Participating in internships during college can have a significant effect on a student’s ability to land a full-time job after graduation, according to a recent survey by Gallup and Purdue University.
The poll found that 71 percent of recent graduates who took part in an internship during college are now employed full time, opposed to 56 percent who are employed but did not participate in an internship.
“When employers look at candidates, they’re looking to see what kind of skill set they have, what kind of industry background they may have, and then in some ways, how they spend their downtime, so what do they do all summer,” said Elaine Sullivan, director of student engagement at the Feld Career Center within Boston University’s School of Management.
Experience with internships has become more important for those graduating after 2010, the survey stated. Only 60 percent of those who received degrees before 2010 and had internships are currently employed, according to the poll.
Internships can also be beneficial for students to figure out what field they want to work in, Sullivan said. She likened the internship process to a try-out for a sports team.
“You get to see whether you enjoy the sport, but the captain or the employer or the coach get an opportunity to evaluate your abilities and whether or not you’ll be a contributing team member,” Sullivan said. “Part of what they learn is how to make decisions, learn skills that make them better employees, get more clarity around longer-term career objectives and goals.”
BU spokesman Colin Riley concurred with the study’s conclusion and said that internships are helpful in ensuring that students will be able to get a job after graduation.
“I don’t think anyone would be surprised to think that if you have experience working in an environment similar to what your degree is, setting you up for a career, that you’re going to be better prepared to walk in that job on the first day,” Riley said.
Riley added, however, that the employment numbers at BU are better than those reflected in the national survey. According to BU’s Class of 2013 Post-Graduation First Destination Profile, 72 percent of graduates went straight into full-time employment.
“More of our students get jobs, and the proof of that is that there’s a very low default rate on the students who take out loans,” he said.
Several students said they agree with the survey and feel positively about the impact internships can have on a student’s employability, such as SMG sophomore Brittany Kamson , who worked over the summer as a teaching assistant at a children’s theater camp.
“I definitely think it’s beneficial if you do an internship, because it introduces you to how jobs work, what it’s like [working in a company], and the skills you’ll need,” Kamson said.
Kamson said BU students have a good chance of being employed after graduation, whether or not they did an internship.
“This is a really employable school,” she said. “Though I would say internship or not, you’d probably still get a job, just because you learn so much here, and it’s a really reputable school.”
Laura Yee , a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, has yet to complete an internship, but she hopes to do one before she graduates.
“I definitely moved to the city so I could have more access to certain places, and that was one of the deciding factors for coming to BU,” Yee said.
Timothy Wicaksono, a junior in SMG who interned with an oil trading company in Indonesia last summer, said it was a valuable experience. While some students who have had internships may not get employed right away, he said, students should do internships because of the entry-level job requirements that can be learned.
“Some of the employers stated that for an entry-level job, they require experience for how many years in this field,” Wicaksono said. “It doesn’t fall into logic. It’s an entry-level job, but they require experience. So that’s why students need internships.”
