College Students Find Internships Can Pave Way to Job

College students take note: For many new college graduates, the road to a job is through an internship.
A study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that employers extended job offers to more than 70 percent of their interns. Employers responding to NACE’s 2006 Experiential Education Survey also indicated that nearly three-quarters of their job offers to interns were accepted. Overall, they reported converting 53 percent of their interns into full-time hires.

Not surprisingly, employers say that internship programs are among the most effective methods for helping them hire new college graduates, says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.
“The internship gives both the employer and the student the opportunity to ‘try each other on for size’,” says Mackes. “Both have the opportunity to see if there is a good fit between the organization and the potential employee.”
Internship experience also can make the student more attractive to employers at large, even if the student hasn’t performed the internship with the hiring organization. Employers responding to the survey reported that 62.5 percent of their new college hires from the Class of 2005 came to them with internship experience but only 30 percent were from the organization’s own internship program.
“Internship experience gives the college student an advantage in the job market because employers prize relevant work experience,” says Mackes.