How to Tame Summer Job ApplicationsPart 8

When regular, full-time employees started working at our firm, I conducted their "New Employee Orientation." To give these students a realistic view of working at our firm, I conducted a modified version of the new employee orientation with each one of them. It was also a chance for them to relax and breathe a little bit before their big first day. I brought them around the office to meet their new co-workers, told them what their first assignment would be, and who they would be taking direction from their first day and/or week. These managers were expecting the student and had already prepared work for them to do.

By doing this, I did not have to think up every little assignment for each student, every day of the week. The managers took care of the daily assignments, but if they ran out of work for them to do, they could send the student to me. To keep any one student from being over-used or over-looked, I meet with them once a week.

We met as a group, every Monday morning for about an hour. It accomplished several things, including getting their mind back into work after a weekend away and keeping them working together as a group. Each week, they had to say what they worked on last week and what they thought they would be working on in the coming week. When the staff would see our group meeting, it gave the interns more credibiltiy. It raised everyone's expectations.

In the early meetings, we reviewed things like where they park their vehicle, using the computers and telephones, and turning in timesheets. After a few weeks of working on real projects, I told them to record the list of projects they worked on, along with information about the project: principal in charge, project manager, client's name, square footage, approximate construction cost, and their role on the project. For professionals, this is the type of information to keep track of and I wanted to teach them early how to do it. Next time they apply for a job, they could attach this "Project List" with their resume and immediately earn respect.

I also taught them the importance of "billable" and "non-billable" time. At the beginning of the summer, they sort of knew the conceptual differences between the two, but probably couldn't explain why managers put so much emphasis on it, and how their work would be measured by the percentage of their billable and non-billable time. By the end of the summer, they not only knew the difference, they expressed concern during a week when their timesheet reflected more non-billable time than billable.

Each week, they turned in their timesheet to me. First, though, they had to go to each manager they worked for and get them to sign off on it. They had to learn to own up to the hours they spent on a project by showing the manager how many hours they were logging to their project. I had to keep the managers involved and accountable when it came to working with our summer interns. As part of their training to complete their timesheets, I had them fill out detailed journals for each day's work and attach it to their timesheet. No one else in the office had to submit such a detailed record; I was training them how to keep detailed records of their work - a skill that they will use for the rest of their professional life.


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How to Tame Summer Job ApplicationsPart 7

After making the final selection, I emailed a job offer to them which outlined the types of work they would be doing and how much they would be paid. They had invested alot of their time with us already, and I wanted to be clear about what to expect by working for us. It would be a job. A real job, with real responsibilities, and with real meaning.

Once they accepted the job offer, we set up the exact date they could start. Some could start sooner than others, so instead of making them wait, I let them start when they were ready.

I notified the bosses about their arrival, I notified the leaders, I put their names on the staff schedule, and I assigned them to projects. Even if the project was non-billable, I wanted their name on the schedule with a specific assignment for each of them.

I continued to inform our staff about the summer students and highlighted their skills. I impressed on them the importance of creating meaningful tasks for the students to do. They also did not have to think up tasks on their own. If a student ran out of work, they should come to me so I can give them an assignment. Looking back, I think that our younger staff appreciated this much more than the older staff. Perhaps because it wasn't that long ago that they were in school and wished they could have had this opportunity. Staff who had been there longer only knew about students who were some clients kid and who didn't have much work to do. They also did not realize how much more advanced these students were.

At this point, I realized I needed to get some structure ready for the students. Yikes! Not another schedule?



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How to Tame Summer Job ApplicationsPart 6

So, now that I had a nice schedule for the job applicants to follow, I needed a schedule for myself - to handle all those applications and job interviews in a very short period of time. I received requests from over 60 students, from Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and India.

I wanted to interview as many as I could for two main reasons. First, to meet the students and find out more about their qualifications, and second, to give them practice interviewing at a real firm.

Time to set up another schedule!

Interviewing that many people in a week takes some pre-planning. I set up a daily schedule with appointments set up at 90-minute intervals. I allowed one hour per interview, and a 30-minute break for me in between. I sent the list to the people who I wanted to interview and asked them to give me their first, second, and third choice. Once I had all the responses, I set up the schedule and informed each one when their interview would be. I intentionally did not offer to give them directions to the office or suggestions about where to park. I wanted them to have to figure that one out on their own. If they asked, I would give them the information they needed. If we hired any of them and needed them to run errands, I want someone who knows how to get to places on time.

I have to admit that I underestimated the quality of the applicants. I thought it would be relatively easy to make the first cut and then narrow down the list to 2 or 3 people. I really did want all of them to experience an interview, so unless they were not even close to what we wanted, I invited them to a Level 1 interview.

I was very impressed - and a little overwhelmed. There were few easy cuts to make. What I ended up doing was spending an entire weekend evaluating, comparing, and examining all the choices. I had to step away from it for a few hours, and when I came back, I wrote down something that became THE criteria for selecting the candidates. I wrote, "We are the best. We want the best. Choose the best."

I made the decision and notified all of them. Those who made it to the Level 2 were given a schedule so that they could give me their first, second, and third choice for interview times. Since this round of interviews was occurring after Spring break, I was much more flexible to accommodate their schedule. I freely gave up an evening or weekend if that truly was the only time they could meet with me.

I invited some other members of our staff to attend the Level 2 interview with me. I wanted them to help me decide who to hire, especially if the students had skills and interests that were similar to theirs. From the company's point of view, I wanted to hire people who had skills that we could really use. From the student's point of view, I wanted this job to be a continuation of their education, and give them a chance to use some of the skills they have already learned.

Making the final decision was really, really hard. I had met the person twice, studied their application over a weekend, thought about how they might fit in, and knew their aspirations and goals.

While I knew some would be sorely disappointed, there were two who had already accepted a summer job elsewhere. I couldn't believe it! Some of my top choices didn't choose us! Apparently someone else saw them as exceptional and snatched them up.


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How to Tame Summer Job ApplicationsPart 5

Did I ask my bosses if I could develop a process? No.

Did I tell them what I was doing? No. I just did it. I figured that the worst that could happen was that I would interview a bunch of college students and have to tell all of them that they weren't hired. The sad truth about the bosses was that their only interest in summer students was how it could improve their chances of getting another project. Furthermore, the only time they showed an interest in attending a career day at the colleges was if they thought they could be seen by their competitors.

Back to something more positive and constructive. Here is the general schedule I set up:

1. Begin accepting applications: January 1


2. Applications due: March 1


3. First round of interviews: week of Spring break


4. Second round of interviews: week following Spring break


5. Job offers made: March 30


6. Summer job begins: First week after school gets out


7. Summer job ends: One weeks before school begins

What can you infer from this schedule?

1. We expect students to work during the summer.


2. If you miss the deadline, you miss your chance to work with us.


3. If you're serious about working for us, you'll have to do without at least one day of your Spring break.


4. We only want students who can think about their future and make plans early.


5. We want students who can meet deadlines.


6. Summer jobs are not hand outs.


7. We will treat our students with dignity and respect.


8. We will not minimize their contributions.

This was a brand-new concept for our firm. Summer interns were typically seen as unskilled helpers with little or no interest in architecture, design, or construction. If they could drive and had a car, they could run errands. If they were boys, they could help move boxes in the file storage or re-arrange furniture. If they were girls, they could run copies and carry light stuff. If they had some intelligence and were interested in working, they might be entrusted with filing.

For the first time, I was in a postition where I could do something about it...even though I didn't have permission or support from upper management.


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How to Tame Summer Job ApplicationsPart 4

I hoped that a schedule would accomplish several things.

• Defer the really early emails.


• Establish a cut off date when I could respond to late applicants, "Sorry. We're done with summer applications. Try again next year."


• Infer that our company has it's act together by having a formal process.

With a process in place, I could work with some of the people in our firm who I saw as leaders, and come up with some real, relevant, and useful tasks for summer students to do. From those discussions, I wrote list of qualifications that I would look for in the candidates. Additionally, I personally wanted to give students some practice interviewing. Even if none of them got hired, I wanted them to have a chance to interview at a real company for a real job. And I wanted it to be a good experience for them.

In prior years, I noticed a pattern about when I received emails and phone calls from students. The biggest influx of resumes comes just after the Christmas holidays. Students and non-students often use that time to get their resumes, cover letters, and list of contacts during their time off from school. The other time period for students to get their summer job lined up is during Spring break. Some will try to schedule their interviews for that week, while others are using that time to pull together their resumes and their nerves.

Working backwards from when school gets out, I decided when I would begin accepting applications, when the applications were due, when the interviews would be held, when the final cuts would be made, when the job starts, when it ends, and how much they would be paid.

I created a FAQ sheet with the schedule and sent it to colleges in the central Texas region. I didn't know of any other firm with a formal schedule and especially a deadline, so I wanted to let the students know in advance what the rules are. It was also good PR for our firm. Career services at several colleges and universities perceived us as organized and appreciated the way we extended our firm to students.

The FAQ made it easy for me to give early applicants a response to their email, and even have some useful information. Read a copy of the actual FAQ for the summer of 2007.


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