Internships/Employment

A common complaint heard from cooperative management today is finding experienced people to hire with the knowledge of cooperatives. They often hire people who have corporate business knowledge, but not cooperative business knowledge and end up using time and money to train them. Currently, five colleges/universities in North Dakota offer a cooperatives course--North Dakota State University, Dickinson State University, Lake Region State College, Minot State University, and the University of North Dakota. Students are being drawn from the business, agribusiness, and other departments. Students are learning about cooperatives, the steps to start a cooperative, and the financial differences of cooperatives versus corporation.

By offering an internship to these students and others, the cooperative can bring new talent into the company and work with the students without the obligation of employment. The students can meet short-term needs for extra assistance, and bring enthusiasm and current industry knowledge. As an example, one area Cooperative offered an internship to a student to re-design their website with the things the members wanted to have Internet access to. The end result was exactly what the Cooperative had hoped for.

Why should a Cooperative be interested in offering an internship? Perhaps the following statistics will shine some interesting light on reasons why. When surveyed, the employers in the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2003 survey said they considered their own internship programs as the most cost-effective method for recruiting new college graduates for full-time, permanent positions. These businesses reported that 32 percent of new college hires come from their internship programs. NACEs Job Outlook Fall Preview survey revealed that employers are expected to hire 3.6 percent fewer 2003 college graduates. The only region projecting a positive outlook for college hiring was the Midwest. The employees in this region expect to hire 11.2 percent more new college grads this year (2002-2003) than last year. The worst outlook was in the West with a drop of 15.7 percent.

There are many advantages for a business to have an internship program. The internship program enables the employer and student to "try each other on for size." From the Cooperative's view, a manager of a local elevator said about hiring so few people is that hiring the "right" one is extremely important. An internship allows the employer to see how the person works out without any obligation for employment. From the student's point of view, being able to work for a company, live in the area, and know the other employees enables them to know whether they would like to work for that company after graduation.

The survey showed that, overall, 80% of the companies responding to the survey had an internship program:

*manufacturing - 84.3%

*service-sector - 80.1%

*government/non-profit - 56%

More than 55% of those hired by manufacturers had internship experience.

Some suggestions when designing a successful internship program include:

• Choose a project that will be manageable, rewarding, and challenging for the intern
• When interviewing the applicant, find out what areas they are interested in
• Pay interns competitive wages
• Expose interns to different departments
• Set aside time for interns to meet with senior management
• Seek feedback from the interns during and upon completing the program

Having an internship program at your Cooperative is a win-win situation for all concerned. For more information on how to design and offer an internship program, see the next section or contact Dr. Frayne Olson, Director of the Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives.

Internships are a win-win situation. There are many benefits for both the employer and the student. The employers benefit by introducing future employees to the strengths of the company and have the opportunity to work with the student. Internships give the student a chance to use what they have learned in the classroom and gain hands-on experience in a work environment. Benefits to employers include:

• An internship program provides an opportunity for companies to make an investment in their future labor force.
• Many interns are hired full-time by the companies they had internships with after graduation.
• Interns can work on short-term or specialized projects, thus freeing current staff for other responsibilities.
• Interns give employers a link to the current curricula and research advances in the industry.
• An internship program increases a company’s visibility by exposing interns to a company’s organization, products, and services.

If your cooperative is interested in offering an internship to a student:

• Contact the departmental field experience advisor
• Develop a job description that details what the intern will be doing in your organization
• Determine the salary that will be offered

Since the market for students is highly competitive, here are some additional thoughts to consider:

• Make sure the salary you are considering is competitive
• Increase your company’s visibility on campus through informational meetings and attend recruiting events sponsored by the college
• Some employers offer same or similar benefits to interns as full-time employees
• Some employers assist interns in finding housing or furnish housing for remote assignments
• Some employers pay the cost that is incurred by the student for the internship credits

If you need further help in designing a cooperatives internship, please contact:
Frayne Olson

When you are ready to offer an internship to a student, please contact: Ms. Jody Jahner, Internship Coordinator NDSU Career Center Phone: 701/231-7110 or email: Jody.Jahner@ndsu.edu Employers can also post internship and employment opportunities on the NDSU Career Center’s website, CAREERlink, for no charge.

Additional recruiting at NDSU information can be found at: https://career-advising.ndsu.edu/internship-program/