Professional Development: New Directions for Texas

Need Assistance With Your Program?
Consider an Intern!

Have you ever considered recruiting a college intern to support your program? Interns can be a great resource for understaffed literacy organizations. Many college students are looking for real life work experience and adult education and literacy programs can offer the kind of hands on, quality experience that provides a win-win situation for both program and intern.

Good internship initiatives begin with a planning process. Give some thought to how you can provide your intern with a well-rounded experience while meeting your organization's needs.

Local colleges and universities tend to be the best place to start your search.

Begin with the university's career services office. If this office doesn't oversee the college's internship program, they can surely give you an appropriate contact person.

Start early. Most students seek out internship opportunities several months prior to the beginning of a new semester. Consider providing a stipend. Given that many internships are unpaid, you substantially increase your chances of finding good candidates if you provide some remuneration.

Don't discount students who attend colleges from outside your area. Summer internships can be particularly appealing for students who have friends, family or a special interest in your community. An especially good resource for recruiting interns nationwide is http://www.monstertrak.com. The Florida Literacy Coalition recently advertised an internship through this service and received more than 20 applicants.

Most colleges in the United States partner with MonsterTrak which provides free internship listings to non-profit organizations.