Some Thoughts on Engineering Internships

Goal

The goal for an engineering internship should be that the intern can:

1. accomplish something that s/he can feel proud of.
2. complete work that they can put on their resume and would be a value-addition for their career.
3. obtain industry experience.

In my experience, the path that checks off all of these boxes is by having the intern work on end-to-end project(s) that they can take from start to completion. Typically, it is a good idea to shortlist a few project ideas and then discuss with the intern after s/he starts, so they know that their interests and inputs are valued. This goes a long way in converting the intern into a returning full-time employee.

Mentoring

Assigning a technical mentor to the intern from the same team should be compulsory. This is an opportunity for the intern to get a helping hand and also for the mentor to get some mentoring and leadership experience. The Engineering Manager (EM) should have a discussion with the mentor at the very beginning or perhaps even before the intern starts, on possible projects for the intern.

Setting Expectations

During the beginning of the internship the EM should have a frank discussion and set expectations with the intern. These expectations should cover:

1. What the intern hopes to get out of the internship.
2. What the EM hopes the intern will gain from the internship.
3. What the intern and his EM can agree on for the internship to be deemed successful. Specifically related to this point, once a specific project(s) has been shortlisted, the mentor (primarily) and EM ensure that a document is produced outlining the project, its milestones and goals.

Regular Feedback

The EM should do regular check-ins with the assigned mentor as well as the intern so any course corrections can be done sooner rather than later. This should happen no less frequent than once every two weeks, perhaps even once a week if necessary. Midway through the internship, a formal evaluation should be done to document if things are still on track.

Final Presentation and Report

The EM should organize final presentation (and ideally even dry-runs) where the intern can talk about their accomplishments. The EM and mentor should work with the intern helping and guiding them to prepare for the presentation as well as a final report.

General Career Guidance

Guidance should be provided to the intern on (this should be orchestrated at a broader company, or organization level):

1. Resume preparation.
2. LinkedIn profile creation, updating, etc.
3. Interviewing as new grads. Some things that can be covered could include:
   1. Technical interview preparation. Resources, study plan, etc.
   2. Behavioral interview preparation.
   3. What does it take for a new grad candidate to be successful during a tech interview, in the tech industry in general, and at this company specifically.

Wrap-up

At the end of the internship, the EM should:

1. Solicit formal feedback from both the intern and his/her mentor for each other.
2. Revisit the talking points from the discussion with the intern during their start and determine if the internship was successful. The intern should also provide feedback to the EM on whether s/he considers the internship to have been a success and what s/he go out of it.

Other

One of the primary goals of an internship should be converting the intern into a full-time employee if their work performance meets the bar. It is very common that once an intern has accepted the returning full-time offer, they may actually not start until months later, and perhaps even a year later. in these cases, it is critical that the EM schedules regular check-ins with the incoming employee so they remain engaged and connected to the company and the team.