Hiring interns can greatly benefit your organization. Internships often attract highly motivated students who can bring new perspectives to projects while increasing your visibility within the community and on campus.
Creating an internship or internship program takes careful research, planning, and an understanding of guidelines (from your organization, the Department of Labor and the schools you are planning to recruit from). Here is some important information about internships at Lake Forest College:
- Internships promoted on campus must adhere to our Recruiting Policies and Procedures.
- Credit vs. Non Credit: Juniors and seniors at Lake Forest College often complete internships for academic credit. Employers do not determine whether or not an internship can be taken for credit but structuring your internship to align with the Academic Internship Program Guidelines can make an internship more attractive to students.
- Timeline: We encourage employers to consider the academic calendar when structuring internships. Student actively seek opportunities at the start of each semester. Students planning to take an internship for-credit in the fall and spring semesters will need to secure the opportunity and submit all paperwork before the add/drop date for classes (Fall: Early September, Spring: Mid January).
- Salary/Payment: We encourage all employers to review the guidelines set by the Department of Labor outlining policies pertaining to unpaid internships. The National Association of Colleges and Universities and sites like Glassdoor, Salary.com and Payscale.com can help in researching internship salary benchmarks. Please note that credit is not a substitute for payment.
- Internship Location: Located 30 miles north of Chicago, Lake Forest College is roughly an hour’s commute from the city. Students often intern in Lake County and in the city of Chicago via the In the Loop Program during the academic year. Given the geographic diversity of our student population, many seek opportunities throughout the country and world during the summertime.
- Promoting your Internship: Post your opportunity to our free online job board, Handshake, and consider coming on campus for upcoming recruiting and networking events. Contact us at careers@lakeforest.edu with questions or for more information.
Additional Resources
Start your Internship Program
If your organization does not already have an internship or internship program in place, here are some helpful resources to help you get started, whether on site or virtually:
Compensation and Unpaid Internships
- The Department of Labor Test for Unpaid Interns
- Unpaid Internship Resources for NonProfits
- NACE’s A Position Statement on U.S. Internships
- NACE Salary Calculator
- Glassdoor.com Internship Salary Reports (FREE)
Academic Internships (for-credit)
- Lake Forest College Academic Internship Program Guidelines for Employers