Employer Internship Guide

• Conditions of internship

  Students must be at least 18 years old to participate in an internship. If a student is under 18 years of age, the NYU Abu Dhabi dean of students must authorize this exception.

  Students participating in internships are required to:

  • maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • carry a full-time course load
  • secure NYUAD academic mentor approval and, when applicable, NYUAD advisor approval

  If a student intern leaves her or his position for a break of more than 30 consecutive days at any time, the internship will be terminated. Student interns must reapply for any available positions and, if hired or re-hired, they will be treated as new hires.

  For off-campus internships, students must submit a copy of their offer letter or letter of appointment to us at least three business days prior to commencing internship service.

  Once the letter is received, we will create a No Objection Letter for the student to present to the organization prior to commencing internship service. The organization is responsible for submitting documentation to the UAE Ministry of Labor.

• Work schedule

  A set internship service schedule, subject to approval by the supervisor, will be chosen based on the position's required hours and the student intern’s availability. The following regulations should be considered:

  • Student interns must not work more than eight hours per day.
  • During the academic year, first-year students may work up to 10 hours a week; second-year students may work up to 15 hours a week; and third- and fourth-year students may work up to 20 hours a week.
  • A one-hour unpaid lunch break should be scheduled if the student is interning six or more consecutive hours in a day.
  • Student interns must be granted one 15-minute rest period for each intern service period of three continuous hours or more (not to exceed two rest periods per day).

• Internship termination

  Resignation
  Students may resign from their position by submitting their resignation, in writing, no less than two weeks prior to the indicated date of termination.

  Involuntary Termination
  It is required that departments give a two-week warning notice prior to involuntary termination. The written warning will give student interns an opportunity to be aware of and correct specific job deficiencies. A copy of the warning notice should also be sent to the Career Development Center for student internship records. The student's failure to correct the deficiencies outlined in the warning notice will result in termination of internship service.

  Students may be involuntarily dismissed from an internship position if:

  • The student fails to perform in a satisfactory manner.
  • The student commits a major offense such as theft, misconduct, etc. (note: the two-week notice period will be waived for students who are dismissed under this category).

   

• Our students do not intern for credit

  NYUAD does not currently offer credit for internships, and our students are not required to undertake internships. However, over 90 percent of our students complete at least one internship or similar work experience during their four years. During study away, NYUAD students may engage in internships for credit at one of our global sites.
  

• Typical internship schedule

  Internships typically operate on the semester schedule (i.e., fall, spring, and summer). During the academic year, first year students can intern for up to 10 hours per week, second year students can intern for up to 15 hours per week, and third and fourth year students can intern up to 20 hours a week. During the summer, students can intern in a full-time capacity (up to 40 hours per week).
  

• Payment

  Internships can be paid or unpaid. Predictably, paid opportunities receive more applicant traffic. We strongly recommend that you provide your intern with a stipend to cover food and transportation costs if possible. Our employer relations team can work with you to suggest a suitable monthly food and transportation stipend for your internship opportunity.
  

• Conducting on-campus interviews

  On-campus interviews and information sessions program designed to simplify the recruitment process for organizations are referred to as On-campus Recruitment (OCR).

  After a position is posted, organizations can opt to interview applicants on our campus. Our team organizes the interviews and hosts them in our interview suites on campus as per your schedule. This way you can simply arrive and interview the selected candidates rather than arranging them all individually.
  

• Hiring a candidate of a certain nationality, ethnic background, or gender

  NYUAD exercises a non-discrimination policy and therefore cannot post a position that preferences one nationality, ethnic background, or gender. The only exception to this would be in the case of recruiting Emirati national talent.
  

• Using third party recruiter to hire our students

  While we appreciate the interest, we do not allow third-party recruiters or recruiting agencies to hire our students.
  

• Hiring NYUAD interns without an internship program in place at my organization

  If you do not have an internship program in place, our employer relations team is happy to discuss your recruiting needs and help you create an internship program that will meet your needs as well as benefit our students.
  

The use of effective recruitment strategy is an important step in developing a strong internship program. Despite a very detailed and well-organized internship, without a qualified applicant pool to recruit from, an organization's internship program will not be successful. Here are some key recruitment components to consider when developing an internship program.

• Marketing plan

  Organizations should contact us before completing an internship program marketing plan. Our staff can provide organizations with helpful tips about the best ways to recruit NYUAD students.

  Organizations are encouraged to consider the following when developing an internship recruitment plan:

  Timing
  Organizations should plan ahead when developing a recruitment schedule targeted to university students. Many organizations start recruiting three to four months in advance of the internship start date in order to secure the best interns and to have a larger applicant pool to choose from. Some organizations even start recruiting nine months in advance if they have a higher volume of intern positions to fill. As mentioned before, all organizations should be aware of the NYUAD Academic Calendar when making decisions on recruitment timelines.

  Sourcing
  Where and how an organization markets their program will determine what their applicant pool will look like, so it is advisable to market internship openings in effective locations. The best places to start at NYUAD are:

  1. Career Development Center
     There are many opportunities to promote an internship program through us. Post your job or internship online through NYUAD CareerNet. Attend career fairs and industry events. Do a company presentation to educate students about internship programs.

  2. Campus Department and Programs
     Organizations may be connected with major-specific departments and programs to recruit students that fall within the academic areas they want to target. Faculty members sometimes provide excellent referrals. 

  3. Student Activities
     Organizations may be connected with the staff in student activities or a student advisor in career-specific student academic clubs, pre-professional organizations, and/or cultural organizations to let students know about internship programs.

  4. Fishbowl Tribune
     If appropriate, organizations may be connected with a contact from NYUAD’s student newspaper to place an ad about internship programs.

• Application process

  While developing a marketing strategy, organizations should also think about how and with what materials they would like students to apply for their internship programs. A list of application materials may include:

  • CV or resume
  • cover letter
  • application
  • writing sample or essay
  • recommendation letters or references
  • unofficial or official transcript
  • work samples
  • career portfolio
  • professional website

  Large organizations that have very competitive programs tend to require more application materials than smaller organizations. The type of position will also determine what application materials are necessary. For example, business internships may only require a CV and cover letter, while public relations internships may also require a writing sample because of the position's editorial duties.

  How students will apply for an organization's internship program is something else to consider.

  Prior to deciding what type of application materials to require, we encourage organizations to consider the following:

  •  Do organizations want students to call first for more information and then apply?
  •  Do organizations want students to email all or some application materials?
  •  Is there an additional application they need to fill out? If so, where do they get it?
  •  Is there a deadline for applying that students need to be aware of?
  •  Who will they be applying to? An HR manager, a department head, the internship supervisor?
  •  What information do organizations want students to reference (e.g., job number, job title, where they found the listing)?
• Interviewing

  The interview process for an internship program should be similar to any other full-time, regular employee recruitment process because selecting the right interns is just as important as selecting the right career employees.

  Pre-Interview
  Assuming that organizations have taken advantage of all possible marketing strategies to promote their internship program, they should have a large enough applicant pool to start the interview process. After receiving the application materials, organizations will start reviewing all applications to find the student(s) who have the skills and experience that fit with the organization’s needs. If the goal of the internship program is to develop potential career employees, then selecting students to interview that have similar skills and experience to new grad hires will be most effective. At no time should any organization rely solely on students’ application materials without interviewing.

  The Interview
  Keep in mind that all principles regarding employment interviewing for career employees also apply to internship interviews. All organizations should develop a set of interview questions so that the interview process has a structure and a focus. Interviews that are free flowing and lacking in structure can discourage a student from wanting to serve in an internship at any organization.

  When developing a list of interview questions, remember that questions normally asked to a career-level applicant might not be appropriate for a student-level internship interview. Here are some samples of questions to ask in an internship interview:

  • Tell me a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in working with us.
  • What do you know about our organization?
  • How can you contribute to our organization?
  • How would you describe yourself?
  • What are your strengths and areas of improvement (weaknesses)?
  • How did you choose your major?
  • What courses do you like the most? The least? How do they relate to your career goals?
  • What do you expect to gain from an internship with us?
  • What are your plans, if any, for graduate study?
  • Tell us about a time when you’ve used teamwork to solve a problem.
  • Give an example of a situation during which you worked under pressure with a tight timeframe to complete a project.

  Most students aren’t able to answer long-term career questions ("Where do you see yourself in five years?") or salary questions ("What are your salary requirements?"). Behavioral questions, such as the last two in the list above, can be very helpful in determining whether students have the desired skills and abilities. Organizations should ask the same questions of all applicants to ensure equity.

  Many organizations have a two-step internship interview process — either a phone interview followed by an in-person interview, or a panel interview followed by a one-on-one interview with the internship supervisor. Organizations should decide what type of interview process will work best for their organization. No matter what process organizations select, it is important that NYUAD students leave an interview with a positive impression of the organization.

• Selecting an intern

  Once the interviewing of all applicants is complete, organizations are encouraged to take some time to review their notes and all application materials before they decide on the best candidate(s). Selecting the right intern(s) is just as important as selecting the right career employees. If an organization plans to convert interns to career employees, then this process is particularly critical. Even if an organization does not use its internship program as a long-term recruitment tool, choosing the right interns will still affect how smoothly and efficiently an internship program will run. As a word of caution, organizations should be aware that just because an intern candidate has been selected, doesn’t mean that the offer will be accepted.

  Here are some tips to convert students in accepting internship offers:

  • Complete the Selection Process Early
    Organizations that wait too long to contact students will lose the best candidates to other organizations that made their selections more quickly. Organizations should try to complete their selection process within a week of interviewing all applicants. Sometimes the selection timeframe is controlled by Human Resources and can take longer than expected, so organizations should not wait too long to submit choices to Human Resources. If organizations are trying to decide between two equally qualified NYUAD candidates, they may choose to call references or perhaps add one more additional phone interview to ask follow-up questions that may help inform hiring decisions.
    
    
  • Communicate with the Student Directly
    A personal call to the selected student might assist organizations with securing a verbal commitment. During an internship selection process, it is important that hiring managers are not on vacation or away from the office for an extended period of time. If the hiring manager does plan to be away, it is important that he/she leaves an alternate contact person’s name and gives that person instruction on what to tell the students.
    
    
  • Send an Offer Letter
    All organizations are required to detail an internship offer in a hard copy letter so that there are no questions later about what was said or agreed to. An offer letter can include details such as start and end dates, hours to be worked, benefits, and a brief description of the internship. A learning agreement will detail the program more thoroughly and should be read and understood in a one-on-one meeting with the students and the supervisors.
    
    
  • Completing Internship Searches
    Most NYUAD students apply for more than one internship in order to increase their chances of securing the most competitive internship. Organizations should keep this in mind when they start to contact students selected as interns. Students often receive more than one internship offer in fields such as engineering, computer science, and financial services and may take some time to decide which offer best fits their career goals. Organizations are encouraged to allow students time to make a decision by asking them to respond within a specified timeframe. One to two weeks is usually enough time for students to make a decision on multiple offers.
    
    
  • The Cumulative Offer
    Some NYUAD students may be given multiple internship offers. When this happens, students are encouraged to evaluate their skills and abilities.

• Supervisor versus mentor

  Supervisors are the staff members directly responsible for the interns and will provide performance feedback and daily work direction. Mentors are the resource staff that help interns get up to speed on the company culture and provide insights into the organization.

  We recommend that some mentors be no more than five years out of university and that they work in the same department as the intern, have the time and the interest in being a mentor, and have a good understanding of the work that the interns will be doing.

  In some organizations interns only have a supervisor who also acts as their mentor, but we recommend that someone else in the organization act as the mentor. Sometimes interns will not approach their supervisor about something that they would approach a mentor about because of a fear of repercussions. If an organization does not have enough staff to provide a supervisor and a mentor, but needs one staff member to be both, be sure that the supervisor is able to be a strong mentor as well.

• Orienting supervisions and mentors

  If possible, organizations should orient supervisors and mentors to their roles and responsibilities before interns arrive. Setting expectations ahead of time will ensure that everyone is aware of the goals and purpose of the internship program. A good internship program has consistency throughout, no matter which staff are supervising or mentoring interns. Inconsistency can create hard feelings and dissension in the program.

  A supervisor and mentor orientation is an additional method to ensure consistency within an internship program. Always have experienced supervisors and mentors attend an orientation to share their insights with new supervisors and mentors.
  

• Effective supervision

  Some tips to help organizations supervise interns, according to Robert Inkster and Roseanna Ross [1]:

  At the Beginning of the Internship

  • provide an intern with resources needed to do his/her job (e.g., physical space, staff support, and time)
  • introduce interns to the company through an email or newsletter and add them to the company rosters
  • give them a title other than ______intern or ______student
  • be aware of intern learning objectives and stay on track to meet them through regular review and discussion
  • give interns real work that utilizes their abilities
  • be honest with interns about what they can expect to do. Don’t say one thing when the reality is totally different
  • take note of signs of confusion or boredom early so problems can be resolved before they get out of control

  Throughout the Internship

  • provide enough details about the work assigned. Don’t assume that interns know how to do something just because it seems like an easy project
  • provide regular and detailed feedback on work performance, both positive and constructive
  • know what interns are working on and where they are in their projects
  • encourage interns to be problem-solvers by asking them for suggestions or alternatives when problems arise
  • catch interns doing something well and reward them with positive feedback
  • communicate directly with interns, not through other staff, email, or phone. Use good listening skills
  • include interns in important meetings and events where they can learn
  • use our staff as a resource when unexpected problems arise

  At the End of the Internship

  • refer back to the learning plan to document what was learned
  • have interns fill out any in-house evaluations
  • set up an exit interview with your intern to discuss the program, their experiences, future plans, job opportunities with the organization, etc.
  • introduce students to important staff that may be helpful in future employment
  • make note of the interns’ names on any completed projects to recognize contribution
  • encourage students to network with other departments in the organization
  • assist them with their job search materials or portfolio; offer to serve as a reference
  • offer them a career position with the organization (if applicable and appropriate)

  [1] Inkster, Robert P. and Ross, Roseanna G., The Internship as Partnership: A handbook for Businesses, Nonprofits, and Government Agencies. National Society for Experiential Education, 1998.

• Effective mentoring

  These are some great tips on how to be a good mentor, according to Julie Cunningham [1]:

  • try to make each intern's transition to the organization as smooth as possible
  • teach them about the organization culture and give them help when they need it
  • explain how processes and procedures work in the organization
  • be a positive role model
  • provide informal feedback on performance
  • get involved in their professional development with the organization
  • give them individual attention and one-on-one time

  Recognizing intern contributions is customary. Recognition events typically happen at the end of the program and can help create a stronger staff commitment to the program. Recognition might take the form of a luncheon, a thank you card or gift, a plaque, or anything you think would be a nice gesture to internship staff.

  [1] Cunningham, 2002

• Dealing with trouble spots

  Few internship programs run so smoothly that no problems arise. Robert Inkster and Roseanna Ross [1] suggest that both intern and supervisor expectations can cause problems, as can a lack of organization in an internship program from the start. Some common assumptions made by interns are:

  • they expect to be treated like a guest or friend, not an employee
  • they expect the organization to be happy that they are willing to work for no pay
  • they expect the internship to be like a class where you can come in late, leave early, and not show up
  • they expect to apply what they are learning right away
    

  Supervisors need to educate interns on the realities of the internship program, both at the start and throughout. The realities are that interns are true employees and are not treated as guests, that it takes a lot of time and money to train an intern, that interns have the same responsibilities as all other employees to be on time and show up for work, and that there is a lot to learn in any internship. Just as interns may have some misguided expectations, so do supervisors. Some common expectations that supervisors have are that the intern:

  • will be proactive about asking questions
  • will understand the opportunities available to them and take advantage
  • will be overly enthusiastic and eager
    

  To mediate these expectations, supervisors need to be educated about the realities of today’s intern population. Students today expect to get guidance from their supervisors as a matter of course, just like they get from professors. Students today may feel some level of intimidation to ask questions, so it is still important to utilize mentors when possible. If time allows, we encourage supervisors to have one-on-one meetings with interns to facilitate regular/ongoing feedback.

  [1] Inkster and Ross, 1998

• Professional and social development

  Activities that involve developing skills and social interaction can make a good internship program a great one. These activities may be an effective method to get to know interns on a more personal level and get a sense for what today’s interns are thinking and feeling.

  Social events should start at the beginning of the work term to allow interns to mingle and get to know each other better. In-house events such as picnics are a good way to get the program started.

  Other popular social events include trips to sporting activities, amusement parks, or restaurants. Professional development activities allow interns to gain additional skills they see as important to their career development plans. These kinds of events can include presentations by senior-level executives; specific training classes on subjects like computer applications, presentations, time management, leadership, etc.; attendance at important company meetings; career planning workshops; tours of the facility; and volunteer activities.
  

• The end of the internship

  At the end of the internship program, whether the program operates once or four times per year, organizations should provide evaluations or surveys to interns to evaluate the program, and to the supervisors to evaluate the interns. Evaluations benefit the organization in a couple of ways: by supplying information on how an organization might improve its internship program for future interns, and providing the ability to assess which interns should be considered for full-time employment.

  Intern Evaluations
  Interns should fill out an evaluation about their internship and the program in general. These forms are sometimes called surveys or feedback forms. They may include questions about the application and recruitment process, supervision and training, what they gained or didn’t gain from the experience, the things they liked and didn’t like, and how they would rate the overall program. Good internship programs use these evaluations to improve processes and the overall experience for the interns and supervisors. Evaluations can be used along with a more personal one-on-one exit interview, during which interns can also talk about their experiences, or they can be handed out on the final day and turned in to the supervisor after the internship ends.

  Supervisor Evaluation of Intern
  Supervisors should also be given an evaluation form for each intern they supervise to assess the intern's performance. If at the beginning of the program the intern and the supervisor wrote an effective learning agreement, an evaluation of performance at the end of the internship shouldn’t be difficult. Providing documented ongoing feedback throughout the internship will also help make the final evaluation process easier. Some supervisors may have to be convinced that an intern evaluation is just as important as a career employee’s evaluation. They need to be reminded that it may be used to help decide whether to bring an intern back for another internship or for a career position. These evaluations may include such areas as how well the intern related with others, an assessment of their personal attributes, and the skills and knowledge they demonstrated.

The best internship programs evaluate the performance of the program after each cycle to both measure success and to improve process and procedures for the next group of interns. The success of internship program depends on the needs of the organization. One organization might measure success by how many projects were completed, while another measures success by the number of interns that become career employees.

• Job performance

  Organizations should ask themselves how well their interns performed in the assigned duties. When possible, organizations should review supervisors’ evaluations of interns and make note of areas where they didn’t perform well. It may be helpful to compare all supervisors’ evaluations in order to find a common thread that demonstrates a need to re-evaluate the selection process.

  If organizations hire their interns as career employees, compare how well previous interns perform as career employees versus how well non-intern new employees perform. By doing this, organizations will get a sense for what areas of the internship program work best and what might need improvement.
  

• Productivity

  Organizations may also evaluate an internship program around productivity. Did productivity increase due to an intern's contribution to certain projects? A good internship program should see a definite increase in productivity.

  If not, organizations should re-evaluate the selection process and the duties that interns are performing.
  

• Management satisfaction

  Are the supervisors and mentors satisfied with the program? If not, the internship program will start to fall apart because no one will want to participate any longer. Do they like the quality and quantity of interns they are getting?

  If not, organizations are encouraged to review the recruitment and selection process for ways to improve the intern applicant pool. If managers aren’t getting enough interns or are getting too many, review the intern job descriptions and assigned tasks or duties to make sure the amount of work fits the number of interns recruited.
  

• Student internship evaluations

  It is critical to the continuous improvement of an internship program to consider all intern evaluations or exit surveys when making changes. Most students are very candid about their experiences at an organization, especially if they turn in their evaluations after leaving the organization. Though some students may have had a personal issue with their supervisor or just didn’t get along well with certain staff members, most can provide a critical look at the things that worked and didn’t work in the program.

  Organizations that don’t change and improve their internship programs over time as interns come and go will inevitably find the value and status of their program decline in students’ minds. When students have a good experience at an organization they tell their friends, but when they have a bad experience they tell everyone. Organizations should take the time to improve their internship program so the next group of interns will have the best possible experience.

• Overall evaluation

  When internship programs fail, there are usually some common things that happen, or don’t happen, both on the intern’s side and the organization’s side. When students don’t enjoy their internship they usually:

  • don’t feel challenged enough, or are doing work that is unrelated to their field of study
  • aren’t being given enough work to do
  • aren’t getting the feedback they need
  • aren’t given the physical resources they need
  • aren’t given one-on-one time with the supervisor or mentor
  • feel that their completed projects aren’t taken seriously

  Interns want to do work that means something; they want to be challenged and given the time and resources to do a good job. An internship program that supports them in these ways will be more successful. Supervisors have problems with interns who:

  • have unrealistic expectations
  • have poor time management skills
  • are overconfident or overly shy
  • can’t adapt to the company culture
  • don’t ask questions in a timely fashion
    

  These problems may stem from a poor selection process, but more often they stem from the supervisors/mentors not participating fully in the internship process. Effective communication from the beginning and through the program, as well as being actively involved in the interns’ supervision, will solve most of these problems.

• The University's responsibilities
  • The University will be responsible for all local internships that are conducted during the regular academic year and summer months. The University and organization agree to schedule the internship to benefit all parties involved.
  • The University will provide the organization with copies of current course outlines, course objectives, and a list of faculty and their respective qualifications, when required.
  • The University will assist the organization in short-listing student candidates based on clear criteria set by the organization.
  • Upon request, the University will identify a professional staff member to visit the internship site to assist in the development and coordination of learning experiences, and share guidance on supervision and performance evaluation.
  • The University agrees to advise students of any known policies, procedures, and/or requirements of the project as specified in writing by the organization.
• The organization's responsibilities
  • The organization will publicize all internship opportunities to students through the NYUAD CareerNet system prior to interviewing or hiring any NYUAD student.
  • The organization will provide training, clear guidance, and assistance for student internship programs, policies, and procedures.
  • The organization will seek NYUAD approval prior to using NYUAD student on marketing or publicity material.
  • During the internship period, the organization agrees to supervise each student for the mutually agreed number of hours and weeks, including overtime periods. The organization agrees to determine the internship schedule in concert with the student’s academic commitments and needs.
  • The organization reserves the right to modify planned tasks and projects during the internship period, as may be required by changes in circumstances. However, the organization will make every reasonable effort to ensure that the student is placed in a like position and receives access to appropriate retraining and guidance.
  • The organization will inform the student of heror his responsibility to address any transportation-, meals-, and/or lodging-related needs pertaining to the internship, if required.
  • Should the organization become dissatisfied with the performance of the student, the organization will notify the University before performing necessary disciplinary procedures.
  • The organization will respect an internship termination request by the University for any student not complying with University student internship guidelines and procedures, as long as the organization has been notified seven days in advance.
• The student's responsibilities
  • The student will adhere to both the NYUAD student internship policies and procedures, and the organization's internship policies and procedures, for the duration of the internship.
  • The student will maintain full-time enrollment necessary for internship service eligibility.
  • The student will coordinate work hours with her or his internship supervisor according to the organization’s needs and the student’s academic coursework needs and demands.
  • The student will arrive at the internship site prepared to accomplish assigned projects and tasks — refraining from conducting personal business while at the internship site.
  • The student will dress appropriately, in accordance with organization dress code, and abide by the relevant policies and procedures of the organization.
  • The student will be punctual, dependable, courteous, and considerate of the organization’s employees and other staff.
  • The student will resign from the internship position if the demands of the internship impede on their academic success at NYUAD.