John,

As our company has a relationship with some of the local colleges
for interns, and I am a mentor with an intern. Here are my comments
based upon that experience.

See below.

John Gorman

|-----Original Message-----
|From: John Mosier [mailto:jmosier@netzone.com]
|Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2000 5:44 PM
|To: plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
|Subject: Internships -- Potential Rules
|
|
|Over the next couple of weeks I will be developing an agreement
|that will allow Excelco to establish a few internships.  I will also
|be seeking the SPONSORSHIP of others in the Linux Community.

First I think this is a great idea. It is a great way for serious
people to get a foot in the door, find out what 'real' world is compared
to 'school', and finally to return something to the community at large.
I have seem many students gasp as they see real world code, but it
is the beginning of their life long experience in programming.

|In order to make it work for Excelco, I will need commitments from
|those who accept the internships.  Here are a few of the stipulations
|that I will have.
|
|1)  Intern would be expected to work specific hours and commit to
|a pattern of dependability.  For someone who works full time, this
|will be work consistently from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.  This work
|schedule is essential for the intern to carry his/her weight as a
|team member.  Interaction with other team members cannot be
|effective if punctuality is not observed.

My experience here is that if you are interning a student, you will
need to be a little flexible. Believe me I completely understand where
you are coming from, but lets face it, midterms and finals are a
major drain on their time. No matter how much they do not want
to loose a job, even more they can not afford to fail. If they are 
going to work part time, make them put up a web page on your intranet, 
where they list their times and hours, and where they are currently 
at (home/office). At least this  way, everyone will know what their 
schedule is.

|2)  Intern would be expected to commit to stay with Excelco for
|a specifically agreed-upon period.  This will be from 12 months
|to 30 months. Our acceptance of the intern to work here is mostly
|a drain on other Excelco resources at the beginning.  As the intern
|becomes proficient, that intern will become valuable to others and
|there will be a temptation to leave about the time the intern is a
|productive member of the Excelco team.

You may want to have a review every 3 months so both sides can see
how things are going. How will you hold them to a specified time?
If they are going from internship to full time employee, then
consider only giving them recommendations after they have been there
x amount of time.

What opportunities will you provide to give them for 'full time' status.
Will you offer benefits as an intern? I would think not. When and under
what conditions are they eligible for 'full time' status?


|3)  Intern would have to have references regarding strength of 
|character.
|The ability to research problems independently, try new experiences,
|learn new hardware and software technologies, stick to a problem for
|days on end, ... all are valuable characteristics.  An 
|unquenchable thirst
|for knowledge about Open Source tools and Linux issues is a valuable
|asset.

This is probably a good idea. Why not interview them like you would
any other candidate -- you just may have other types of questions to ask.

|Excelco is willing to provide computers, software, a place to work,
|books, evaluation software, peripheral hardware, and other materials
|suitable for the learning experience and promotion of the development
|of the individuals.  I see this environment as a Linux 
|laboratory without the formal classroom environment that usually happens 
|in a school.
|
|I posted this into the PLUG list in order to get the feedback 
|from other PLUG members.
|
|Please post your suggestions to PLUG.  I will gather the responses
|and develop my agreement from what I learn and from what Excelco
|needs.  I am not ready to accept applications at this moment.  Let
|us develop the agreement, then we will have a more formal way to
|process applicants and make our selections.
|
|
|John Mosier,  Excelco      Fax:  (602) 992-2026  Voice: (602) 992-8076
|http://www.swinfo.com                                   
|http://www.excelco.com
|2990 E Northern Ave, Ste A-101, 
|Phoenix, AZ  85028    (800) 553-6911
|                 
|
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