In the last internship blog post, the discussion focused on how internships can have an effect on students in general. In this post the focus is narrowed to the effect of internships on post-graduation employment. We have already gone over how students will be offered higher salaries if they have internship experience, but in the eyes of recruiters, how much value does that internship have?
Within the study mentioned in the last blog post by Susan M. Taylor, three different resumes were sent out to recruiters to be evaluated on the basis of hire ability and employment evaluations such as how qualified each candidate was for the job. The recruiters found that the candidate who had internship experience had a greater probability of being hired as well as having significantly more experience than the ones who did not have internship experience. The effects of internships on post-graduate employment may actually be greater than that which was found. It is mentioned that even though the control group was supposed to have as little experience as possible, there were still people who had even up to four months of relevant work experience.
In a study done by Jack Gault, Evan Leach and Marc Duey the marketability of students who had internship experience was researched. The study found that students who held internships were more likely to receive more full-time job offers than those who did not have an internship throughout their college years. What was more interesting was that this included interns who were actually a bit mediocre (in terms of how they were rated by their employer). Being average in an internship is still a sensible step in preparing for the future in terms of having or not having internship experience. That being said, interns who were seen as high achieving were offered higher salaries than both the average interns and the control group. They found that interns were also valued more in terms of re-hire ability. Not only were interns seen as having greater value in terms of job performance, the performance of the interns would spread over to hiring students from the same university that also had internship experience.
In summary, student participation in internships leads to greater chances of employment, increased marketability, and its value is seen as greater in the eyes of employers compared to those who do not have internship experience.
Giva offers multiple and diverse internship opportunities annually to assist students in preparing for post-graduation success. Check with your placement office to see internship openings or send your resume to [email protected].