web1_ttl102918cemetarytour-3.jpg

Tour of Hollenback Cemetery raises funds for Florence Foster Jenkins marker

web1_inspections.jpg

Luzerne County Restaurant Inspections: Oct. 22 to 28

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Let&#8217;s say your company is looking to take on an intern or two.Where do you turn? How do you prepare? When should you start to look?The good news: There are valuable resources in the region who help match students with internships and help guide companies through the process.There are, however, some important caveats: That process requires planning and preparation on the company&#8217;s part. And, experts advise, it should be done in such a way that the student learns, grows &#8212; and yes, sometimes, earns money as part of the process.That was the subject of <a href="https://www.wilkes-barre.org/blog/greater-wilkes-barre-chamber-blog-2452/post/meet-the-members-of-the-wilkes-barre-connect-intern-panel-16749" target="_blank">a recent panel discussion</a> titled &#8220;How to Post and Host a Successful Internship,&#8221; sponsored by <a href="http://wilkesbarreconnect.org/" target="_blank">Wilkes-Barre Connect</a>, an organization created in early 2016 by the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce to encourage and foster new entrepreneurship and small-business growth in the area.In addition to attending the forum, we spoke with Sue Reilly, executive director of the Family Business Alliance (FBA) at Wilkes University and Penn State Scranton and head of Wilkes-Barre Connect&#8217;s intern initiative; as well as Jeremey Tomaine, a Wilkes finance major and a Kirby Business Development Intern for the university&#8217;s Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship who is now on his fourth college internship.Here are some tips from the experts you can use:1. Have a good job description.You wouldn&#8217;t dream of hiring a paid employee without a proper job description, right? The same should hold true for interns.It should include relevant information such as required skill sets, hours, dates and contact information.Likewise, Reilly and others said, consider a formal onboarding process for interns, so they can be properly introduced to the company&#8217;s culture, rules and requirements.That can even include onboarding the interns together with regular employees, and providing a handbook &#8212; modified, if needed &#8212; to reinforce expectations as well as a sense of belonging.2. Have a plan for how to use the students.Because internships are intended to provide real-world experience &#8212; and sometimes course credit &#8212; it&#8217;s essential to have a clear plan for what the interns will do at your company. And make sure interns&#8217; days are filled with activity.Tomaine said he derived much more satisfaction from internships where he was kept busy and productive, especially with multiple projects.&#8220;I felt more like I was part of the team,&#8221; Tomaine added.How to do that? Wilkes-Barre Connect participants advised undertaking an internal audit to assess what projects could be undertaken by interns, and always have more work available than the student is expected to complete.3. Have a designated supervisor who is aware of goals.On that note, it is also important to have a designated person or persons who will supervise interns to help keep them engaged and focused on the plan.&#8220;It&#8217;s really about having someone who can be dedicated to that process,&#8221; Reilly said.4. But remember it&#8217;s still a learning experience.These are students who may be entirely new to the work world. Some may perform at the level of a professional staff member, but others may struggle. That&#8217;s entirely normal, so don&#8217;t expect every project will be finished how, when and to the standard you would expect from a regular staffer. Remember that the student&#8217;s personal and professional development is vital.5. Communicate early and frequently with colleges.Whether the internship is credit or non-credit, it is important to have a good working relationship with the college officials who coordinate programs, both to bring students into the pipeline in a timely fashion and to give feedback on the students and their progress.There is no standard answer for when to start seeking interns, Wilkes-Barre Connect participants said, but the general advice was &#8220;early enough.&#8221;Some large schools, or certain competitive majors, might require you to start looking a year in advance. For small- to mid-sized colleges, the semester prior to internship is a common guideline.6. Be aware that paid internships are very important to today&#8217;s students.And just because they are getting college credit doesn&#8217;t necessarily make an unpaid internship more attractive to students; in fact, with loss of time to earn money and the cost of credits, it can be a financial loss for them.For those companies who do pay, be aware that rates can vary widely.Participants said pay for engineering or computer science interns in our region can range from $17 to $25 per hour, while business and marketing students might be in the $8 to $12 range.That said, the region&#8217;s proximity to major metro areas, especially New York, means that some students will be willing to commute a few days a week for an internship that pays higher rates, so the competition for the best interns can be very real.For more information, visit http://wilkesbarreconnect.org/intern/<style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_TTl100816wilkes.interns.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A group of Wilkes University interns is seen in 2016. How you use your interns is as important to their development as their services are to your company. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_TTl100816wilkes.interns.jpg</photo0><caption0>A group of Wilkes University interns is seen in 2016. How you use your interns is as important to their development as their services are to your company. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Hint: Money is only part of it</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Roger DuPuisrdupuis@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

How to get the most from interns — and money’s only part of it