Author: Site Staff

The list below includes the key reasons why students pursue internships.
This data is from WetFeet Inc.’s Internship Programs Report 2004 .

    Students take on internships to strengthen their resumes (51 percent), try out a new company or industry (46 percent) as well as embark on a challenge (43 percent).

    Money is also a key motivator (38 percent) as is the opportunity to try out a potential employer (35 percent).

    For undergraduates, strengthening the resume figures even more than other interns.

    As far as MBA students, they’re driven by the chance to better understand a company, job or industry (54 percent) while also hoping to strengthening their resume and do interesting work (44 percent each).

	All students	Undergrad	MBA	Other Grad Students (All)
Respondents	n=2,161	n=866	n=1,188	n=107
	%	%	%	%
Strengthen my resume	51	60	44	53
Try out a new company/industry/job	46	37	54	22
Do interesting/challenging work	43	42	44	50
Earn money	38	47	30	44
Try out a potential full-time employer	35	24	43	37
Learn new skills	25	30	21	28
Get a full-time job offer from employer	23	12	32	13
Make connections/network	21	30	14	24
Live in a specific city/location	8	7	9	7
Have a fun summer	4	5	3	6
Community service	1	1	1	0

 

Goldman Sachs, McKinsey and Microsoft are some of the most sought-after employers by interns. Below are some quotes from interns at these and other companies, commenting on why they found their experiences so appealing.

Deutsche Bank
    “Deutsche Bank evidently places great emphasis on recruiting the top individuals for its internship program. Their extensive interviewing process takes place over a series of interviews and allows both the company and candidate to make sure they are a good fit for each other.”

    “They recruit many interns from many different backgrounds and universities. I also learned that they offer financial and communications training classes, and that they give their interns the chance to interact and meet with some of the company’s top executives.”

    “Focus on providing projects that give interns the opportunity to get broad exposure to the industry and add value during the internship. Also, heavy focus on educating the interns during the program through both work experience and industry specific classroom education.”

    “Generalist program with two rotations. Other banks either don’t rotate (you are hired for a specific function) or you rotate every week. I find it hard to imagine that a first year MBA student knows enough to determine that FX vs. high yield is a better option for their careers.”

    “A very organized internship, including weekly social events to get to know other interns, weekly classes on subjects relevant to the job, official mentors who actually make an effort to stay in touch with your progress, streamlined recruiting process (with same-day decisions), clear expectation settings, and great people to work with.”

General Mills
    “Real, high impact assignments; exposure to senior leadership; planned social and networking activities for interns.”

    “Good name. Solid projects. Learn a lot. Structured. Intern events.”

    “Lots of things – access to sr mgmt, plentiful feedback, off sites, real life on the job experience, good salary, subsidized housing, good yield rate on offers.”

    “First of all, General Mills is known for its great working culture and employees. Interns are assigned projects that not only cater to the company’s interests, but also to the intern’s interest. Furthermore, General Mills offers opportunities in locations all over the U.S.”

    “Structure, meaningful projects, and full-time offer rates.”

Goldman Sachs
    “The fact that Goldman is the most prestigious bank on Wall Street makes the internship so appealing.”

    “The Prestige. The reputation. The people. Teamwork. Meritocracy.”

    “According to the recruiter I talked to it was rotational for the summer so you get exposed to a number of different groups.”

    “Very prestigious; interns learn a lot and are given high amounts of responsibility; pays well; great location (New York City).”

    “Goldman Sachs sets the standard for the summer analyst and associates programs. An internship here opens a lot of doors within the firm and elsewhere.”

Mckinsey
    “Top-notch management consulting experience, board-level exposure, opportunity for full-time employment.”

    “Brand name – MBA’s want to minimize risk so they seek brand recognition as a sign of approval.”

    “Very well structured and set-up in advance so when interns arrive they immediately have the summer expectations clearly laid out and the resources needed to achieve their goals.”

    “Not so much their program as the company’s general reputation as a top consulting firm.”

    “Having McKinsey on your resume even for three short months attracts the attention of most MBA recruiters.”

Microsoft
    “Very competitive salaries, excellent benefits, huge exposure, great opportunity.”

    “They treat their interns very well (in terms of housing accommodations and expenses). Their program is solidly structured, well developed, and well organized.”

    “Interns are supposedly given real responsibility for product features and their housing in Redmond is paid for.”

    “Excellent pay, Very good work environment, Value Addition due to the internship to your resume and interesting projects.”

    “Competitive program, hands-on experience on-site, working in an entry-level position as an undergraduate, high pay.”

Procter and Gamble
    “The company goes above and beyond in providing interns with meaningful internship experiences. The projects model typical, entry-level work assignments. Further, the interns receive a wealth of mentoring and support. The interns are also provided a number of opportunities to learn about the various functional areas of the company from a number of high-ranking Procter & Gamble professionals. The interns are also exposed to a number of social events to interact with Procter & Gamble employees.”

    “The assigned project is well planned with clear objectives, methods of achieving the objectives. A diverse group of interns, from different school, ethic group, major. A large number of interns, all living in the same dorm/place. Good mentor/mentee program. Good housing/relocation arrangement. Good pay and reimbursement.”

    “They give all of their interns substantive work that is comparable to what they would be doing as full-time hires. The pay and benefits are phenomenal. People at the company are good at what they do and are willing to help guide the interns (good support system set up). They really help the interns get to know the city by providing them with a lot of events outside of work (dinner at restaurants, tickets to amusement parks, happy hours, theatre shows, etc.).”

    “The company’s overall reputation and breadth of consumer products allows for learning about the different sectors within such a huge company. Good also for resume building as the company is a competitor to many others in the same industries.

    “They are a large company that takes the time to give interns responsibility that all engineering employees have. This is the most ideal situation; you have a real taste of what work is truly like.”

Sun Microsystems
    “Sun internships not only provide the opportunity to get some practical experience, they also have various programs through which interns can learn more about the sun products, and labs.etc.”

    “You get hands on working with latest technologies, provides great working environment and definitely you get chance to work with the industry leaders here.”

    “A company that puts time and effort into its internship program shows a strong interest in future employees, especially since many companies hire candidates from their pool of interns.”

    “The company itself is so large and deals with so many aspects of computer engineering that no matter what area you internship is in, you can gain knowledge in any field that you want to. Also, there is the possibility of moving into another internship (in another area) once yours is over, if you decide you don’t like what you’re currently doing.”

    “Sun has a structured program specifically with the interns in mind. There are intern activities throughout the internship, many extras that come with the job like the gym access, concierge service, on-site food area, and executive speakers series.”

Unilever
    “It’s organized, challenging, allows you to interact with all levels of management, and puts your educational knowledge to work!”

    “High offer yield; Meaningful, relevant summer projects; Diversity, dynamics, exposure, compensation, ability to advance.”

    “Well-organized, real projects with responsibility, opportunity to learn about all aspects of the company, access to top management, good recruiting process, offers to interns.”

    “Structured program that enable students to work on value-added projects. – Exposure to senior management – interaction with entire intern class.”

SOURCE: Data extracted from WetFeet’sInternship Programs Report 2004.

Employees don’t realize what they’re getting when they receive stock options, according to a Watson Wyatt study.

Employees at U.S. companies think their options are worth 30 to 50 percent less than they really are, according to the survey of 650 high-income employees who received options.

Employees place a higher value on restricted stock, thinking that restricted stock’s worth only 18 percent less than it really is.

FASB has issued a proposal that would require companies to expense options on their income statements. Interested parties can discuss the proposal in the Benefits Forum.

A Towers Perrin’s survey released in December called “Rewards & Performance Management Challenges: Linking People and Results” outlined reward system tips from high performing companies the firm defined as those with 3 year total shareholder return and/or earnings growth that exceeds the median of their global industry groups. A total of 1,294 firms in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America participated in the study.

1. Segment the workforce according to key company functions and high performers:

1. customize reward plans to target business drivers.

2. focus on individual performance and those worker ideas or action that impact the bottom line.

3. strike a balance between absolute contributions and relative performance.

2. Look at the management of performance and rewards holistically.

1. the reward models should be part of an overall company system.

2. understand the cost and value of every program.

3. strike a balance between fixed and variable rewards.

3. Training and communication about the reward program across the company are critical.

1. employees should understand every aspect of the reward system, everything from its design to implementation.

2. managers should be given extensive information on how to manage the reward system.

Workforce Management, April 2004, p. 46 — Subscribe Now!

Ohio businesses are figuring out how their workplace security will be affected by a new law giving adults with the right certification the right to carry a concealed gun, according to Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Employers can still ban guns in their workplaces. Their policies, however, may not be prepared to handle the new law. An employer’s policy, for example, might ban “unauthorized weapons” — and an employee might think that because of the new law, he or she is now authorized to carry a gun to work.

Meanwhile, county sheriff’s offices in Ohio will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars collectively to prepare for the new law. County governments will be preparing to process applications and run background checks on Ohio citizens.

The number of South Carolinians enrolled in HMOs fell by nearly 64,000 last year to its lowest point in nearly a decade, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.

Cigna had 150,000 members in 1996; that number fell to 39,809 in 2003. Carolina Care Plan’s enrollment went from 89,698 in 2002 to 70,108 in 2003.

Jane Dubose of the publishing company HealthLeaders says that South Carolina is not alone. “HMO market share has plummeted more or less everywhere, with few exceptions,” she says.

Several stress-related stories came out from both sides of the Pond in recent days. Croner reports that three-quarters of UK businesses are failing to manage work-related stress, at a cost of 90 million lost working days per year.

Also, a survey of 16 Canadian CEOs sponsored by BMO Financial Group showed that middle managers are the most vulnerable to workplace stress. This stress is caused by widespread job insecurity; pressure to balance work and home life; requirements to do more with fewer resources; unclear job definitions and expectations; and the feeling that cell phones and e-mails have extended the workday to 24 hours.

Yet another study, this one out of Brandeis University, shows that parents under stress because of their kids’ after-school arrangements are more than three times as likely to report high levels of job disruption as other parents. These stressed-out parents miss about eight days of work per year; other parents miss about three. The risk is cut in half when employees can take care of family matters when necessary during the workday, make a short personal call during the workday or leave work at a regular time each day.

A

ccording to a book published in 2002 titled The New Nonprofit Almanac and Desk Reference, by Murray S. Weitzman, nonprofit organizations currently number more than 1 million and employ almost 11 million people, or about 7% of the entire U.S. workforce. Nonprofit agencies wield significant spending power in this country and are a serious force in the economy, but because they are accountable to donors and funding agencies, they have an even greater fiduciary obligation than public or private companies to operate as efficiently as possible by making wise spending choices.

One nonprofit group living up to that responsibility is the YMCA, one of the largest not-for-profit community service organizations in America. Totaling more than 2,500 U.S. facilities, a number of the branches are implementing a workforce management solution—Ultimate Software’s UltiPro—to increase efficiencies and lift their HR and payroll practices to more strategic levels.

The YMCA of Kansas City had been using a service bureau for both HR and payroll, but was frustrated by the fact that the data input into one system could not be merged with data in the other system, making any kind of consolidated reporting nearly nonexistent. Creating the most basic report required a one- to two-day manual manipulation of data. The YMCA desperately wanted a solution that would allow it to compare data between its 17 branch locations, but without the ability to control the information, that aspect of reporting never got done—that is, until October 2003 when the organization went live on UltiPro Workforce Management delivered through Intersourcing, Ultimate Software’s hosted model. Now the YMCA is leveraging the easy-to-use, powerful solution to fully integrate and automate its employee-related operations.

“UltiPro was technologically the most advanced product that we reviewed when we were looking for a new system, and it’s already reduced our 1,300-employee payroll processing time from a few days to a few hours,” said Paul Smith, CFO for YMCA of Kansas City. “I can use UltiPro’s technology to log on at home and access any information in the system, including business intelligence reporting that can help me pinpoint areas of excessive overtime or compare compensation by position. I can then e-mail that report to a manager in any of our 17 locations. Similarly, our managers and employees can use that technology to access information that is appropriate without phone calls to HR or e-mails to payroll. It all adds up. We expect to see significant overall savings.”

Intersourcing is an alternative for businesses like the YMCA that don’t want to purchase hardware or provide staffing to maintain their systems. With Intersourcing, companies can pay per employee per month for UltiPro’s comprehensive functionality, and Ultimate Software hosts the servers, performs system backups, and completes upgrades.

The Metro Atlanta YMCA has experienced its own substantial savings—this time, in efficiencies. The organization had been making time-consuming payroll modifications on Excel spreadsheets and doing without needed reports because the YMCA had separate HR and payroll systems for its 2,000 employees. Federal reports required hours of work, keeping the staff from accomplishing more strategic tasks.

Since implementing UltiPro in July 2001, Katie Carstens, vice president of human resources, said that the solution has helped elevate the organization’s workforce management processes. “When we switched to UltiPro, we were literally going from peanut butter to caviar,” she said. “UltiPro’s integrated reporting is phenomenal. To prepare the same federal reports that used to require hours of work, I now punch ‘Go’, and they’re done.”

The YMCA of Greater Richmond, Va., was similarly pleased with UltiPro’s ability to simplify what once were complicated processes for the agency. Due to seasonal weather changes affecting outdoor sports and summer camps, YMCA organizations like Greater Richmond are often challenged by a fluctuating workforce that is largely made up of part-time employees. These employees might work several different jobs in a single pay period, with different pay rates and at multiple branch locations, creating potential havoc for payroll, budgeting, and reporting. UltiPro manages the YMCA’s complex payroll because the solution supports multiple job codes at multiple pay rates for one person, maintaining paycheck accuracy and providing valuable information to use in labor distribution reports.

“We have many people on our staff wearing different hats – someone may spend five hours a week as a child care counselor, 12 hours a week as an aerobics instructor, and 8 hours a week teaching swimming classes,” explained Brent Williams, systems analyst for the human resource/payroll project. “We looked for a solution that would continue to give us the flexibility to manage this job/branch/pay rate matrix to pay our staff correctly and that would enable us to provide the associated labor time and cost information to our branch executives.

“As a nonprofit entity, the YMCA feels a responsibility to be a good steward of the resources at its disposal. Our staff members are our greatest resource, and UltiPro gives us the tools to maximize their effectiveness. We’ve had a dramatic improvement in our HR information storage and reporting with UltiPro. Since its implementation, the solution has reduced the amount of time our HR staff spends preparing reports, such as monthly retirement contributions, from days to hours. This has been a tremendous improvement to our operations.”

At Northwestern University, job postings for MBAs are up 52 percent from a year ago. It’s one sign that hiring is picking up on college campuses.

Crain’s Chicago Business says that the University of Chicago’s business school is seeing about a 10 percent increase in the number of interviews conducted by employers. The school compared statistics from late last year to 2002.

Roxanne Hori, assistant dean of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, says “the demand is there for talent. Every week, I must get three to five calls–just me–asking how to post a job, how to find an intern, how to hire someone right out of the program.”

Medically underserved areas are paying the price of the war on terrorism, according to Modern Healthcare. About a quarter of all U.S doctors are foreign-born, and about 12 percent of registered nurses.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture withdrew its sponsorship of a program that brought doctors to America under the J-1 visa program and kept them in the country.

Another agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, relaunched the program in July 2003, but it’s a scaled-back version, and a much smaller number of medical professionals are involved.