Interns%20Rock!

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Interns Rock!
Designing an Intern Program for the Volunteer
Services Office
Kathryn Berry Carter, CAVS, CVA St. Jude
Childrens Research Hospital, Director of
Volunteer Services Kathryn.berry-carter_at_stjude.org
901-595-2277
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Who Has Interns?

• Who currently engages interns?
• Paid/ unpaid
• Where do they come from?
• In general, what motivates them to apply?

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Why Invest in an Intern Program?

• Provide students with real world experience
• Recruitment source for future employees
• Expansion of staff capacity
• Frees staff for more complex management duties
• Allows for increased quality of services
• Program expansion and quality
  improvement

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Before Implementation

• Do you have space computer, desk?
• Who will manage and support them?
• Do you have projects interns can call their
  own?
• Have you considered the legal perspective?

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Identify Your Intern Usage/ Needs

• Brainstorm with your team a dream list
• Ask volunteers are VS services lacking in any
  area?
• Ask internal staff what more can VS do for
  them?
• Benchmark with other internal departments
• Benchmark with outside institutions

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Intern Classifications

• Volunteer experiential learning
• Paid versus unpaid position
• Academic credit only
• Paid by outside entity work study, grant,
  scholarship, etc.
• Some combination

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Intern Position Description

• Who will mentor?
• Hours of position?
• List paid/ unpaid
• Learning opportunities
• Education required preferred degrees
• Professional experience and work history
• Special skills, knowledge, and abilities
• Volunteer experience

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Recruitment of Interns

• Include posting on your volunteer web site
• Check your posting via Google search
• Seek out professors in preferred degree at local
  colleges
• Student associations (PRSSA, Non Profit
  Certification, Fraternal organizations, student
  government, student activities)
• College career centers
• Word of mouth

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Web Posting

• Be transparent about what youre looking for in a
  candidate
• List typical learning opportunities
• Education Required
• Characteristics and experience of the successful
  candidate
• How to apply
• Deadlines
• Questions and contact information

www.stjude.org/volintern
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Application Content

• Students declare the semester they are applying
  for
• Indicate if theyve previously applied
• Declare previous patient connection
• Confirm their academic status, major and GPA
• Indicate if the internship is for academic credit
• List work and volunteer experience
• Upload resume and cover letter

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Interviewing and Hiring

• Review of cover letter and resume
• Phone screen
• Behavioral and situational interviewing
• Format of face to face interviewing who is
  included
• Interview scoring
• Reference checks
• Extending the position

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Interview Sample Questions

• Tell me about a manager, mentor, supervisor, or
  team leader with whom you have had a productive
  relationship. Why was it productive? Have you
  ever had difficulty with such a person? How did
  you resolve the conflict?
• Describe the characteristics of people with whom
  you enjoy working.  Those you dislike.  What do
  you do when required to work with someone you
  dislike.  How do you handle the situation/person?

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Interview Sample Questions

• Tell me the most difficult communication problem
  you have faced?  What made it difficult?  How did
  you overcome the barriers?
• Tell me about a time when you planned an event
  from start to finish. Please give specific
  examples.
• Describe a time when you found a problem and took
  action to correct it rather than wait for someone
  else.

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Preparing for Interview
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Effective On-boarding Training

• Institutional training check list dictates
  content
• Creating structure to make on-boarding simple
  ensure consistency between interns (manuals)
• Treated as co-worker, part of team
• Setting goals, evaluative meetings
• Establish reporting structure, sick/ call-in,
  recording time, pay procedure
• Determine flexible and ongoing communication
  systems between intern and supervisor

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Standardized Orientation

• Dont re-create the wheel semester to semester
  
• Director orientation
• Coordinator orientation
• Administrative Assistant orientation
• Previous interns leave manuals or notes behind
• Attendance at volunteer orientation

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Increasing Interns Productivity

• Creating goals and expectations
• Daily or weekly check-in meetings open door
  policy
• Giving assignments they can own
• Clearly defining reporting structure
• Frequent check-ins
• Addressing issues immediately directly
• Determine interns pace and multi-tasking
  ability adapt accordingly

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Increasing Interns Productivity

• Beginning, middle and end formal eval /review of
  goal progress
• Require interns to contribute to manuals/
  instructions for future interns
• Encourage internal networking professional
  development
• Include interns on staff meetings and internal
  meetings where appropriate

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Goals Template

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Evaluation Template

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Examples of Intern Contributions

• Volunteen program
• Newsletter articles spotlights
• Coordination of photography videography
• Supply procurement

• Plan and implement appreciation events video
  creation, photography, logistics, creativity
• Daily program stat tracking
• Quality improvement initiatives

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Examples of Intern Contributions

• Creation of Power Point presentations
• Organizing work spaces and storage
• Implementing conferences and meetings
• Fill-in shift volunteers Helping Hands
• Reports, data tracking, entry, creating graphs
• Technology gurus (Volgistics on-line scheduling
  applications)
• Hosting patient special events

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ABCs of Volunteer Services
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Supplies
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Hospitality Carts
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Data Tracking
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Volunteer Spotlight
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Volunteen Program
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Volunteer Appreciation
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DOVIA
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Volgistics Self-Scheduling Feature
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Intern File Maintenance

• Attach photo to their file
• Keep offer letter, cover letter/ resume, training
  documentation, goals and expectations, reviews,
  exit paperwork
• Include summary of what they did
• Notables, work performance, job success factors,
  short comings
• Be prepared to give reference

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Break-Out Session

• Discuss your existing intern program what might
  you do to improve it?
• Outline ideas for implementing your own intern
  program. List three simple things you can do
  tomorrow!
• Brainstorm 5 new projects you could ask an intern
  to implement.

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Group Discussion Ideas and Lessons Learned

• How will you improve your existing programs?
• What will you implement tomorrow
• What intern project ideas did you come up with?

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For a Closer Look . . .
www.stjude.org/Volintern
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Questions, Comments?
Kathryn.Berry-Carter_at_stjude.org