THE EMPLOYER’S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL INTERNSHIPS - Produced by the College, Career & Community Pathways Program - May 2023

Sep 22, 2026

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Employer-focused toolkit for designing and implementing successful internship programs that recruit, develop, and retain diverse interns. Explains work-based learning as a continuum and guides employers through an end-to-end process: envision, design, outreach & recruit, interview, launch & orient, implement, and celebrate & conclude. Includes actionable program design activities, templates, resources, and mentoring/coaching approaches. Grounds guidance in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices to expand opportunities, access, and workplace success for New Mexican youth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages63

Reading Time22 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

WBL Continuum

What Is An Internship?

Additional Resources

PART 1 - ENVISION

Why Work-Based Learning?

Why Host Interns? A Both/And Approach

Employer Benefits

Intern Benefits

Program Design Activities

PART 2 - DESIGN

DEVELOP: Both/And Value Approach

DEFINE: Program Structure

DETERMINE: Key Roles and Responsibilities

DETAILS: Human Resource Considerations

Program Design Activities

PART 3 - OUTREACH

DEVELOP: The Intern Position

DETERMINE: Outreach and Recruitment

Online and Physical Postings

Proactive Recruitment Timeline

Program Design Activities

PART 4 - INTERVIEW

Mitigate Unconscious Bias in the Hiring Process: Process Not People

Practices to Increase Equity in the Process

Common Hiring Biases

Program Design Activities

PART 5 - LAUNCH

Confirmation and Welcome Letter/Email

Launch Event

Orientation: Supervisor/Mentors

Orientation: Interns

Engage Other Employees

Program Design Activities

PART 6 - IMPLEMENT

Powerful Projects and Work

Work Plan

The Power of Structured Check-ins

Convey

Confer

Coach

Conclude

Developmental Feedback

The Feedback Process

Mid-point Conference

Final Review

Support the Intern’s Network and Social Capital

PART 7 - CELEBRATE

Closing Event & Celebration

Exit Interview/Survey

Transition

Follow-up and Ongoing Connection

Program Evaluation

Implementation Resources and Templates

PART 8 - ACTIONS

Realistic Expectations: Your Program’s First Year

Appreciation

PART 9 - WORK CITED

THE EMPLOYER’S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL INTERNSHIPS Produced by the College, Career & Community Pathways Program TOBIE BAKER WRIGHT, AUTHOR — MAY 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION page 5 WBL Continuum 6 What Is An Internship? 7 Additional Resources 8 PART 1 ENVISION page 9 Why Work-Based Learning? 10 Why Host Interns? A Both/And Approach 10 Employer Benefits 11 Intern Benefits 13 Program Design Activities 14 Section Summary 14 2 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.) PART 2 DESIGN page 15 DEVELOP: Both/And Value Approach 16 DEFINE: Program Structure 16 DETERMINE: Key Roles and Responsibilities 17 DETAILS: Human Resource Considerations 18 Program Design Activities 21 Implementation Resources and Templates 21 Section Summary 21 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 3 OUTREACH page 22 DEVELOP: The Intern Position 24 DETERMINE: Outreach and Recruitment 24 Online and Physical Postings 24 Proactive Recruitment Timeline 26 Program Design Activities 28 Implementation Resources and Recruitment 28 Section Summary 28 PART 4 INTERVIEW page 29 Mitigate Unconscious Bias in the Hiring Process: Process Not People 30 Practices to Increase Equity in the Process 31 Common Hiring Biases 32 Program Design Activities 34 Implementation Resources and Templates 34 Section Summary 34 3 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.) PART 5 LAUNCH page 35 Confirmation and Welcome Letter/Email 36 Launch Event 36 Orientation: Supervisor/Mentors 37 Orientation: Interns 37 Engage Other Employees 37 Program Design Activities 39 Implementation Resources and Templates 39 Section Summary 39 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 6 IMPLEMENT page 40 Powerful Projects and Work 41 Work Plan 41 The Power of Structured Check-ins 42 Convey 43 Confer 43 Coach 43 Conclude 43 Developmental Feedback 44 The Feedback Process 44 Mid-point Conference 45 Final Review 45 Support the Intern’s Network and Social Capital 47 Implementation Resources and Templates 48 Section Summary 48 PART 7 CELEBRATE page 49 Closing Event & Celebration 50 Exit Interview/Survey 50 Transition 51 Follow-up and Ongoing Connection 51 Program Evaluation 51 Implementation Resources and Templates 52 Section Summary 52 4 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.) PART 8 ACTIONS page 53 Realistic Expectations: Your Program’s First Year 54 Appreciation 54 PART 9 WORK CITED page 55 INTRODUCTION Internship programs give New Mexican employers a way to find, develop, and retain local talent. Young people in our state have deep connections to culture, family, and community. Participating in internships enables young people to envision themselves as professionals, to find work opportunities without leaving our state, to understand what is needed to succeed in the workplace, to make informed educational choices, and to find lasting purpose in both their community and their career. By investing in young New Mexicans today, employers can build their stable workforce of tomorrow. This tool kit was created to guide you, the employer, in creating your internship program to recruit and retain promising, diverse interns. It will guide you throu

FAQs

What is the purpose of this internship toolkit for employers?

It guides employers in creating an internship program that can recruit and retain promising, diverse interns. It walks through the end-to-end process from envisioning the program to implementing and concluding thoughtfully.

How is work-based learning defined in the guide?

Work-based learning is described as a continuum that includes learning about work and learning through work experiences. It covers career exploration, career exposure, and career engagement.

Which phases does the toolkit cover when building an internship program?

The guide structures the work into phases: Envision, Design, Outreach & Recruit, Interview, Launch & Orient, Implement, and Celebrate & Conclude, with specific activities, tools, and resources in each section.

Sep 22, 2026

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