Internship Guarantee

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Internship Guarantee, a student must:

• Be a full-time, degree seeking HPU student
• Have never participated in an internship while a student at HPU
• Have a minimum GPA of 2.0
• Be in good disciplinary standing with the university
• Start the program during freshman or sophomore year and complete the steps before the end of junior year (or at least 2 semesters before undergraduate graduation) *

*Seniors and graduate students are ineligible

Responsibility

To participate in the Internship Guarantee you must first make an appointment with a Career Advisor to discuss your eligibility, internship interests, and goals for completing the steps. The program is self-paced and takes about 1-2 semesters to complete.

Throughout the process, you will schedule periodic meetings with a Career Advisor to discuss your progress. The program is designed for your professional development – it prepares you with skills and structure needed for future job and internship searches.

The decision to pursue and complete the steps of the program is on the student. Please notify Kerrie-Anne Sparks, Career Advisor, at ksparks@highpoint.edu if you decide to withdraw from the process.

At any point, if you obtain an internship by any means, the “guarantee” has been fulfilled.

What is the “guaranteed” internship?

Our hope is that you land one of the internships you apply to through the process, but if you still have not secured an internship after going through all the steps then we will place you in one.

The provided (guaranteed) internship may not be in your major, may not be paid, may not be in the semester you want, may not last a certain length-of-time you want, may not be in person, and may not be in your desired city. It won’t be a perfect match with your interests, but we will work hard to ensure that it is a strong experience.

For additional clarification, please reach out to Kerrie-Anne Sparks, Career Advisor, at ksparks@highpoint.edu.

RISE App

The RISE App is a smart phone app created for High Point University students to track their progress through different campus programs, opportunities, and experiences. Follow these steps to start tracking your progress through the Internship Guarantee program:

1. Download the RISE App by searching “RISE by Fund Five” in your app store
2. Input your HPU email and then verify your email address
3. Select “My Progress” from the left-side menu options
4. Scroll down to “Recommended Plans”
5. Swipe through the options until you find “Internship Guarantee” and then select “Sign me up!”
6. Return to the top left menu options and select “Life Plan”
7. Scroll to the bottom to find “Internship Guarantee”
8. You will be able to track your progress and check off the tasks you complete (some of the steps require verification from Career and Professional Development)
9. Complete sections to receive badges

Career Exploration

• Take PathwayU assessment, and discuss with a Career Advisor
  • PathwayU is an assessment that uses values, interests, personality, and workplace preferences to determine career paths with which you have a strong match.
  • During your “Intro to Internship Guarantee” appointment, you will receive instructions on how to take this assessment and schedule a follow up appointment to review your results.
  • Your personalized results will also help you prepare for networking and interviewing by giving you language to use to talk about your personal and professional brand.
• Set up Handshake Account, and fill out “My Profile”
• Meet with a Career Advisor to discuss internship and career goals

Professional Branding

• Meet with a Peer Career Advisor to create/enhance your resume; get approval on Handshake
  • Drop-in hours:
    • Monday-Wednesday from 11am to 6pm
    • Thursday-Friday from 11am to 4pm
  • Review resume and cover letter resources
  • Peer Career Advisors are Career and Professional Development’s team of trained students, prepared and eager to help you with resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, Purple Briefcase, and more!
• Meet with a Peer Career Advisor to receive feedback on your cover letter, tailored to a specific internship
  • Drop-in hours:
    • Monday-Wednesday from 11am to 6pm
    • Thursday-Friday from 11am to 4pm
  • Review resume and cover letter resources
  • Find an internship position posting that interests you and write a cover letter as if you were applying to the position. This draft is what you will review with a Peer Career Advisor (PCA).
• Set up a LinkedIn Profile
  • Review LinkedIn resources
  • What must be included in your profile:
    • Professional headshot and background photo
    • Impactful headline
    • Completed “About” section
    • At least 2 “experiences”
    • List 3 skills
    • Follow at least 5 companies/organizations
  • Attend a LinkedIn Photo Day for a professional picture
    • LinkedIn Photo Days are free opportunities to get a professional picture taken!
    • Check with a Career Advisor to find out when the next LinkedIn Photo Day takes place
  • Craft your two-minute drill intro and have it approved by a Peer Career Advisor or Career Advisor
    • Your two-minute drill (also known as an “elevator pitch”) can be used to introduce yourself to employers or professionals you hope to network with
    • Don’t forget to practice so that it will sound natural!

Networking

• Attend a Networking Workshop or meet with a Career Advisor to engage in the Networking Map exercise
  • Networking Map
• Write/create a draft of a networking email
  • In this email, you should write about who you are, how you heard of this person (or met this person), and why you want to connect.
• Ask to connect with 40 professionals on LinkedIn
  • Connect with at least 40 people – these initial connections can be friends, family, classmates, professors, coworkers, etc.
• Conduct two informational interviews
  • Review informational interviewing resources
  • These informational interviews should be conducted with professionals in your career field of interest

Research

• Discuss internship search strategies with a Career Advisor
• Meet with a faculty advisor or mentor to discuss internship search strategies and their connections and insights
• Create a search alert for internships
  • Most job boards (including LinkedIn) allow you to create a “search alert” so you can receive emails about relevant job and internship postings.
• Find and formally apply to eight internships (approved by Career Advisor)
  • Keep track of internships you apply to and send these postings to your Career Advisor to receive approval.
  • At least eight internships you apply to must be approved by a Career Advisor, but CPD strongly encourages you to apply to more than the eight approved internships.
• Attend a Career and Internship Expo/Fair, network with at least five different employers, and follow up with them after the event
  • Follow up with a networking email, thank you email, or connection request on LinkedIn
• Attend an internship for credit meeting ONLY IF you are pursuing an internship for academic credit
  • Discuss receiving academic credit for an internship with your academic advisor and review the Internship for Academic Credit page to learn more.

Interview Process and Protocol

• Review the Interview Guide
• Practice video interviewing on Big Interview
  • This one-way video interviewing tool will allow you to practice in a risk-free setting and use your recording to improve your interviewing skills.
• Conduct a mock interview with a Career Advisor
• Create a draft thank-you email template and buy thank-you notes

Professional Development Pre-Internship (Ongoing)

• Choose and attend three professional development workshops hosted by the Office of Career and Professional Development
  • Find our schedule of events on Handshake