How to hire a student internship

How to hire a student internship, step by step

Here's a step-by-step student internship hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a student internship job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new student internship
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a student internship do?

Post a student internship job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the student internship you need to hire. Certain student internship roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect student internship also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents student internship salaries for various positions.

   Type of Student Internship	Description	Hourly rate
   Student Internship	Teacher assistants work under a teacher’s supervision to give students additional attention and instruction.	$10-21
   Para Educator	Paraeducators' primary role is to provide students with extra guidance and support outside or inside the classroom. They are also called paraprofessional educators or teaching assistants who are expected to support teachers... Show more	$11-18
   Teacher Aide	Teacher aides help lead teachers in managing the classroom. They assist teachers in conducting classroom sessions by setting up the classroom in advance, sourcing materials needed for class activities, helping in presentations, and guiding students during class activities... Show more	$11-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Student Intern
   • Physical Therapy
   • Patient Care
   • PowerPoint
   • Mathematics
   • Mental Health
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Autocad
   • Photoshop
   • Intake Assessments
   • Data Collection
   • Vital Signs
   • Data Analysis

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead weekly groups about DBT skills training, behavior chaining, and personal goal-setting.
   • Spearhead companies launch into social media, including creating and managing firm's first twitter account.
   • Help veterans and their families learn to manage symptoms of PTSD through education, self-awareness, and becoming aware of triggers.
   • Help troubleshoot public computers according to directions and also manage database of library.
   • Manage a web-base graphical interface that utilize a SQL database to better track fabrication lab operations.
   • Promote health and support patients in bedside monitoring , 12 lead EKG, and Bennett 7200 ventilators.

   More student internship duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your student internship job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A student internship can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, student interns' average salary in south carolina is 50% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level student interns 52% less than senior-level student interns.
   • Certifications. A student internship with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a student internship's salary.

   Average student internship salary

   $15.03hourly

   $31,256 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level student internship salary

   $21,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average student internship salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$40,314	$19
   2	Washington	$39,060	$19
   3	California	$37,055	$18
   4	Minnesota	$35,070	$17
   5	Montana	$34,882	$17
   6	District of Columbia	$34,730	$17
   7	Oregon	$34,322	$17
   8	New York	$33,625	$16
   9	Arizona	$31,711	$15
   10	Michigan	$31,273	$15
   11	Wisconsin	$31,158	$15
   12	Nevada	$31,121	$15
   13	Colorado	$30,759	$15
   14	Illinois	$30,479	$15
   15	Georgia	$29,965	$14
   16	Virginia	$28,421	$14
   17	South Dakota	$27,567	$13
   18	Pennsylvania	$27,302	$13
   19	Utah	$26,404	$13
   20	Florida	$26,343	$13

   Average student internship salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Microsoft	$104,096	$50.05	14
   2	Pace University	$84,747	$40.74	14
   3	Google	$79,269	$38.11	28
   4	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$75,679	$36.38	4
   5	Jefferson Lab	$73,602	$35.39
   6	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	$72,410	$34.81	15
   7	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$72,211	$34.72	23
   8	Gensler	$70,869	$34.07
   9	Tucson Electric Power	$70,077	$33.69	1
   10	Siemens	$65,759	$31.61	5
   11	Siemens Enterprise Communications Inc	$65,171	$31.33
   12	Oracle	$64,045	$30.79	193
   13	Boston Public Schools	$61,585	$29.61	1
   14	Irvine Ranch Water District	$58,806	$28.27	1
   15	ALDI USA	$58,718	$28.23
   16	Allianz Life	$58,714	$28.23	6
   17	NMC	$58,295	$28.03	1
   18	San Francisco University High School	$55,819	$26.84	3
   19	Huntington Hospital	$53,208	$25.58	1
   20	Prime Healthcare	$52,506	$25.24	4

4. Writing a student internship job description

   A student internship job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a student internship job description:

   Student internship job description example

   As a multimarket firm, we touch many areas of life: from designing highways and bridges that connect people, to clean water systems, to hospitals and corporate campuses of the future. That's why we're able to offer endless opportunities for people to hone their skills and strengthen their understanding of different disciplines and perspectives. Behind all the hard work is a team of really sharp, down-to-earth people who love a good challenge - and a good time.
   
   Internships and Co-Ops are an excellent way to provide students with an opportunity to develop real-world skills in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth. Gresham Smith accepts interns from accredited design schools in the areas of architecture, engineering, interior design, and planning. Many interns have been offered continued employment as full-time employees after graduation.
   Minimum Qualifications
   
   In order to be considered for an internship with Gresham Smith, a student should:
   Be currently enrolled in a full-time academic program at an accredited college or university; Maintain a good academic standing; Pursue a field of study that is consistent with Gresham Smith needs for intern assignments. Students who hold F-1, OPT, or H1-B visas are eligible for consideration.
   Gresham Smith is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Gresham Smith provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, transgender, national origin, status as a protected veteran, disability or any other classification protected by law.
   
   Gresham Smith will not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, headhunters, contract recruiters, search firms or employment agencies. An executed GRESHAM PLACEMENT SERVICES AGREEMENT (PSA) is required prior to any payment obligation for either a referral or recruiter fee.In the event a recruiter or agency submits a resume or candidate without a previously executed PSA, GRESHAM SMITH explicitly reserves the right to recruit and hire those candidate(s) at its discretion, and without any financial obligation whatsoever to the recruiter or agency.Any such unsolicited resume or candidate contact information, including those submitted directly to GRESHAM SMITH'S hiring managers or any other employee, shall become the property of GRESHAM SMITH upon receipt.
   
   #LI-DNI

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find student interns for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any student interns they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level student interns with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your student internship job on Zippia to find and recruit student internship candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit student interns, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new student internship

   Once you've decided on a perfect student internship candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new student internship. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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