Internships for New Grads: Requirements and Opportunities

Internships serve as invaluable stepping stones for new graduates, bridging the gap between academic learning and professional experience. They provide opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world settings, develop essential skills, and gain exposure to various industries and organizational cultures. This article explores the requirements for internships for new grads, highlighting best practices for employers and valuable insights for aspiring interns.

The Value of Internships

An internship is a temporary work experience that provides students with the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge and skills in a real-world setting. Internships offer benefits for both the intern and the employer. For students and recent graduates, internships provide:

Practical Experience: Applying classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios.
Skill Development: Gaining and refining technical and soft skills.
Networking: Building professional connections.
Career Exploration: Discovering interests and strengths.
Increased Employability: Enhancing resumes and job prospects.

For employers, internships provide:

Access to Talent: Identifying and recruiting potential future employees.
Fresh Perspectives: Gaining new ideas and insights from enthusiastic individuals.
Cost-Effective Labor: Completing projects and tasks with intern assistance.
Building a Talent Pipeline: Cultivating a pool of qualified candidates for future full-time positions.

Many organizations use their internship programs to feed their full-time hiring: In fact, employers have reported that their internship program is the single-best strategy for recruiting new college graduates.

Types of Internship Programs

Internship programs can vary depending on the organization and industry. Some common types include:

Undergraduate Internships: Designed for students currently enrolled in a college or university degree program.
Graduate Internships: Aimed at students pursuing a graduate degree, often requiring a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite. Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree and must be currently enrolled in a graduate program in a field closely related to the requesting department.
Paid Internships: Interns receive a salary or hourly wage for their work.
Unpaid Internships: Interns receive academic credit or experience in lieu of monetary compensation. Unpaid Internship: High School Diploma or GED.
In-Person Internships: Interns work on-site at the employer's location.
Remote Internships: Interns work remotely, often from their homes or other locations.
Hybrid Internships: Interns work both on-site and remotely.

General Requirements for Internships

The requirements for internships can vary depending on the specific program and employer. However, some common requirements include:

Enrollment in an Educational Program: Applicants must be enrolled at least part-time in school or an educational program (including Registered Apprenticeship Programs and certain volunteer service programs). For the Internship Program, agencies must use valid job-related assessments such as crediting plans, which are the same thing as rating schedules (i.e., occupational questionnaires) or structured interviews. Agencies may also use the Administrative Careers With America (ACWA) rating schedules when making selections for Pathways Programs positions.
Academic Standing: Many internships require a minimum GPA or academic standing.
Major or Field of Study: Internships are often targeted toward students pursuing a specific major or field of study related to the internship duties. Undergraduate Internship: Must be currently enrolled in a college or university degree program related to the requesting department.
Eligibility to Work: Interns must be legally eligible to work in the country where the internship is located. Moreover, an agency may appoint a non-citizen to a Pathways Program position only if the student or recent graduate is lawfully admitted to the United States as a permanent resident or is otherwise authorized to be employed.
Application Materials: Applicants typically need to submit a resume, cover letter, and transcripts. Current transcripts: an unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however if selected, an official college transcript will be required. Transcripts MUST include the students name, name of the school, current GPA/academic standing, past and current coursework, and degree program.
Interviews: Many internships involve one or more interviews to assess the applicant's skills, qualifications, and fit for the position.

Federal Internship Programs: The Pathways Program

The U.S. Federal Government offers internship opportunities through the Pathways Program, designed to provide students and recent graduates with pathways to federal careers. The Pathways Program includes three components:

Internship Program: Provides high school, undergraduate, and graduate students with opportunities for paid work in agencies and to explore Federal careers while still in school. Applicants must be enrolled at least part-time in school or an educational program (including Registered Apprenticeship Programs and certain volunteer service programs).
Recent Graduates Program: Provides recent graduates with one- to two-year developmental experiences in Federal agencies. Applicants must have graduated from a qualifying educational institution or career or technical education program. Individuals must apply within two years of completing a degree or certificate. Agencies may hire recent graduates at a GS-11 starting salary. The previous limit was GS-09.
Presidential Management Fellows (PMFs): Provides advanced degree candidates and graduates the opportunity to participate in the Federal government’s premier two-year leadership development program. Individuals must apply within two years of completing an advanced degree, defined as a masters, professional (for example, law), or doctorate. Fellows maybe appointed at grade GS-9, GS-11, or GS-12 level.

Key Features of the Pathways Program

Agencies may now convert interns to a permanent Federal position once they complete a minimum of 480 internship hours (down from 640 hours).
Agencies now have 180 days to convert interns into permanent positions (up from 120 days), which will help both applicants and agencies. The 180-day clock for non-competitive conversion starts when the student completes their educational requirements (as determined by the educational institution or career and technical education program). The change to allow an agency 180 days instead of 120 days for intern conversion goes into effect on June 11, 2024. An intern who has not yet met the 120-day limit on this date may be converted within 180 days of the completion of their degree instead of 120 days.
Agencies must provide public notification when recruiting and accepting applications for Pathways internship or recent graduate positions.
Agencies have the discretion to conduct outreach on campuses before (or without) posting a USAJOBS announcement. Ensure on-campus recruitment events are open to all, not just students at that campus. When conducting on-campus recruitment, agencies should consider the proximity of the campus to the actual location of the job to be filled.
Veterans' preference is applied in the Pathways Program.
For the Intern and Recent Graduate Programs, agencies must use valid job-related assessments such as crediting plans, which are the same thing as rating schedules (i.e., occupational questionnaires) or structured interviews.
Employees in Pathways Programs positions are not subject to time-in-grade limits.

Department of State's Pathways Internship Program

The Department of State's Pathways Internship Program includes both the Internship Experience Program (IEP) and the Internship Temporary Program (ITEP). Both programs provide students with opportunities to explore Federal careers while being paid for the work performed.

Internship Experience Program (IEP): Interns in this program are appointed to non-temporary, excepted service appointments, expected to last the length of the academic program for which the intern is enrolled. IEP participants, while in the program, are eligible for noncompetitive promotions if they meet the developed qualification standards for the position. IEP interns are also eligible for federal employee benefits (e.g. life, health, and retirement).
Internship Temporary Program (ITEP): The temporary nature of the ITEP allows for interns to work during seasonal and holiday breaks in academic programs as well as year-round. Interns in this program are appointed to temporary appointments, not to exceed one year or their projected graduation date (whichever is shorter) and extensions may be made in one year increments. The positions to which the interns are appointed have no promotion potential, therefore, students must apply through USAJOBS to be considered for higher-graded positions. ITEP participants who are expected to work 130 hours per month or more for at least 90 days will be eligible to enroll in a health benefits plan. ITEP participants are not eligible for any other benefits until after conversion into the competitive service.

Best Practices for Internship Programs

To maximize the benefits of internships, organizations should follow these best practices:

Pay Your Interns: By paying your interns, you are increasing the size of and diversifying your pool of potential interns. Many students cannot afford to forgo a paycheck for the summer, so will not even be in your pool for consideration. Paid internships support an inclusive candidate pool.
Recruit Strategically: Take as much care in sourcing, recruiting, and securing interns as you would with full-time hires. Research shows that organizations that are intentional in recruiting their interns are rewarded with higher intern-to full-time-hire conversion rates.
Align with Organizational Goals: Develop a pool of interns that matches up with your full-time hiring goals, and your program can help your organization meet its overall goals for its workforce.
Provide Relocation and Housing Assistance: Few employers cover their interns’ relocation and/or housing expenses, but you’ll find a lot of appreciation if you can offer assistance. At a minimum, you should offer assistance to your interns in locating affordable housing.
Offer Scholarships: Pairing a scholarship with your internship is a great way to recruit for your internship program-and this is especially true if you are having difficulty attracting a particular type of student or student with a specific skill set to your program. Attaching a scholarship can increase your pool of candidates with the desired qualifications.
Consider Flexible Work Arrangements: More than half of students have a preference for in-person work arrangements, while about two out of five are interested in hybrid work arrangements-working part of the time in person and part of the time remotely.
Provide Real Work Assignments: Interns should be doing work related to their major and/or skill set, that is challenging, that is recognized by the organization as valuable, and that fills the entire work term. Feedback from interns indicates that real work assignments play a leading role in determining intern satisfaction.
Hold Orientations: It’s important that everyone “be on the same page.” Make this happen by holding an orientation session for managers and mentors as well as a session for students. Orientations ensure that everyone starts with the same expectations and role definitions.
Encourage Team Involvement: Involve your college recruiting teams in your intern program. They can sponsor social or professional development events and help to orient the interns to your company culture.
Invite Career Center Staff and Faculty: By inviting them to your site, you will build a better working relationship with these groups.
Hold New-Hire Panels: New-hire panels are one of the best ways to showcase an organization to interns as a great place to work. They act as panelists in a meeting of interns, giving a brief summary of their background and then answering questions from the intern audience.
Bring in Executive Speakers: Having a CEO speak is especially impressive.
Offer Training and Encourage Outside Classes: Providing students with access to in-house training-both in work-skills-related areas and in general skills areas-is a tangible way to show students you are interested in their development.
Conduct Focus Groups and Surveys: Conducting focus groups and feedback surveys with these representatives of your target group is a great way to see your organization as the students see it.
Showcase Intern Work: Setting up a venue for them to do presentations (formal presentations or in a fair-type setting such as an Expo) not only allows them to demonstrate their achievements, but also showcases the internship program to all employees.
Conduct Exit Interviews: A real-time exit interview done by a member of the college relations team is an excellent way to gather feedback on the student’s experience and to assess their interest in coming back.
Track and Analyze Data: The only way to ensure your program is effective is to track and analyze related data. This is critical to success-from ensuring you are attracting and securing the students you want to determining how effective your program is at converting interns into full-time hires.
Stay Connected: Maintain your ties with your interns throughout the academic year.

Tips for Aspiring Interns

Start Early: Begin your internship search well in advance of your desired start date.
Network: Attend career fairs, connect with professionals on LinkedIn, and reach out to companies of interest.
Tailor Your Application: Customize your resume and cover letter to match the specific requirements of each internship.
Highlight Relevant Skills: Emphasize skills and experiences that align with the internship duties.
Prepare for Interviews: Practice answering common interview questions and research the company and position.
Follow Up: Send a thank-you note after each interview.
Be Proactive: Take initiative, ask questions, and seek out opportunities to learn and contribute during your internship.

Local Internship Opportunities

Many cities and local governments offer internship programs. For example, the City of El Paso offers a wide range of opportunities across over 30 City departments. The City of El Paso offers both paid and unpaid internships depending on department funding and position availability.

Read also: Unlock summer legal internships

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