Make the internship process simple

Today, many modern universities are implementing internship programs, so that students can get valuable work experience while they study. This is a significant draw for students. However, these intern programs can be very inefficient and difficult to navigate because efficient protocol potentially has not yet been learned or implemented. Ricoh can help streamline these processes such that students get the best possible experience. 

Internship programs provide many benefits to students, such as gaining job experience, obtaining transferable skills, networking, and more. However, the way these programs are set up can also cause frustration and difficulty:

• Some schools still have job openings posted on physical bulletin boards.This means that students can only find out about jobs, if they are on campus looking at the boards. Also, some students might miss out on jobs not because they weren’t the most qualified, but because another student saw the posting on campus boards sooner.
• The purpose of getting an internship through school is supposed to be that the school helps find opportunities. However, in many cases, schools leave the application and interview process completely up to students, forcing them to travel to various locations for interviews. Getting to these locations could be expensive and/or may come at the expense of attending classes or meetings with professors.
• There may be a completely different system set up for employers and employees, leading to confusion. Something as a simple as a different time-zone setting can mean a missed interview, a frustrated employer, and a devastated student.

Ricoh has seen problems like this in our working relationships with over 100 post-secondary institutions across Canada. Given our commitment to building the future, we work quickly to find the best ways to remedy such situations. We know schools implement internship programs for the many benefits they provide, and we want to make sure that they are reaping the rewards of their efforts to prepare students for the next phase of their lives. 

• A secure web portal allows employers and students to communicate. Through this portal, employers can post job openings and students have the ability to apply for interested posts.
• If they wish, employers can use dynamic web forms to filter out candidates to ensure they are interviewing only those students whom they would wish to hire. 
• Employers can offer students with interview time slots through a system-integrated calendar. Employers will also be able to add additional information about the interview, including the type of interview (video chat, in-person, phone, etc.) and what will be required during the process. Once a student is offered an interview slot, they can be notified via an automatically generated email. Once they accept a slot, the employer is notified of this update.
• School administrators, including instructors, can be kept in the loop on their students’ internship activities, and students have the ability to notify their instructors, if they are forced to miss a class due to an interview.

Internship programs are a great opportunity for students to grow and help your university’s reputation. Ricoh can help create a smooth, simple and interactive process. Call us today to set up a consultation!

Finally,
please do keep in mind that Ricoh is not providing legal advice or ensuring
legal compliance with any law, regulation, by-law or any other legislative
requirement with respect to the content of this communication. It is the
customer’s responsibility to obtain advice of competent legal counsel to ensure
its compliance with such requirements