The EWU Career Center is open during the summer break. Virtually, that is. Virtual appointments can be made on Handshake. If you graduated from EWU, you can still make appointments with us for free!
Employers
Virtual Internships – Employer Guide
The EWU President and Provost have updated internship requirements in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak for Summer 2020. In-person internships/practicums can be approved if the host facility signs the Assurance of Compliance form prior to the student beginning the internship.
Some of you have already responded, and have already made adjustments to your internship program. For those who haven’t, It is important to know that this is required by EWU (and the State) for companies to have a plan for accommodating your interns remotely or complete the in-person approval form, should they continue to have one.
- Could your internship be completed in a non-face-to-face format for the upcoming quarter
- Will it remain open (including teleworking) for the entire internship period.
- If it is in-person, will you sign the Assurance of Compliance form prior to the start of the internship
If all answers are yes, then the internship(s) can proceed forward. If not, it’s likely that your internship will need to be postponed until further instructions.
**If you currently have an intern, and cannot provide a remote internship or complete the in-person approval form, please have your intern contact their faculty internship advisor for proper guidance on how to secure their academic credits.
Strategies for maintaining a good virtual internship
Choose The Best Platform For Online Collaboration
Virtual interns need a place to share documents, assign tasks, and communicate regularly. An online collaboration platform ensures that everyone is on the same page. Ideally, there should be Video Conferencing and Project Management online tools in place to aid this process. Interns can also use these online platforms to clarify tasks and ask questions. Here are some that you can look into.
- Zoom
- Microsoft Team
- Asana Task Manager
Incorporate Group Projects and Activities To Build Practical Experience
Projects, case studies, scenarios, and online training examples give virtual interns real-world experience in a supportive online setting.
Schedule Weekly Web Meetings
Weekly web meetings give interns, managers, and coordinators a chance to touch bases. They can discuss the virtual intern’s progress and create a plan to help them improve.
Incentives
Many internships involve some sort of compensation. However, you can further motivate students by adding bonus incentives. They don’t necessarily have to be monetary, but it’s preferred.
Offer Ongoing Support And Feedback
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is leaving your virtual interns to their own devices. You cannot simply set the ground rules, give them a list of tasks, and then send them on their way. Virtual interns need ongoing online support and feedback so that they can continually improve.
Other Resources
*** Virtual Services for Employers ***
Thank you so much for your continued support of our students and University. We know that this is a difficult time for everyone and hope that your colleagues, friends, and family are safely weathering the storm. Together, we will all navigate these waters and make it through the uncertain times.
As always, we remain absolutely committed to supporting our students and that includes helping to facilitate meaningful engagement with our employer partners. Their goals haven’t changed and your needs still exist, so we must adapt. Much like many others, we’re actively trying to identify creative ways to make this possible in the virtual world.
To get us started, you will find a menu of options and ideas below. If you or your team have any ideas or suggestions that you would like to share, we’re open to exploring every opportunity.
- Post a job or internship on Handshake. For several years, we’ve used this platform to share events, internships, and on/off campus jobs with students. They’re quite accustomed to starting their search here, so it’s your best and easiest way of broadly advertising opportunities.
- Host a virtual event. This may seem daunting to anyone new to virtual offerings, but it’s really not that scary. As long as you have a webcam, microphone, and solid internet connection, you can do just about anything. Much like an in-person event, you simply have to set the time and date, provide a good description of what you’re offering, and then provide details for students to join you. In this case, that would be a link to join your virtual event. Not sure how to promote your event? We can help with that!
- Advertise your virtual event in Handshake. By listing your event here, you can share what you’re doing with students across multiple campuses with just one post. This is good for events such as Q&A sessions, info sessions, and employee panels. Let our team know you’re posting an event and we may be able to do some additional advertisement for you!
- Offer professional development. Even if you’re not actively recruiting, partnering with the Career Center to offer students professional development opportunities is a great way to keep your organization connected to campus AND it helps prepare students for future opportunities.
- Virtual classroom and club presentations. Many faculty and student clubs have already expressed interest in letting employers virtually visit their classes or club meetings as guest speakers. Of course, opportunities for this type of engagement are limited and we will have to process these requests on a case-by-case basis, but our team is ready to help facilitate those conversations.
Eagle Career Network
I’m excited to announce that we are in the process of soft-launching an online engagement platform, the Eagle Career Network! The Eagle Career Network is an incredible tool for a la carte, on-demand mentoring and offers a wide array of options to stay virtually engaged with students, alumni, and other industry professionals. Join the Eagle Career Network today and start networking with the broader community or as a member of our growing list of industry/interest specific groups.
