Michael A. Arnold, Professor of Landscape Horticulture
Texas A&M University, Department of Horticultural Sciences
College Station, TX 77843-2133

Is your firm's growth limited by a lack of high quality managers or supervisors? How
does the opportunity to preview a new manager's work ethic, skill level, problem solving
abilities, and ability to learn new concepts sound? Let us consider that this is also without the
need to make an up-front long-term commitment in benefits and perks. Many progressive
horticultural firms are getting a scoop on the recruiting effort for quality management personnelby serving as a host firm to undergraduate or graduate interns. Host firms have an opportunity to see students in action before they make hefty permanent commitments to full-time salaries and benefits. Semester long internships offer a chance to get to know a potential employee's knowledge of the field, watch them in realistic problem solving situations, see if they can quickly assimilate new concepts and adapt to changing situations. The supervisor gets a chance to see how the intern's personality will fit with the current employee mix. It is essentially a chance to preview potential managers for your firm. Apparently many managers like the opportunity as many of our interns return to classes with a standing offer to work for the firm upon graduation.

Most educational institutions have provisions for an internship program that provides some academic credit toward fulfilling graduation requirements. Many universities require internship or work experience as a portion of their degree requirements, while at other institutions such course credit is possible, but not required. Some universities offer cooperative education (coop) programs that differ from internships in that a student in a coop program typically alternates, several times during their academic career, between periods of working at the firm or organization of choice and going to classes. Whereas, internships are predominantly one-time stays for a semester or two. Some students will participate in internships at two or more firms during their academic careers. Many institutions of higher learning have appointed internship coordinators for the various departments, or programs, so that a single contact person is designated who is familiar with paperwork and policy requirements relating to the internships.
Other schools will arrange internships through the various faculty advisors to students in their field of expertise. One of the first steps toward attracting interns is to make contact with the
internship coordinators in the departments of programs from which you wish to recruit.

Timeliness of contact is an important first step in the recruiting effort. While prime recruiting times vary among educational institutions based on their academic calendars, the peak time for horticulture internship recruiting often runs from late winter through early spring. This is when most students are arranging summer internships. The vast majority of horticulture
majors participate only in summer internships. This is due to the fact that most universities offer each upper division horticulture course only once per year and this is almost always in the spring or fall semesters, with winters included for institutions on quarter systems. While the most desirable time for an intern may be spring or fall from the company's perspective, this may necessitate the delay of graduation for the intern for one or more semesters or quarters. This is acceptable to very few students, hence if a large pool of applicants is critical to obtaining a high quality intern, firms must adapt to the student's available time slots. Recruiting too early will often yield as few of results as too late, as most students do not actively begin searching for internships until a few months prior to the summer. Alternatively, if firms wait too late, then the best prospects have probably been gobbled up by competitors. In our experience with a semester system, late January through March are the key months. After spring break, usually late March to mid-April, students shift their attention to increasing class demands late in the semester, ignoring internship concerns until the last minute.

One of the first questions that firms ask about internship programs is what paperwork is
required. This varies tremendously among institutions. Here at the Texas A&M University
Department of Horticultural Sciences we have made a large effort to keep the official paperwork to a minimum. From host firms we require two one page forms; an internship agreement form that indicates general areas of work experiences, educational activities, duration of the internship, and designation of an on-site supervisor; plus a one page student evaluation form that is meant to be a discussion tool for evaluating the internship with the student just prior to their completion of the on-site portion of the internship. The remaining paperwork is the responsibility of the student and internship coordinator at the university.

Other pre-internship concerns might include insurance or bonding requirements,
prerequisite experience requirements by the employer or the university, designation of
supervisory or evaluation roles, and likely an interview with the internship coordinator at the
university. University internship coordinators are primarily concerned with the educational
value of the internships. Internship coordinators do not act as an agent of the student. However, they will most likely be looking for assurances that the student is not just a cheap source of labor for repetitive summer jobs, as this does not constitute an internship. Internship coordinators will be looking for a designation of an on-site supervisor for the interns that will be responsible for their day-to-day supervision. This person should ultimately be responsible for on-site evaluation. Supervision or evaluation by committee is seldom successful and creates confusion and tension for the interns. Internship opportunities should have full position descriptions, just as if they were permanent positions with the firm. These position descriptions can be used as recruiting tools. Internship position descriptions should clearly indicate the prerequisite course or subject knowledge that is needed to participate in the internship. This will help internship coordinators and students to determine if they are adequately advanced in their studies to fulfill the firm's expectations of the interns. Position descriptions for various internship opportunities within a firm should be compared and updated occasionally to ensure that inequities are not perceived in terms of opportunities for learning and level of work required for the rewards offered for the different internships. Bonding and liability insurance requirements should be designated prior to the internship. Most educational institutions assume no responsibility for the intern's or firm's actions. This can be of particular concern if interns will be handling funds, supervising other personnel, operating equipment / vehicles, or working directly with clients. Depending upon the institutions involved, arrangements for on-site visits by the internship coordinators may be required.

Students' material concerns during the internships will include such topics as housing,
remuneration, transportation, and required personal equipment or clothing. Housing is a primary concern cited by students when attending internships that are not located immediately adjacent to large urban areas or are located out-of-state. On-site housing can be a recruiting plus. At the least, firms might be able to arrange short-term leases, perhaps even acting as a co-signer if necessary, for the few months during the internship. Pay for internships is variable, but is usually similar to that received on summer jobs. In seven years as an internship coordinator, I have had only one student take an unpaid internship and that was with a non-profit service organization. Most internships do not include benefits beyond government mandated workers compensation, social security payments, etc. Some pay the students on an hourly basis, others pay on a stipend arrangement. Specialized personal equipment or clothing necessary for the internship are usually provided by the firms. Transportation costs are usually paid if travel is required on a frequent basis, or a vehicle is provided.

While student interns are expected to work hard and probably be involved for limited
times with repetitive tasks, the learning curve for repetitive tasks such as sticking cuttings,
potting plants, boxing plants, mowing grass, or edging sidewalks is very steep … in other words
do not expect interns to be a solution to manual labor shortages. Working conditions should be
clearly defined prior to execution of the internship agreement. Duration of the internship, as well as the hours of work, should be agreed to in advance of the student's arrival. Many internships are for 12 to 15 week durations and most are approximately 40 hours per week. Lines of communication and authority should be clearly stated. The physical work environment should be discussed with the intern during the negotiation phase. Supervisors should be clearly
designated. As previously mentioned, a thorough job description should be on file. Students
should be expected to treat supervisors and fellow employees with respect and should in turn be accorded the same. No employee, male or female, should be placed in situations that could be construed as sexual harassment or represent unreasonable risk of bodily injury.
Professional development opportunities are significant contributors to student satisfaction
with the internship. Students participate in internships to gain practical knowledge and insight
into the industry. Mentoring of students by the supervisor as if they were grooming a new
manager is a good goal. This implies that firms need to look at student interns as an investment in future management, rather than an initial payback. Supervising a good internship will require as much or more time from the supervisor as the intern saves the supervisor. If this kind of time commitment is not available, do not hire an intern. The interns will likely contribute only as much as they are given an opportunity to do so by their supervisor.

Providing a variety of different learning opportunities is critical to students' positive
reviews of internships, and hence subsequent interest from other students. One of the best ways to ensure a variety of learning experiences is to have a predetermined rotation of the interns through the various departments of the firm. This should include a significant exposure to the management side of the business as well as the technical applied tasks. Students need exposure to the marketing, sales, finance, materials procurement, and personnel management aspects as well as the technical hands-on activities specific to the horticulture industry. When rotating the interns, someone in each department needs to be designated to work directly with the interns during that portion of the rotation. This usually works out more smoothly if that person can be relieved of a few of their normal duties to allow some additional time to be spent with the interns. Development of a special project or job that the intern can develop a feeling of ownership toward can be a source of pride to the intern, and if well chosen a contribution to the firm's goals. Opportunities to display the supervisory skills that interns are learning during their stay may be a good activity for later portions of the internship, but supervisors should be leery of placing a student intern in a supervisory role prior to adequate training. Field trips to industry meetings, conferences, trade shows, involvement in employee training programs, and inclusion in company social activities are other activities cited as memorable by returning interns.

How do you get the word out about your firm's internship program? The best method is
word of mouth from former interns! It is truly amazing to see the grapevine of information at
work among students preparing for internships. The first place that students go for information
on firms / organizations that they wish to apply to for internships is not the internet, newsletters, faculty, or promotional brochures. It is other students. A motivated former intern who left your firm with increased knowledge of the field and a positive experience will do your recruiting for you. Conversely, a poorly organized and directed internship, or one in which the students perceive themselves as sources of cheap labor, are the quickest way to kill student participation. Think hard about the commitment you are making prior to taking the first intern. While the internship is of a limited duration, the positive or negative reputation that the firm acquires will long outlive the individual student's academic career. This can be a great recruiting tool or an albatross for the firm.

Other possibilities for recruiting interns are to contact internship coordinators, develop
promotional materials, visit campuses, or advertise in print and/or electronic media. When
contacting internship coordinators keep it brief and to the point. Offer to provide job
descriptions with the specifics of the internship for posting or distribution to students. Color
promotional brochures that are used to advertise the firm can also be used to educate students
about the company. Provide contact information from previous interns (but only with their
permission!) as references … take advantage of these spokespersons. Ask internship or job
coordinators at the university about newsletters and possible inclusion of internship
opportunities. Firms may want to enquire about on-campus interviews, but one of the more
effective campus visits is often to participation in job fairs. These may be available at both
institutions of higher learning in your area and at industry trade shows or conferences. Making
arrangements to participate well in advance of the dates of the events is usually necessary. Do
not ignore the power of electronic media, particularly the world wide web or internet. Several
institutions provide internship / job newsletter opportunities (http://aggiehorticulture.
tamu.edu/introhtml/hortprog.html#undergrad; http://ashs.org/hortopport/index.html) and
some have searchable on-line data bases available for advertising internships
(http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/hcs/Ed/Interns.html) or searching for interns (http://aggies-for-hire. tamu.edu/). Students are becoming very savvy about the internet. Developing a company web page for internships and other promotional activities is likely a good investment.
The good, the bad, and the ugly applies to internships. Good internship programs are a
fantastic way to recruit new managers. Bad internship programs can result in a really ugly
company image that will hinder recruitment of college students for years to come. On a final
note, a special thanks to all the firms that have contributed to educating Texas Aggies, we
appreciate your efforts! A copy of our internship course packet and accompanying forms is
available.