I recently came across a study that supports what many of us in human resources have always known anecdotally: College graduates who take part in internships are more likely to receive job offers after graduation.
What I didn’t expect was that paid interns where so much more likely to get job offers than their unpaid counter parts. A recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that 60 percent of graduates who had participated in paid internships received at least one job offer after graduation compared to 37 percent of graduates with unpaid internships. While I’m not surprised there is a gap, I would never have anticipated it would be that significant. In fact, when I’m a guest speaker addressing students, my standard advice to them is to always pursue internships wherever and whenever they can, paid or unpaid. I guess I’ll be qualifying that advice in the future.
So, what could account for such a large difference between the 60 percent of paid interns versus the 37 percent of their unpaid counterparts?
One explanation offered by NACE suggests that paid interns “spend much of their time engaged in ‘real’ work”, and employers place high value on hands-on experience. Conversely, unpaid interns might spend more time on routine, non essential tasks and “less on the type of duties that most employers value.”
I have another plausible explanation: employers who are willing to pay their interns might be more likely to use internships as a way to “try out” future employees, and consequently end up offering jobs to suitable interns after graduation. In contrast –except for internships structured to provide college credit– in my experience, most employers who offer unpaid internships are mainly looking for temporary free labor, and offer less of a chance for a job offer.
Regardless of the exact reason, the bottom line is that students participating in paid internships have a clear advantage in getting job offers after graduation over those in unpaid internships and those with zero internships. So, what’s my future advice to students? “Always pursue internships wherever and whenever you can, and always favor paid over unpaid. “
Source: www.naceweb.org
