Summer Intern Strategy

Many of us have been summer interns at some point in our college careers. Internship experiences can range from filling coffee cups to filling spreadsheets, and some are more beneficial than others. What defines a good internship? What should the student get out of it, and what should the company get out of it?

These are the questions we asked ourselves over the past few months as we prepared for a batch of new interns to arrive this summer. As the GE Transportation IMLP Recruiting Committee chair, I headed up the strategizing around what our intern activities will be for summer 2011. Rather than simply having a few pizza parties, we’ve decided to try to give them a taste of what it means to be an IMLP. Our goal is to help each intern make the best decision about whether or not IMLP is right for them.

In order to achieve this, we have planned an action-packed summer. In addition to the usual beach parties and executive round tables, we have kicked off a team-based technology project. Teams will compete to design a website to be used at Transportation for new employee training. The current IMLPs will provide training and resources on topics such as Agile Methodology and Support Central tools. One result of this project will be a much-needed tool for the business. More importantly, however, this experience will create a simulation of what it’s like to be an IMLP, and showcase the skills we look for in candidates.

As an IMLP, it has been exciting to have this opportunity to look towards the future of the program here at Transportation. Part of our responsibility as current members is to look for the next “generation” of IMLPs and help them discover what the possibilities are. This has also been an excellent opportunity to develop my leadership skills, and to create a vision of what I think a “good internship” would be like.

Have you had a really good internship experience (at GE or elsewhere)? What made it so good?