Best Practices Roundtable is your opportunity to learn how to run a high ROI mentoring internship program. Learn how to: Set the goals for the program and organize it Measure the ROI of the program Select appropriate Students Select and empower matched Mentor/Supervisors Launch the program for maximum impact Use evaluations for continuous Improvement

1. By
Jerry Cahn, Ph.D., J.D.
May 5th, 2014
© Presentation Excellence Group, 2014
Create High ROI Mentoring
Internship Programs

2. Three Reasons to Care About
Mentoring Internships

3. 1. Help Young People Make Better Career Decisions
 50%+ of college students cannot find jobs matching their
skills level (Associated Press - 2011)
 Few young people know how to get the right education for a
decent job or launch themselves on a viable career path
(McKinsey - 2012)
 Youth unemployment (<25 years) is 16% in the US (2013)
 Areas with high youth under-employment have greater
crime rates and other social problems

4.  Improve your recruitment process – Hiring skilled interns
allows you to field test them to discover which best fit your
culture, so you make offers to those who do.
 Increase productivity – This relatively inexpensive help will
increase your employees’ productivity and free them to
focus on more creative or complex activities
 Work on special projects
– Expand your reach
 Gain new perspective
– Fresh eyes, millennial values
2. Help Your Company Grow Faster

5. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey wasn’t always the Queen of daytime TV.
While attending Tennessee State University, Oprah got
her start as an intern with a local Nashville TV station.
3. Many Successful People Credit Internships
for Launching their Careers!

6. Tom Hanks
Actor, producer, writer, and director. Hank’s films are shown
worldwide; he’s one of the highest grossing actors in film.
He started as an intern at a Theater festival in Ohio.

7. Bill Gates
Business magnate, software pioneer, entrepreneur,
philanthropist, and the world's richest man.
He started as an intern as a Congressional Page.

8. Steven Spielberg
Film director, screenwriter, producer and business magnate.
Steven started his directing career as an unpaid intern at
Universal Studios; later, he signed on for a 7-year contract.

9. And Countless Others, Including:
Lady Gaga
Mitch Tyson
Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen
Kayne West
Jodie Foster
Stella McCartney
Tom Ford
Sean Avery
Mary Barra
Bill Bradley
Linda Davis
Patrick Ewing
Spike Lee
Brooke Shields
Donald Sutherland
Judy Woodruff
Frank Lloyd Wright
Madeleine Albright
Maria Bartiromo

10. So Step Up and Make a Difference
 Mentor Our Kids, is a non-profit committed to helping
organizations increase the quality and quantity of
mentoring internships
 We provide technical information, tools, support
systems and consultations to help organizations create
sustainable high ROI Mentoring Internship programs
Our Goal:
Helping companies like you
engage 1,000,000 students
in High ROI mentoring internships
by 2016!

11. Understanding High ROI
Internship Mentoring Programs

12. First, It Involves these 4 Parties
 Intern Program Coordinators (IPCs) –
Whoever takes responsibility for organizing the program.
Typically, its a Leader (CEO), HR executive, or a Mentor
doing it on their own
 Mentors – Executives who supervise interns
 Students – Young people who want experience
 School Career Advisors – who seek qualified placements
for their students and appreciate feedback

13. Second, It Involves These Components
SMART Goals
Recruitment of Mentors and Interns
Orientations to Program and
Mentoring Opportunities
Evaluation Systems
Support Systems for IPC’s and Mentors
Support Systems for Interns

14. 1. Set Goals
Decide which goals are most important to you
 Recruit new staff
 Create relationships with young people
 Increase productivity
 Improve staff’s executive & supervisory skills
 Special projects
 Introduce young people to your brands
 Give back to the community

15. 2. Recruit Mentors …
Identify middle & upper managers who:
 Are interested in working with interns
 Will to use them effectively
 Are willing to provide mentoring
about career & workplace issues while working
 Are willing to participate in the
evaluation process and use the
feedback to improve
Be prepared to recognize
them for their efforts
Mentor Mentee

16. …Recruit Interns
 Identify the types of interns you want:
 Grade level (i.e., HS, College, Grad. School)
 Career focus (accounting, sales, etc.)
 Time commitment (Special needs; Pay level; etc.)
 Advertise with the schools & local programs
 List internships on websites
 Conduct interviews and check references
Mentor Mentee

17. 3. Program Orientations…
 Introduce your Interns to your:
 Purpose, Mission, Culture, Values, Strategy, etc.
 Organizational Chart and key support people
 Intern program structure, including evaluations
 Introduce Mentors to your:
Intern program structure
Coaching & supervisory skills
 Introduce Mentor-Intern pairs
to ensure a good fit
 Confirm program parameters: hours, pay, duration

18. …And Discuss Mentoring Opportunities
 Career path – Speaking-up, take initiative, breadth &
depth of professional development
 Skills – How to write better, use new software, make
effective presentations, networking,
 Subject-matter – Learn more about accounting, sales,
research, marketing, engineering, law, politics, etc.
 Work-based habits – Time-management, interpersonal
relationships, communications, delegation
 Organizational issues – Company brand value, strategy,
structure, culture, authority, accountability

19. 4. Evaluations of Processes and Outcomes
There are three times to evaluate:
At the beginning of program obtain baseline data
At the mid-point collect data to make adjustments in
the program
At the end, see how many goals were achieved and
what can be done to improve
future program effectiveness
and productivity

20. 5. Provide IPCs & Mentors With Support…
Introduce Mentor Our Kids’ support tools:
Online Manual which provides information on how
to coordinate the program
Evaluation form templates
Consulting services, including ability
to outsource supervision of the program
Social support through MOK’s Linked In
communities

21. …Inform Interns of their Support Systems
Interns can “pay it forward” by sharing information on the
internship with future students.
Facebook’s InternPower provides social support
InternPower.com’s “Rate Your Internship” allows interns
to provide feedback & guidance for future interns
Depending on how well it’s used, it may also provide
useful information to school intern advisors

22. Now, Become a Mentoring Internship Hero!

23. Thank You!
Mentor Our Kids
is a member of the
Presentation Excellence Group
which provides strategic business development and
leadership training, coaching and consulting services
For further details,
contact 800-493-1334
Louise@MentorOurKids.org
www.PresentationExcellenceGroup.com