UWIRE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Summer is over and it’s time for students to jump into a new semester. That also means it’s already time to start preparing to line up an internship for next summer.
That’s according to data from Looksharp in its latest survey of college students and internships — The 2016 State of Millennial Hiring Report — which highlights just how competitive the internship market is. Students have to maintain digital profiles and expand their skills to stay relevant to compete for internships at a time when the majority of students are willing to relocate for a job.
In fact, Looksharp, an internship listing website, student survey shows that the most successful interns — those who had participated in three or more internships — used an average of four different resources to locate one. Google or other online services were the most-used resources. Around 38 percent of students who have had internships used Looksharp or a similar internship site.
Students averaged nine applications for internships, but those who had successfully completed three or more internships reported that they actually submitted more than 10 or even 20 applications.
“Successful interns typically cast a wide net when looking for an internship, and they leverage everything they have at their disposal, whether that means maintaining multiple digital profiles, engaging friends and acquaintances to mine for connections, completing multiple applications or all of the above,” said Andrew Maguire, CEO of Looksharp. “Getting an internship is a job in and of itself.”
Here are five telling stats from the Looksharp report:
– Cross-training helps. More than half of students have incorporated computer science into their classes — regardless of major. For business students, this figure is nearly 70 percent.
– Start young. By senior year, nearly 75 percent of students already have internship experience. In fact, more than 20 percent of seniors report participating in three or more internships.
– Internships matter. 24 percent of seniors who had participated in three or more internships had already secured job offers prior to graduation. Of these students, those with paid internships and higher-than-average GPAs were most likely to have full-time job offers.
– Students are flexible. More than 73 percent of seniors said they would relocate for a job and 67.8 percent would do an internship post-graduation if it would mean they were more likely to get employment.
– Location, location, location. Interns are more likely to earn paid internships in certain cities. More than 80 percent of internships in Omaha, Nebraska; Boise, Idaho; and Fresno, California, are paid.