The Top Five Internships

CNNmoney.com featured an article earlier this year that listed the top five internships. As pointed out by Steven Rothberg, the stereotypical intern who fetches coffee and distributes mail is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. There are more resources and more options out there for today’s college students so companies who want the best candidates find themselves offering more than “insider’s view of the company”. They’re actually making their interns a part of the company while they’re there.
If you’re one who likes statistics, you’ll love this one. The National Association of Colleges and Employers reported in CNNmoney.com’s July article, that 53 percent of interns went to work full time for their chosen companies. Those numbers are not only impressive for employers, they’re impressive for students as well. It sends the message that employers are changing with the times and giving their interns a taste of what it would be like to have a career at their company.
To compile their list of the five top companies for which to intern, CNNmoney.com talked with three experts in the field: Samer Hamadeh, co-author of The Internship Bible and co-founder and CEO of Vault.com; Camille Luckenbaugh, research director of NACE; and Steven Rothberg. Here are their choices:
Microsoft – Microsofts policy is to treat interns like full-time hires. This treats the students to every facet of real world experience over a 12 week period.
Northwestern Mutual Financial Network – “To prepare, students must pass a state insurance exam and undergo company training. Like full-time representatives, they make cold calls and pay visits to prospective clients to get their business started.”
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences – “Each year, about 32 students survive a grueling screening process – an essay, four letters of recommendation and an on-camera interview – for placement at media giants like Fox TV, E! and The Disney Channel. Once on board they do what full timers do and even get paid for it.”
Enterprise Rent-A-Car – “Interns, just like full-timers, pickup and drop off customers, wash cars and call back renters to make sure they are satisfied with their Enterprise experience.
The average pay is only $8 to $10 an hour, but with a 50 percent conversion rate of interns to full-time hires and a program that grooms hires to become branch managers, this internship is a good opportunity for anyone hungry for responsibility.”
Deloitte & Touche – “Interns at the professional services giant often work on client cases with a team of associates and partners.” They have a roughly 81 percent conversion rate.
It’s no wonder these companies are the five best places to intern. What could be more exciting than getting paid to do something you love at a company with a reputation for excellence and success?