Difference between revisions of "Volunteer Internship Process for Supervisors"

Latest revision as of 14:09, 20 October 2011

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.

Volunteer Intern Hiring Procedure

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). Use this template:Volunteer Intern.
- Prioritize your different internships, and let an Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator know how many interns you can handle at once.
Job posted on website and on other sites.
- The job description is posted by Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator on our internships page.
Volunteers apply!
- Those interested in internships at Free Geek will be directed to the application, asked to choose which internship interests them, and apply for the internship.
Intern is screened.
- The Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator reviews the online application and if it seems like a good fit, the application is forwarded to the Internship supervisor.
- The Internship Supervisor also reviews the application and if it seems like a good fit, they encourage the intern to take a tour of the facility and schedule an interview with the intern (an initial phone interview could be scheduled prior to a tour or face to face interview.) The interview is scheduled to determine if the internship is a good fit. If it's not, please direct the prospective intern towards another internship or one of our regular volunteer programs, if possible.

If an internship supervisor ever wants to make changes to his/her internship description, make changes on the wiki then be sure to alert the Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator so she can make changes to the website versions of the job descriptions.

Intern Interview/Processing

Interview.
- During the face-to-face interview with the prospective intern, the prospective FG supervisor asks some questions to see if the applicant would be appropriate for the position.
- Please update the Intern Interview Questions wiki page with new or reworded questions as needed. It'll help other supervisors! Some area supervisors have their own questions they like to ask during an interview. Please feel free to develop your own questions, and share them with the IPC.
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.
Let the applicant know the decision.
- The supervisor 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.
Schedule and paperwork.
- The supervisor will work out a schedule with the intern, and will let the Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator know the schedule. If the intern has additional paperwork for school or another organization, the intern should provide them with the paperwork. Paperwork will be filed with the volunteer applications.
Logistical details. If intern is brought on, their free geek supervisor should:
- Add the new intern to the schedule in the database.
- Have new volunteer intern sign the Volunteer Intern Contract and file with other volunteer intern paperwork. Some areas have come up with their own area-specific expectations for interns to sign.
- Introduce the intern to everyone on staff, especially any staff that will have regular contact with them.

The Supervisor keeps track of paperwork, evaluations, timesheets, etc. and will work to juggle these things, although...
The responsibility ultimately lands on the intern him/herself to be sure the evaluations and other paperwork are filled out by their FG supervisor on time.

Intern Training/Maintainence

Training.
- The intern's Free Geek supervisor trains the new intern. Don't forget, training should happen throughout the intern's time here - it's not just a one-time thing.
Introduce intern to the community.
- Once you know your intern is going to keep showing up regularly, let staff and volunteers know that we have a new intern. This will help the intern integrate into our community, and help others accommodate to this new helper.
Check in.
- Once your intern is settled, showing up reliably, and doing a good job, it can be easy to just let them do their job for a long time because, well, they're doing such a great job, and why would you want to change that? We want to keep them engaged, too. Please check in once every month or two. It can be informal, and cover stuff like: 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?
Problems?
- If there are discipline problems with the intern, use the Volunteer Discipline Policy. Let the Volunteer and Front Desk 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 and Front Desk Coordinator should get in touch with their case manager-type person at that agency.

Exit: At the End of the Internship

Exit Interview
- Intern Exit Questions

Longer-Term

Supervisors should also be sure to approach the Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator with any issues they have with the program or if something doesn't seem right. Periodic check-ins with supervisors will occur to see how their interns are doing and make sure the supervisors understand and are satisfied with the program.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Below you will find the unpaid (by Free Geek) intern application and supervising process.
+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 a Detailed Volunteer Intern Job Description==
+==Volunteer Intern Hiring Procedure==
-# The volunteer program coordinator works with individual staff members to create a detailed job description for a needed internship.  The job description is posted on our [http://www.freegeek.org/internships/ internships page].
+# '''Make the job description'''.
-# 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. The volunteer program coordinator then forwards the application on to the prospective FG supervisor, who decides whether to interview the prospective intern.The volunteer program coordinator is available for those cases in which the prospective intern needs more consultation.
+#* 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). Use this [[template:Volunteer Intern]].
+#* Prioritize your different internships, and let an Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator know how many interns you can handle at once.
+# '''Job posted on website and on other sites'''.
+#* The job description is posted by Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator on our [http://www.freegeek.org/internships/ internships page].
+# '''Volunteers apply!'''
+#* Those interested in internships at Free Geek will be directed to the [http://www.freegeek.org/volunteer/internships/apply/internship application], asked to choose which internship interests them, and apply for the internship.
+# '''Intern is screened'''.
+#* The Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator reviews the online application and if it seems like a good fit, the application is forwarded to the Internship supervisor.
+#* The Internship Supervisor also reviews the application and if it seems like a good fit, they encourage the intern to take a tour of the facility and schedule an interview with the intern (an initial phone interview could be scheduled prior to a tour or face to face interview.) The interview is scheduled to determine if the internship is a good fit. If it's not, please direct the prospective intern towards another internship or one of our regular volunteer programs, if possible.
-==Intern Screening/Interview==
+* If an internship supervisor ever wants to make changes to his/her internship description, make changes on the wiki then be sure to ''alert the Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator'' so she can make changes to the website versions of the job descriptions.
-#* During the face-to-face interview with the sponsor (and possibly one other), the FG staff member asks [[Intern Interview Questions | some questions]] to see if the applicant would be appropriate for the position.
-#* Applicant leaves Free Geek.  Interviewers talk after the interview to accept or deny the applicant (rejecting an intern is OK!  We shouldn't feel forced to take people on if they won't do well in the internship for which they're applying). Applicant  can apply for another internship if they don't get the one they interviewed for.  Or just volunteer, or whatever.
+==Intern Interview/Processing==
-#* Sponsor or the volunteer program coordinator calls or emails applicant the outcome.
+# '''Interview'''.
-#: ''Let The volunteer program coordinator know if you bring someone on as a new intern (someone needs to oversee the process!). Even better, print off your new intern's application and hand it to The volunteer program coordinator.''
+#* During the face-to-face interview with the prospective intern, the prospective FG supervisor asks [[Intern Interview Questions | some questions]] to see if the applicant would be appropriate for the position.
-# If intern is brought on, their free geek supervisor should:
+#* Please update the [[Intern Interview Questions]] wiki page with new or reworded questions as needed.  It'll help other supervisors! Some area supervisors have their own questions they like to ask during an interview. Please feel free to develop your own questions, and share them with the IPC.
-#* handles paperwork, evaluations, timesheets, etc. (although The volunteer program coordinator would like copies of it all, which he/she can make for herself).
+# '''Decide yes or no for that applicant'''.
-#* put the intern's schedule on the [[Volunteer Intern Schedule]] page.
+#* 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.
-#* introduce the intern to everyone on staff, especially any staff that will have regular contact with them
+# '''Let the applicant know the decision'''.
+#* The supervisor 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.
+# '''Schedule and paperwork'''.
+#* The supervisor will work out a schedule with the intern, and will let the Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator know the schedule. If the intern has additional paperwork for school or another organization, the intern should provide them with the paperwork. Paperwork will be filed with the volunteer applications.
+# '''Logistical details'''. If intern is brought on, their free geek supervisor should:
+#* Add the new intern to the schedule in the database.
+#* Have new volunteer intern sign the [[Volunteer Intern Contract]] and file with other volunteer intern paperwork. Some areas have come up with their own area-specific expectations for interns to sign.
+#* Introduce the intern to everyone on staff, especially any staff that will have regular contact with them.
+* The Supervisor keeps track of paperwork, evaluations, timesheets, etc. and will work to juggle these things, although...
+* The responsibility ultimately lands on the intern him/herself to be sure the evaluations and other paperwork are filled out by their FG supervisor on time.
 ==Intern Training/Maintainence==
-# 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.
+# '''Training'''.
-# Intern should check in weekly with sponsor, reviewing concerns about their area, documentation, etc.
+#* The intern's Free Geek supervisor trains the new intern.  Don't forget, training should happen throughout the intern's time here - it's not just a one-time thing.
-# 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 [[Volunteer Intern Schedule | schedule]].
+# '''Introduce intern to the community'''.
-# 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.
+#* Once you know your intern is going to keep showing up regularly, let staff and volunteers know that we have a new intern. This will help the intern integrate into our community, and help others accommodate to this new helper.
-# If there are discipline problems with the intern, use the [[Volunteer Discipline Policy]].  Let The volunteer program coordinator or a member of the [[HR | 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.
+# '''Check in'''.
+#* Once your intern is settled, showing up reliably, and doing a good job, it can be easy to just let them do their job for a long time because, well, they're doing such a great job, and why would you want to change that?  We want to keep them engaged, too.  Please check in once every month or two.  It can be informal, and cover stuff like: 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?
+# '''Problems?'''
+#* If there are discipline problems with the intern, use the [[Volunteer Discipline Policy]].  Let the Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator or a member of the [[HR | HR Committee]] know about it.  If the intern came to us through an outside agency, you or the Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator should get in touch with their case manager-type person at that agency.
+==Exit: At the End of the Internship==
+# '''Exit Interview'''
+#* [[Intern Exit Questions]]
-==Final Wrap-up==
+==Longer-Term==
-# 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.
+Supervisors should also be sure to approach the Volunteer and Front Desk Coordinator with any issues they have with the program or if something doesn't seem right. Periodic check-ins with supervisors will occur to see how their interns are doing and make sure the supervisors understand and are satisfied with the program.
 [[Category: Volunteer Internships]]