01 April 2025
Hands-On Learning, Real-World Results: Clune’s Internship Program from the Ground Up
By: Annette Barbato, L&D Specialist
Clune’s Internship Program plays an essential role in growing our talented team and is designed to teach through hands-on experience and mentorship. The program equips interns with practical work experience while introducing our company to fresh perspectives, diverse thinking and ongoing learning opportunities for all employees. With National Internship Awareness month taking place in April, Clune is reflecting on the program’s successes and its opportunities for the future.
Beyond the Basics: A Deep Dive into the Business
During the summer program, interns participate in an eight-week long learning project alongside their daily responsibilities. The project provides a holistic view of the business and an opportunity to understand how other departments operate and support the company’s success. Interactive activities ensure engagement and provide an alternative approach to understanding and applying the concepts taught during the session. These weekly meetings also help foster connections and skill-sharing among interns.
Clune offers internships for students pursuing a career as Project Managers or Superintendents, as well as in Marketing, Accounting, Information Technology and Safety. Both summer and co-op internship opportunities exist so the experience gained from Clune’s Internship Program supplements education from your university. We offer a competitive, tiered pay scale that considers geographic location and previous internship experience with the company. Interns are also eligible for Clune’s suite of great benefits, including Commuter Spending Accounts, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Medical Benefit premiums fully covered by Clune.
Project Management Internship Overview
Clune Project Management interns learn the full life cycle of a project from bidding through closeout. They gain experience coordinating with and issuing information to subcontractors. Their teams will demonstrate how to communicate with clients, architects and engineers and provide experience in various meetings. Clune’s PM interns leave the program with a better understanding of pre-construction activities, budgets, drawings and contract management.
Superintendent / Field Internship Overview
Field interns will spend time working with a Clune Superintendent on one or more job sites. They learn the ins-and-outs of building a job in a hands-on environment. Interns in the field will coordinate with subcontractors, assist with safety and logistics and learn about project scheduling. Clune Field interns leave the program with a better understanding of quality control, punch lists, drawing sets and various building rules and regulations.
The Clune Experience: Internships That Lead to Careers
At Clune, internships are more than just summer experiences, they’re the first step in a rewarding career. Many of our interns return for a second or third summer and go on to become full-time employees. In fact, every one in three executive leaders started their careers as Clune interns!
Our interns are the best ambassadors for our program, making a lasting impact on our company’s growth and success.
Check out what some of Clune’s former interns have to say about their experience:
“Working at Clune has been such a rewarding experience. Throughout my three internships with the company, I have been able to learn firsthand what it takes to run a jobsite. As a superintendent intern I was able to learn and ask each and every trade questions. This helped me better learn what goes into their job. My internship has helped me develop my knowledge of the industry as well as my professional skills. This included sending emails, talking to other companies, and so much more. Everyone at Clune is so cheerful and always willing to lend a helping hand. Anyone looking for an internship to gain hands-on construction experience, I recommend applying to Clune.”
– Savannah Garcia, former Intern, current Assistant Superintendent
“Being a safety intern at Clune was a wonderful experience, both personally and professionally. Starting as a recent college graduate with an emphasis in safety from Northern Illinois University, I had no construction experience. With proper direction and guidance, I was given all the tools needed to succeed. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to stay on, when the summer internship was over. And when the opportunity to move to the Clune Los Angeles office came up, I jumped on it. I consider myself very lucky to be a part of Clune and to be able to grow along with the continued company growth. In the past five years, as a member of the safety department, I have been able to assist in establishing the safety program. Being a part of something bigger than yourself is very rewarding.”
– Saeed Aljarrah, former intern, current Regional Safety Director
“Throughout the course of my internship with Clune Construction, I learned a great deal about all the roles and responsibilities of a general contractor. Attending owner’s meetings, communicating with architects and engineers and learning how to run a project from start to finish are experiences that cannot be taught in school.”
– Matt Witkowski, former intern, current Project Manager
“There’s no better way to test drive a company, or a career for that matter, than an internship. I learned more about cooperation and teamwork during my two internships with Clune that can’t be taught in school. At the same time, it allows you to get the most out of your college career by tailoring your course selection and thereby improving your qualifications toward the type of company you want to work for in the future. Today’s interns have a distinct advantage over their peers when it comes to landing that long lasting career.”
– Chris Redpath, former intern, current Managing Director
“I was lucky enough to receive an offer for a Co-Op with Clune Construction. I honestly believe that the decision to work with Clune has been one of the best decisions of my life. It has opened up so many opportunities to learn, network and gain experience in many aspects of the project management realm.
–Angel Estrella, former intern, current Project Manager
Prospective interns can learn more about the program HERE.
