26 Hoosier Banker October 2016 Reprinted with permission from the August 2016 Independent Banker, published by the Independent Community Bankers of America. Dianna Land of Springs Valley Bank & Trust in Jasper, Ind., offers nine recommendations to ensure a successful internship. 1. Explain the expected outcomes of any internship assignment. 2. Explain the importance of the outcomes. 3. Describe the key aspects of the internship. 4. Define the level of authority with which the employee will begin the assignment. 5. Develop a communication plan to use throughout the internship. 6. Let the intern know how you will inform others who need to know about the assignment. 7. Identify potential problems and how they’ll be addressed. 8. Check throughout the discussion of the assignment to be sure you’ve established expectations clearly. Encourage questions. 9. Clarify what you will do to support the intern’s success. Nine Tips for Internship Success New recruit ‒ Dianna Land (right) talks with Springs Valley Bank & Trust’s current intern, Morgan Peter, a senior at Indiana University Southeast. Continued from page 24. Let infotex help you fight the noise! Save time; do it right: Incident Response Tests CAT Domain 2, 3, 5 Compliance! o IPS/IDS/ SIEM, Firewall Rules Reviews, Port Monitoring, Anomaly Detection Our Clients Sleep At Night! siem.infotex.com A Proud Diamond Member! ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐> intern’s first assignment is a success. “First assignments are crucial,” Land explains. “They lay the groundwork for a successful start and establish good supervisor-intern interaction.” Steps Land recommends include explaining the expected outcome and its importance, describing key aspects of the assignment, and developing a communication plan for use throughout the assignment. Opening Eyes While interns work primarily with one particular department, they also have the opportunity to “job shadow” other departments. Job shadowing gives interns the opportunity to get acquainted with other department activities and gain an overview of the bank’s operations. Says the bank’s 2016 marketing intern, Morgan Peter, a senior at Indiana University Southeast, “I have learned that every role and department within an organization is essential for success.” Peter adds that the internship has opened her eyes to the role of community banks. “I knew very little about the banking industry,” she remarks. “This internship has changed my views of community banks, and I am more aware of how they are engaged and present within the community.” So far, Springs Valley Bank has hosted one intern each year for about three months. Land reports that interns have appreciated the opportunity to apply their educational experience to real-world problems. “You can do all the book work you want, but until you’re hands on, you don’t understand the impact you have on the organization,” she says. Springs Valley Bank plans to continue its internship program and, as part of its structure, conducts exit surveys with the interns to get feedback on how to improve the program. “With each internship, the program can only grow stronger,” Land says.t
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