Smathers Undergraduate Internship Program

Congratulations on your award! Below are the requirements for your post-award period which include helpful resources on advertising your internship and hiring the most appropriate candidate. 

A job description (position vacancy announcement) will be required to advertise the internship position. Undergrad internships must be advertised as this is a competitive program. Advertising these positions allows for a diverse range of applicants and ensures you find the right candidate for the position. You will submit the PVA to Joe Piazza in Library HR and he will then post it on UF Careers and the UF Library website.

• A sample position description/PVA can be found on this page to the left; our committee is here for you if you would like to have it reviewed before submitting.
• We recommend submitting a PVA to Library Human Resources about 6 weeks before the start of the internship, which should be the first or second week of the semester. Typically, PVAs are posted for about 3-4 weeks before closing. At least 2 weeks are then needed for candidate evaluation and hiring.
• Here is the link to Library HR’s onboarding checklist for hiring undergrad interns: https://hr.uflib.ufl.edu/wordpress/files/2023/08/Onboarding-Checklist_Intern_Employee.pdf Steps 1 – 11 all need to be completed before the internship begins and focus on posting and hiring.

• To the left is a document that will inform you on how to view, download, and evaluate candidates who apply to your internship (Viewing Applications via UF Careers.pdf). Library HR can advise you on the protocols for reviewing applicants and the types of justifications used for dismissing applicants.
• We encourage you to keep an excel file of applicants and include columns for status (dismiss/interview/hire) and justification (e.g. did not meet min requirements, not available during preferred time of internship). You will submit this to Library HR and the UF Careers website will notify unsuccessful applicants.
• Also to the left under resources is a document with a short list of potential interview questions (General Interview Questions). Interviewing candidates ensures you get the best person for the position and also helps students’ professional development by providing them an opportunity to interview. We suggest interviewing your top 3 candidates.
• It is also important to ensure a student is eligible to work in the USA at UF, you can add this to your interview questions.

• Once a candidate has been selected, they are to make an appointment with Library HR (Piazza) to fill out hiring materials. Be sure that the student brings appropriate identification for hire with them.
• The hiring process can take 1-2 weeks so please be sure to submit your materials to HR in a timely manner so that they can best accommodate your requests.
• Undergraduate students can work up to 20 hours per week on campus at UF. More than that requires special paperwork. More information about the hiring process and onboarding checklists can be found here: https://hr.uflib.ufl.edu/current-employees/recruitment/studentassistant/
• Our internship committee or Library HR will work with you to develop the internship agreement letter, which will be signed by your new intern during hiring.

•  All internship supervisors must be up to date on both UF FERPA and Sexual Harassment training and compliance. Please visit the MyTraining website to filter, find, and attend those trainings before your internship begins, if they are out of date. 
• Additional UF supervisor trainings we recommend include, but are not limited to:
  • Mentorship
  • Supporting Students in Distress
• All student interns are required to sign up for one UF library workshop during their internship. This can be something directly related to your internship project, but due to the rotation in offerings, can also be of the student's choosing from their own interest. 
  • This is a means of further advertising our library workshops to our students and deepening their understanding of the resources the Libraries offer.  
  • View the current schedule of library workshops here
• All library interns are also required to attend a One-Shot Library Instruction session, or suitable alternative. The goal is to ensure that all library interns are familiar with library research, information literacy, and our specific UF libraries resources.
  • Our committee is here to help you find one of these sessions for your student

• Evaluation of intern at conclusion of internship
  • We encourage director(s) to provide a student/internship evaluation to help the student reach their next career goals. Evaluation criteria and format are at the discretion of the internship director(s). If feedback about the internship program is gathered, please pass along this information to the Undergraduate Internship Committee so that we may use it to improve the program.
• Student recommendations
  • Successful interns may ask their internship director(s) to serve as an employment reference for professional opportunities after the internship. You may consider this and make time to talk about their performance and what they have learned during the internship to prepare for serving as a reference should you be asked.