they heard good things about the organization?
  

• Do they know people who have interned for, or are working for, your target agency?  If "yes" try to follow up and talk with people who have, or are working, for your target organization. Get the "real scoop" about the organization.

• Review the organization's literature and website.
  Do the materials seem professional? 

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Who will be your supervisor?

• Have you met and talked with your potential supervisor?

  • Have you discussed how often you and your supervisor will meet?

  • Does he/she seem like a supervisor you will enjoy working for and learning from?
    

• What is your supervisor's background/area of expertise?  Is it a match for your area of interest?

• Is your potential supervisor interested in having an intern?
  Sometimes organizations coerce employees into supervising an intern that the employee doesn't want. It might be better to pass on an internship than to accept a position where you will not have a good supervisor.
   

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Does the organization have a plan for you, and the work you will do?

• A written position description is a good indication the organization is taking their responsibilities and your internship seriously.

  • Read your job description. Is it clear? Is this what you want to do?

  • Talk with the agency to reach a clear understanding of how you will be spending your time.
    
     

• Have they had interns and/or seasonal employees/volunteers in the past? 
  Though not critical to a successful internship, organizations that
  have experience bringing on interns and/or seasonal employees
  often developed excellent strategies to orient, train and supervise new employees/ interns.

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 Money, housing, transportation?

• Will you be able to keep your commitment to the internship site?
  Sometimes in eagerness to secure the position, interns will say "yes" to things that may not actually work for them.

Review the questions below to help you think
 about the commitment you are making.

• Volunteer, stipend or hourly wage? 
  Each can work very well, but be realistic.
  • Can you afford to volunteer 60 hours a week, with no housing or food provided? Consider negotiating with the agency and offering to volunteering 20 hours a week and then find a paying job, perhaps not in your field.
  • Will minimum wage provide enough money for you to rent an apartment?
    Perhaps a position with a stipend that provides on site housing would work better for you.
     

• Do you need housing?

  • Is it available on site?
  • Will the agency help you find low cost housing in the area?
  • Can you really live in a tent for the summer? Have you done it before? Will this solution really work for you?
     
• Transportation?
  • If the organization is many miles from your home, do you have reliable transportation?
  • Can you afford the 120 mile round trip commute six days a week for the whole summer?
  • The answer may well be "yes" but do think about what will be involved.