Competing for Talent: Why More Companies Are Looking to Interns

Tired of hiring smart, new college grads whose idea of working includes frequent runs to the local Starbuck's for a nonfat, sugar-free vanilla latte? To ensure that an old-fashioned work ethic and a certain degree of professionalism go hand-in-hand with state-of-the-art skills and knowledge, more and more companies are investing in the training and development of their future workforce — via college internships.

One indicator of the dramatic growth in the popularity of college internships in the last thirty years is the number of college career centers that offer students help finding and securing internships. Between 1975 and 2004, the percentage of centers increased from 26 to more than 85 percent, according to respondents to a National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) study, Career Services Benchmarking Survey.

"The trend is due in part to the nature of the business environment today," said Linda Gaebler, Vice President and Director of Marketing/Communications for Westaff, which sponsors a yearly summer college internship and scholarship program. "Because companies expect the ramp up period to productivity to be very short, they're looking for candidates who have already been exposed to the real world work environment. They want someone who doesn't just understand business theory, but who has had a chance to apply it."

In another NACE survey, employers reported that they end up offering full-time jobs to almost 58 percent of students who've served internships with them. In fact, slightly more than half of all college hires have internship experience. Many employers rate internships as among the most tried and true methods for attracting and hiring new college graduates into permanent positions, and look to their own interns first when they have full-time positions to fill. Nearly half of employers surveyed by NACE also said they offer higher starting salaries to new college graduates who have internship experience.

Investing in interns is a cost effective way to recruit for full-time positions because a former intern is more likely to stay longer in their new job.

"Both short term and long term retention is higher among employees who've had internships because as interns they had a chance to test out their interests and see if they were really suited to a particular profession or organization," said Marilyn Mackes, Executive Director of NACE. "Both sides have had a chance to see if there's a real fit. Certainly, there's likely to be a better cultural fit with someone who's worked in a company before."

The growth in demand for internship programs had been just as strong among college students as among companies, and for good reason.

For college students, their demonstrated willingness to show up every day and work hard sends a tremendous message to any employer about their seriousness. It's one indicator that companies use to decide whether or not a candidate will be successful. Other benefits to a student can include:

• Real world business experience
• Transferable skills such as problem-solving and relationship building
• Valuable networking opportunities
• New experience on leadership and diversity
• Personal and professional experience while earning a salary

Whether or not an intern eventually develops into a full-time employee, experts say there are still good reasons for investing in them. In a broad sense, hiring interns is a chance to help shape America's workers into a stronger, more productive force.

"I don't know of a single person in the corporate world who does not believe that contributing to the professional development and education of our young workforce isn't important," Mackes said. "These young people are still engaged in their educational experience. So work can be very complimentary with their schooling; it can demonstrate the relevance of their education and give them a vision for their own futures."

Granted, a college intern doesn't have the scope and depth of someone who's been working in a particular profession for several years. By definition, interns are young and inexperienced, but they bring a lot of other things to the table, including state-of-the-art skills and energy.

In the current business environment, for example, many fields are changing so rapidly that an accepted business practice today is often modified within just a few months. A student who's fresh from an educational institute can offer cutting-edge knowledge, especially in modeling business processes or technology.

"They can bring a lot of value to the rest of a team," Gaebler said. "A group of people who've worked together for say three years can tend to look at things in the same way. But a fresh intern can change the dynamic of a work group. An intern can be a catalyst for new kinds of thinking."