Page 4 - State of the Internship NoSeal
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The analysis of students’ descriptions of their dream internships clearly shows, however, that
organizations of all sizes and in all industries are desirable. Dream organizations ranged from
Fortune 500 companies to local businesses, government and non-profit organizations.
To pay or not to pay.
There has been much discussion surrounding whether interns should get paid. Compensation falls
just outside of the top five most important internship attributes ranked by students, but is still a
major factor, with 47.4 percent of students deeming it very important. Students provided insight
into what they consider a fair hourly wage, which averaged to $12.45. As stated above, students who
held paid internships are more likely to have an edge when looking for employment post graduation,
which will likely prompt increased scrutiny on intern compensation in the future.
Leaving no stone unturned.
Students leverage a wide range of tools and resources in their annual search for internships. To start,
83.4 percent of students maintain online career profiles — a share that goes up as students near
graduation. With a host of options, LinkedIn and InternMatch are the platforms of choice. Nearly
two-thirds of students use social media in their search; predominantly to research companies and
network. Additionally, students conduct many online searches, leverage personal networks, ask
faculty members and alumni for help and attend career fairs. Personal networks, especially friends
and family, are key resources used by students who have completed two or more internships.
Demand outpaces internship offering.
Among the 41.5 percent of respondents who have not yet participated in any internship, 71.5 percent
have searched for opportunites. Students unsuccessful in landing an internship certainly tried
hard — leveraging five to seven different tools and resources, ranging from internship and career
websites, university career centers, personal networks, alumni, career fairs and more. Along with
learning how to search more effectively, interview practice and guidance are among the top three
resources students desire to be better prepared for future internship searches. A full 91.4 percent
of prior interns had to interview for their most recent internships. In-person interviews were most
prevalent at 64.6 percent, followed by phone at 20.2 percent.
The job hunt.
To enhance their chances of landing full-time employment, seniors are generally very willing to move
to other cities (76.4 percent). Likewise, they are willing to do internships to get a foot in the door.
However, seniors are less willing to accept jobs in industries that are not among their top choices,
work at companies whose mission or culture is not an ideal match, or accept a work/life balance that
they may consider less than ideal. Much has been written about the importance of work/life balance
among Millennials compared with their older counterparts. Our study found that work/life balance
when doing internships makes the list of top five most important attributes with 49.2 percent of
students considering it “very important.”
© InternMatch | State of Internships 2014 Page | 4
organizations of all sizes and in all industries are desirable. Dream organizations ranged from
Fortune 500 companies to local businesses, government and non-profit organizations.
To pay or not to pay.
There has been much discussion surrounding whether interns should get paid. Compensation falls
just outside of the top five most important internship attributes ranked by students, but is still a
major factor, with 47.4 percent of students deeming it very important. Students provided insight
into what they consider a fair hourly wage, which averaged to $12.45. As stated above, students who
held paid internships are more likely to have an edge when looking for employment post graduation,
which will likely prompt increased scrutiny on intern compensation in the future.
Leaving no stone unturned.
Students leverage a wide range of tools and resources in their annual search for internships. To start,
83.4 percent of students maintain online career profiles — a share that goes up as students near
graduation. With a host of options, LinkedIn and InternMatch are the platforms of choice. Nearly
two-thirds of students use social media in their search; predominantly to research companies and
network. Additionally, students conduct many online searches, leverage personal networks, ask
faculty members and alumni for help and attend career fairs. Personal networks, especially friends
and family, are key resources used by students who have completed two or more internships.
Demand outpaces internship offering.
Among the 41.5 percent of respondents who have not yet participated in any internship, 71.5 percent
have searched for opportunites. Students unsuccessful in landing an internship certainly tried
hard — leveraging five to seven different tools and resources, ranging from internship and career
websites, university career centers, personal networks, alumni, career fairs and more. Along with
learning how to search more effectively, interview practice and guidance are among the top three
resources students desire to be better prepared for future internship searches. A full 91.4 percent
of prior interns had to interview for their most recent internships. In-person interviews were most
prevalent at 64.6 percent, followed by phone at 20.2 percent.
The job hunt.
To enhance their chances of landing full-time employment, seniors are generally very willing to move
to other cities (76.4 percent). Likewise, they are willing to do internships to get a foot in the door.
However, seniors are less willing to accept jobs in industries that are not among their top choices,
work at companies whose mission or culture is not an ideal match, or accept a work/life balance that
they may consider less than ideal. Much has been written about the importance of work/life balance
among Millennials compared with their older counterparts. Our study found that work/life balance
when doing internships makes the list of top five most important attributes with 49.2 percent of
students considering it “very important.”
© InternMatch | State of Internships 2014 Page | 4
