Patrick Cronin

Shadowing & Short-Term Projects

EXPLORE ILR Careers offers terrific opportunities for employers to support ILR students' career interests while increasing their brand presence on campus. Through these programs ILR students can expect to:

  • Engage with alumni or organizations invested in ILRies   
  • eXamine potential career paths  
  • Participate in the workplace up close and personal  
  • Learn to apply their academic courses in practical work settings 
  • Observe the day-to-day activities of sponsors and organizations 
  • Reflect on their experiences and how they relate to career interests  
  • Enhance their understanding of particular organizations or career fields

The Field Shadowing Program is designed primarily for first-year undergraduate ILR students (freshmen and transfer students). It is a one-day shadowing program that provides an invaluable opportunity for participants to explore diverse ILR-related career fields, gain firsthand work exposure, and network with alumni/sponsors.

Career Exploration Project is designed specifically for sophomores, juniors, seniors, and first-year MILRs. Opportunities typically last two to three weeks and are intended for participants to explore a particular industry to develop on-the-job experience through a short-term assignment with a project sponsor.

To learn more about how to provide one of these opportunities, contact ilrocsEXPLORE@cornell.edu. 

Register to host students for the EXPLORE program.

 

Virtual Summer Internships

Virtual summer experiences are a great way to manage your internship program, without having to bring students on site. For little cost, technology can help employers develop positive working relationships with the student, introduce them to the culture that surrounds the workplace, and provide an instructional and meaningful experience.  

Since location is no longer a concern, employers can open up to a diverse pool of applicants. Plus, this generation of college students are very tech savvy and are comfortable working on virtual platforms. Post open opportunities on Handshake. If you’re interested in interviewing on campus for these roles, contact Angela Shurtleff, Employer Connections Specialist, at ilrcareerrecruiting@cornell.edu.

 

Micro-Internships

Micro-Internships are paid short-term projects, consisting of a few hours to four weeks' worth of work. They are a great way to address projects that have been set aside and need attention or to support new priorities.

Micro-internships help employers assess future candidates and build their talent pipeline with the ILR School.

Intern work hours: Though these experiences may be virtual, the ideal work hours should align with those of the supervisor or mentor assigned to work with the intern(s) and should not exceed 40-hr work week. When considering students for seasonal and short-term opportunities, employers must comply with the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.   

Supervisor role: Student should be assigned a manager or point person who will serve as their supervisor for the given project and timeframe. The supervisor can serve to ensure the project goals are being met while providing guidance and mentorship to the student.   

Examples of assignments include:

  1. Benchmark best practices across industry  
  2. Reconfiguration or management of databases
  3. Data clean-up and analysis to drive decision-making
  4. Support recruitment efforts for select business units
  5. Management of website and social media for brand presence
  6. Collection, analysis, summary and report of critical information and trends

Posting Micro-Internships

Follow the steps below to post your Micro-Internships in Handshake.

  • Job title: Start with “Micro-Internship:”
  • Job Type: Internship  
  • Duration: Temporary/Seasonal
  • School years: Set up opportunities as open to all class years

Summer Posting/Hiring Timeline & Process  

Middle of April:  

  • Identify potential roles, managers, projects, and compensation to develop internship posting(s). Partner with Angela Shurtleff, Employer Connections Specialist, to post the role to Handshake (Cornell’s job/internship posting system) and confirm whether we help coordinate the interview schedule.   

End of April:  

  • Finalize any details for posting to be shared with students and have postings “live” in Handshake. Notify Angela Shurtleff of position being posted to Handshake.

  • Open opportunities marketed to students by ILR OCS.   

First Week of May:  

  • Recommended deadline for applications.

Middle of May:  

  • Conduct interviews of candidates. Make offers as decisions are made. Notify Angela Shurtleff once students have accepted the offers.   

June-August 20: 

  • Recommended time frame in which to host micro-internship(s) (spanning a few hours to four weeks), which coincides with our students’ summer break. Based on the chosen candidates’ schedules, earlier start dates and later end dates could be options.  
     

Semester-long Internships

The ILR Credit Internship Program affords qualified ILR juniors and seniors the unique opportunity to gain significant professional experience while also receiving a full semester’s credit.

 

 

 

Legal Considerations of Internships
When considering students for seasonal and short-term opportunities, employers must comply the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.