PENN STATE OFFICE OF

HUMAN RESOURCES
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
PROPOSAL
PSU OHR GROUP
LER 460, FA 17
OVERVIEW

Purpose Rotations
Onboarding
Internship Goals Recommended Tasks
Recruiting Recruiting
Compensation
Interviewing Benefits
Housing Training/ Development
Internship Project
Compensation Benefits of Program
PURPOSE

The purpose of this proposal is to create an internship program to serve

the Penn State Office of Human Resources with a structure to build a
custom internship program to their specific needs and wants, within the
framework of what a college student expects of an internship in 2017.
FALL/SPRING INTERNSHIP VS SUMMER
This plan is based off of a summer internship structure
We determined that having a summer internship is very preferable to
trying to have a year-long internship.

Helping out in the Human Resources office with needed tasks could
be converted into a work study position, which many offices in the
HUB currently do.

Attempting to have interns work around school schedules and regular

business hours for the Office of Human Resources is undesirable and
will lead to a limited talent pool
INTERNSHIP GOALS

Expose Juniors/Seniors to a professional HR environment

Create a potential talent pipeline to the Office of Human Resources
Give exposure to different tasks in HR: Compensation, benefits,
recruiting, interviewing, performance reviews, etc.
EXAMPLE STRUCTURE

11 week program
BEGIN: May 21
END: August 6
Holidays/Dates Off: Memorial Day, 4th of July
These dates give 2 weeks after school ends & 2 weeks before the new
semester begins for vacations, relaxation, etc.
May 21-May 28 Introduction Week/Getting
comfortable/Learning Office
Protocol/Learning programs
used/Onboarding/Ethical Foundations

May 28 June 11th Rotation 1

June 11th June 25th Rotation 2

June 25th July 9th Rotation 3

July 9th July 23rd Rotation 4

July 23rd July 30th Bonus Rotation: Interns Choice

July 30th August 6 Intern Project/extra bonus week of

rotation
End Date: August 6
RECRUITING

Penn State students are primary targets

LER Majors, others to be considered could be PSYCH, Sociology, etc.
Utilize LER and other mailing listservs to reach junior and senior LER
majors and minors.
Utilize Jessica Steele, career coordinator for LER, to send out information
about internship in weekly mailings
Attend Fall (and Spring, if necessary) career fairs.
Post internship on websites such as LinkedIn
INTERVIEWING

Structured interview to ensure fairness and avoid bias

Use situational STAR interview questions to see candidate's
thought process regarding ethical dilemmas and experiences.
Situation, Task, Action, Result

Interview structure should be consistent for every candidate, while

the questions should differ.
Provide an opportunity for conversational questions either before
or after STAR questions.
HOUSING

In our survey, only 14% of respondents claimed they think an intern

site should provide housing

Most juniors/seniors at Penn State live off campus, with most leases
going through mid-August (end date of August 6 should be fine)

If students dont have housing, student sublets are abundant for very
cheap prices
COMPENSATION

Funding seems to be a variable situation to the OHR

If funding is available, $10 is the universitys minimum wage, and this
would suffice for most interns

Paid hours would depend on available funding, however most interns

would expect 35-40 hours per week

Unpaid internships would lead to a very weak talent pool for this
location over the summer
ROTATIONS
Hands on learning is how most survey respondents said they learn the
best, so getting exposure to each area would be important to intern
development

Schedule would provide four two-week rotations on different HR functions,

plus one bonus week of work that the intern chooses which function to
work with

End of internship allows for one week for OHR staff to assign a project to
the intern for them to complete

Suggested rotations include: Recruiting, Compensation, Benefits,

Training/Career Development/Onboarding
Training/Orientation

During the first week interns will become accustomed to office

policies, computer systems, and PSU ethical values

Interns will be required to complete PSU ethical training and

onboarding programs

Interns will learn other ethical lessons such as reporting abuse,

learning the PSU ethics and compliance hotline system, and other
responsibilities as a mandated reporter at Penn State
RECOMMENDED TASKS: RECRUITING
Write drafts of job postings
Provide an accurate job description

Review resumes for open positions

Creating an application

Attend annual career fair and/or C.A.R.E Fair

Sit in on interviews/administer interview questions
Situational/Behavioral Questions

Compose offer letters

Learn ethical recruitment strategies/Equal Employment strategies
RECOMMENDED TASKS: COMPENSATION

Assist in creation of compensation packages for newly hired

employees

Payroll submission
Job benchmarking
Pay scale benchmarking
Pay grade determination
RECOMMENDED TASKS: BENEFITS

Creation of benefits packages of newly hired employees

Create information on potential benefits for employees to choose their
own benefits

Assist in health insurance compliance with ACA

Database maintenance on employee benefits
RECOMMENDED TASKS:
TRAINING/DEVELOPMENT/ONBOARDING
Review training tools for new jobs and determine adequacy
Compile materials for onboarding for new PSU hires
Provide information to employees when required ethics and
compliance training is due

Update employee database for training compliance

New hire paperwork completion (I-9s, etc)
FINAL INTERN PROJECT

Final week of internship may be flexible to HR staff

There are a few options:
The intern could do an extra week rotation on his or her selected
area of work OR assign an intern a week long project to complete
based on office need

Students surveyed claim that having projects assigned to them give

them a heightened sense of meaning at their workplace and enjoy the
responsibility
BENEFITS OF THIS PROGRAM

Most students wont have to pay extra money for housing, giving them
extra incentive to consider this program

Program gives a possible pipeline to PSUs OHR future staffing

Start/end dates provide time for interns to adjust before and after the
internship from the school year

Diverse group of rotations, flexible baseline for PSU OHR to adjust to

their own customized needs as they arise
Conclusion

We hope this internship program will provide students and the Office
of Human Resources with valuable insight, knowledge, and support.
Thank You

Questions?