Internship Guide for Employers

It’s a simple fact: Interns can help your organization do more—cost-effectively. Whether the experiences are part- or full-time, and whether they last for a few weeks or several months or more, internships support multiple employees on multiple projects, resulting in a variety of benefits to you as an employer:

• Internships function as a recruitment tool to test out potential employees.
• Interns do valuable work for your organization.
• Interns help you and your organization connect to the culture and norms of a new generation—your future workforce.
• Interns who have a positive experience with your organization will speak highly about it among their contacts in many networks. This helps your organization’s visibility and strengthens its reputation.
• After doing an internship, students are better prepared to enter the workforce. (This benefits you as an employer, too, as well as employers in general!)

If you are looking for student interns for your organization soon, please complete this form.

NEW UPDATE: Tips for Remote Internships

What is a Cooperative Education/Internship Opportunity?

Cooperative Education/Internships are on-site, work-based learning experiences.  They are a combination of theory and practical application – offering academic coursework that provides “real world” experience.

Why do students participate?

• Gives them a competitive edge in the job market
• Provides career-related work experience
• Builds a network for future employment
• Allows them to test their chosen career
• Clarifies career goals and pathways
• Provides the opportunity to relate classroom learning to the “real world”

To begin a Cooperative Education experience, students must have:

• At least 15 college-level credits earned at Highline
• GPA of 2.0 or greater
• A plan to identify where they will intern and who will be your faculty advisor
• Current resume
• Completed copy of the Student Co-op Paperwork (Word), sometimes referred to as the “Internship Packet.”

Example Cooperative Education Employer Packet (Toolkit)