Internship Process Overview

Manage the internal internship process by completing the following steps:

1. Identify an internship coordinator for the agency.
2. Determine the type of internship(s) needed (paid or unpaid).
3. Clearly outline the internship project, role, learning objectives and goals for the intern.
4. Define beginning and end dates for the internship assignments.
5. Assign a supervisor or mentor to each intern.
6. Contact HR to initiate the recruitment of interns.
7. Provide HR detailed information on the internship requirements prior to recruitment (job description/project, length of internship, and type of internship).
8. Track the Salt Lake County Internship Agreement and required training records for the intern.
9. Ensure unpaid interns are affiliated with a school contract and/or receive academic credit.
10. Ensure new hire paperwork is complete and a copy of the Salt Lake County Internship Agreement is forwarded to Human Resources.
11. Ensure the intern onboarding process is completed. Refer to New Employee Onboarding Resources.
12. Provide the intern with feedback on learning objectives and goals.
13. Provide resources, equipment, and facilities to the intern.
    
    

Manage the internship recruitment process and webpage by completing the following steps.

1. Identify all participating agencies and internship coordinators in the County.  Refer to Agency Contact List.
2. Ensure that all interns (paid or unpaid) are hired and tracked through HR’s applicant tracking system and in PeopleSoft.
3. Provide agencies a clear definition of volunteer, temporary employee and intern classifications.
4. Ensure completion of the Salt Lake County Internship Agreement, required trainings, and intern feedback form.
5. Define an internship recruitment process.
6. Market the County internship opportunities to the public (through the Jobs listing website, career fairs, and college & university resources)
7. Post internship opportunities on the County “Jobs” listing website.
8. Assist in the sharing of best practices between agencies.
9. Work with agencies or elected officials on any intern referrals.
10. Maintain an internship webpage with any updates and relevant documentation.
11. Provide guidance to agency on proper recruitment, selection, and hiring processes to mitigate potential employment risks.
    
    

Paid Interns - Paid interns are trained under the supervision of an experienced and high performing employee while learning a profession or trade for a defined period of time.  Paid Interns are set up in the system through the same process that temporary employees are. Paid Interns are  covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations, must be paid at least minimum wage, and receive overtime for any hours “worked” over 40 in the workweek. Paid Interns are not considered to be benefitted, regular employees; they are considered “at will” and may be terminated without notice and without a pre-termination hearing.  Paid interns cannot be guaranteed employment following their internship.  They must work an average of less than 129 hours per month during their measurement period. Refer to the Benefits website for information regarding measurement periods.
Paid interns must complete the County Internship Agreement.

Unpaid Interns - Unpaid Interns participate with the County in an educational or academic capacity designed to provide students with professional experience in the continuance of their education and training. Unpaid Interns are not covered under FLSA regulations and are not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.  The internship experience is for the benefit of the unpaid intern; the provider or agency that trains the intern derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the unpaid intern. 
Unpaid Interns do not displace or cover for regular employees but they work under close supervision of experienced and high performing staff. The unpaid intern is not guaranteed employment during and following their internship and is not required to maintain a particular schedule or work a minimum number of hours except as required to obtain academic credit.  Unpaid interns must complete the County Internship Agreement.

Unpaid interns will obtain a profile and be tracked in HR’s applicant tracking system and PeopleSoft with “$0.00” in the Comp Rate field. 

Temporary Employee - Temporary employees are covered under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations, must be paid at least minimum wage, and receive overtime for any hours worked over 40 in the workweek.  Temporary employees are not considered to be benefited, regular employees; they are considered “at will” and may be terminated without notice and without a pre-termination hearing.  Temporary employees cannot be guaranteed merit, benefitted employment following the end of their temporary employment.  They must work an average of less than 129 hours per month during their measurement period. Refer to the  Benefits website for information regarding measurement periods.

Volunteers - Volunteers perform service for the County for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation or receipt of compensation for services rendered.  Volunteers are not covered under the FLSA regulations and are not entitled to wages for the time spent in a volunteer assignment.  Although volunteers can receive no wages, they can be reimbursed for expenses or receive a nominal fee.  Volunteers must offer their services freely and without pressure or coercion, direct or implied, from an employer.  Volunteers must not be employed as an employee by the same agency to perform the same type of services as those for which the individual volunteers.  Volunteers must complete the Salt Lake County Volunteer Form.

Seasonal Employees - Seasonal employment is defined as temporary employment in which the employee  may work more or less than 30 hours per week, but must work for less than 6 months.  Seasonal employees must have a break in service for a period of 13 weeks before being rehired. The break in service is obtained through processing a termination workflow at the end of the seasonal assignment. Seasonal employees are covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and must be paid at least minimum wage and receive overtime for any hours worked over 40 in the work week.  Seasonal employees are not considered to be benefited, regular employees; they are considered “at will” and may be terminated without notice and without a pre-termination hearing.  Seasonal employees cannot be guaranteed benefitted, regular employment following the end of their seasonal employment.

Interns will apply for the internship program through the County website and have their application reviewed by the HR Consultant and Agency Internship Coordinator. 

External Recruitment

1. Before the internship begins, the agency should provide a brief description of the primary duties and responsibilities of the internship as well as the minimum qualifications for the position.  See Intern Job Description template.
2. All interns must submit a resume and complete the online application.  
3. The agency Internship Coordinator will be given access to applications to review and schedule interviews.  
4. Internship candidates may submit an application for placement without a specific internship opening.  In this instance, the HR Consultant will post the position and collect applications from prospective interns and forward the application to the appropriate agency.
5. Once the application is accepted, the participating agency’s  internal placement procedures will be followed.  In some agencies this may mean that Interns can be placed any time, while other agencies may choose to only place interns at prearranged times during the year and follow a formal interview and placement process.
6. Agencies have the discretion to accept intern resumes and select an intern without announcing the internship.  In this case, the agency will contact their HR Consultant to create a requisition and hire the intern in the applicant tracking system.

Every intern will be required to complete the following:

• Sexual Harassment Prevention & Ethics Training
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement 
• Salt Lake County Internship Agreement Form
• Any additional documentation required by the division/department

1. All interns are required to complete Sexual Harassment Prevention & Ethics training 
2. Paid interns are required to complete New Hire Orientation
3. As appropriate and approved by the agency, all interns are eligible for the following optional County sponsored training:
   
   • Diversity training
   • Defensive driving (if applicable)
   • Any training offered by Employee’s University based on agency needs
     
     

Each agency will have the discretion to develop selection procedures appropriate to their needs.