Advice for Businesses Using Internship Templates

Whether you are considering a college or high school student for an internship, you should have an agreement which clarifies the relationship between your company and the intern. Internship templates can make this process painless and ensure everyone has the same understanding of the role they will be accepting and the obligations of your company and the intern.

• Basics of Interning Agreements
• Paid Versus Unpaid Internships
• Additional Resources

When you make a decision to help the career path of a student, you are offering them an opportunity for real-life experience. Internships can be paid or unpaid, but either way, they offer a learning and growth experience for everyone involved. When using an internship template, you want to make sure you have carefully documented your expectations and laid out the general program for potential interns. Here is what should be included in your internship agreement.

• Your company name and name of intern
• The start and end date of internship
• Whether the internship is paid or unpaid
• If paid internship, agreement on terms (payment)
• Potential (but no guarantee) of future employment
• Expectation of working hours (number per day/week)
• Acknowledgement of receipt of company policies which apply to an intern
• How to end internship (for both parties)
• Process for reporting absences
• Confidentiality and non-compete clauses
• Acknowledgement that internship agreement is not an employment contract

These basic features in an internship template can be customized to fit your specific needs. Make sure you have carefully considered your options before meeting with potential interns, and you have a plan in place for utilizing them during the period of time you intend to have the intern as part of your staff.

Before a for-profit company can use unpaid internships, there are certain requirements which are set forth by the Department of Labor. Primarily, an unpaid intern must be getting training which is in line with their academic learning. There are ways to “test” whether your company can meet the requirements to have unpaid interns which comprise of six steps:

1. The employer does not benefit from the internship, the student does.
2. Student interns are receiving similar training at school and may get school credit for the work they do at your company.
3. The training of a student may impede your workflow, and you obtain no immediate advantage from their time with your company.
4. You are not replacing an employee with a student. Someone in your company is serving as a mentor who will supervise the student.
5. You have not offered, nor is there an expectation of employment before or during the internship.
6. The intern has no expectation of receiving pay during their training with your company.

While your company may qualify to have an unpaid intern on staff, not every company will. However, the good news is an internship template can benefit you whether you are seeking paid or unpaid interns.

One of the best reasons to consider having an intern working at your company is you can help guide someone to a more productive future. Students are often seeking new opportunities to expand their horizons and you can be part of that.

• How to Develop an Internship Program at Your Organization
• Good internships are good business
• INTERNSHIP TOOLKIT
• Internship Program Template
• Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act

Any agreement between two parties must be legally binding upon both. The only way to do this is to make sure the agreement is signed by those who have agreed to the terms. After you have customized your internship template, then you must get signatures. Rather than having an intern visit your company another time for the purposes of gathering their signature, you can elect to use E-Signing as a secure, quick, and efficient method of closing the deal and ensuring you do not lose a great intern candidate to another company.

We can help! Start your free trial of Nitro today and find out how easy it is to gather the signatures you need to finalize your internship agreement.