Volunteer Internship Process for Supervisors

Below you will find the unpaid (by Free Geek) intern application and supervising process. If you're coordinating the Internship Program, check out Volunteer Intern Process for Program Coordinators.

Create and Document a Detailed Volunteer Intern Job Description

1. Make the job description.
   • The volunteer program coordinator works with individual staff members to create a detailed job description for a needed internship. Be sure there's enough staff time and desire to support an intern in the position you'd like. The working copy of the job description is posted on the wiki under the "Volunteer Internships" category (link at the bottom of this page).
2. Job posted on website.
   • The job description is posted by Internship Program Coordinators on our internships page.
3. Volunteers apply!
   • Those interested in internships at Free Geek will be directed to the internships page, asked to choose which internship interests them, and apply for the internship.
4. Intern is screened.
   • The Internship Prog. Coord.s (IPCs) then makes a screening phone call to the prospective intern to be sure they're a pretty good fit for the internship they've chosen, or direct them towards another internship.
5. Read the application.
   • One of the IPCs then forwards the application to the prospective FG supervisor, who decides whether to interview the prospective intern.
6. Interview is scheduled.
   • If the supervisor would like an interview, the IPC will schedule one.

• If an internship supervisor ever wants to make changes to his/her internship description, make changes on the wiki then be sure to alert an internship program coordinator so she can make changes to the website versions of the job descriptions.

Intern Screening/Interview

1. Interview.
   • During the face-to-face interview with the sponsor and one of the IPCs, the prospective FG supervisor asks some questions to see if the applicant would be appropriate for the position.
2. Decide yes or no for that applicant.
   • Interviewers talk after the interview to accept or deny the applicant. The supervisor might also make the decision before the interview is over and tell the applicant.
3. Let the applicant know the decision.
   • Sponsor or the IPC calls or emails applicant with the outcome. If you let the applicant know your decision before the end of the interview, of course skip this step.
4. Schedule and paperwork.
   • If this wasn't figured out during the interview, you or the IPC will need to make a phone call and/or schedule a meeting to figure these out. The IPC will keep the paperwork up in the Wine Cellar offices.
5. If intern is brought on, their free geek supervisor should:
   • handles paperwork, evaluations, timesheets, etc. (although The volunteer program coordinator would like copies of it all, which he/she can make for herself).
   • put the intern's schedule on the Volunteer Intern Schedule page.
   • introduce the intern to everyone on staff, especially any staff that will have regular contact with them

Intern Training/Maintainence

1. The intern's Free Geek sponsor trains the new intern. Don't forget, training should happen throughout the intern's time here - it's not just a one-time thing.
2. Intern should check in weekly with sponsor, reviewing concerns about their area, documentation, etc.
3. Once you know your intern is going to keep showing up regularly, let Core know that we have a new intern (and, ideally, point to their new schedule.
4. Sponsor has an informal review with intern after 3 weeks. This is an opportunity to informally talk about what's going right, what's going wrong, is the intern happy where he/she is, or would they like to change their job description? This meeting focuses more on how the intern is doing overall than the weekly check-ins, which focus on the specifics. The volunteer program coordinator can make a form for this if you want.
5. If there are discipline problems with the intern, use the Volunteer Discipline Policy. Let The volunteer program coordinator or a member of the HR Committee know about it. If the intern came to us through an outside agency, you or The volunteer program coordinator should get in touch with their case manager-type person at that agency.

Final Wrap-up

1. Final review/wrap-up. A time to review what's happened, what they've learned, how they've improved, what they need to work on, etc. We should also get input from them about how their experience here was and if we should do something different next time.

Note: If a sponsor feels like he or she is getting overloaded with too many interns, they should speak to the volunteer program coordinator: we can stop offering internsip positions in that area. Stress levels will most likely vary with how hands-free and helpful the intern is. Sponsors might want to set limits on the number of interns they'd be willing to take on.