Internships are an opportunity for students to get their foot in the door, gain some hands-on experience, hone valuable skills, build connections, and do test runs of their chosen careers. But what is the point of an internship for employers? Internship programs can be a huge differentiator in an employer’s ability to engage, recruit, and retain early talent.
Here are six internship benefits for employers that give you a competitive advantage for attracting and hiring entry level talent:
- Internships improve your hiring efficiency
- Internships engage talent early
- Internships help you future-proof your workforce
- Internships create brand awareness and affinity
- Internships can remove barriers and expand access
- Internships upskill your pipeline
Based on data from Handshake Network Trends' internship index, read on for why it’s important to set up or build out your internship program.
1. Internships improve your hiring efficiency
When hiring teams are feeling the pressure of doing more with less, an internship program can help you meet your goals.
For students, internships are a way to explore career paths and learn your company and culture; for you, internships can reduce inefficiencies in recruiting from scratch when you have an entry-level FT role to fill.
An internship program translates to a stronger pipeline, and a stronger pipeline translates to better candidate conversion and shorter time to hire.
You can be strategic with an internship program that converts talent into hires, regardless of your company size. One way to achieve this: although most internships take place between May and September, many students are open to participating in internships year-round.
Since 75% of students in the US have access to Handshake through their campus career services, Handshake is the most effective and efficient way to reach targeted groups and fill your internships and other entry-level or early career positions—regardless of your company size.
2. Internships help you engage talent early
When it comes to engaging early talent, you want to get there…well, early. It’s a best practice in college recruiting to start interacting with students long before they start thinking about the actual job search.
Not coincidentally, their second and third years of college is the ideal time for an internship as far as students’ professional development and your talent attraction goals. At this point in their journey, students have settled into the major transition of college life, have started to build skills and knowledge through their coursework and extracurriculars, and have more curiosity about what career opportunities are out there.
Your internship program gives them a chance to experience your organization and fosters a sense of familiarity and commitment early on—so your company will be top of mind as they approach graduation.
Handshake’s Campus to career report
3. Internships help you future-proof your workforce
With workforce dynamics rapidly shifting and Gen Z becoming a bigger proportion of workers, a proactive early talent recruiting program is crucial to staying relevant, competitive, and future-ready. Especially in industries that are feeling the most pressure to succession plan, internships are a strategy for exposing your industry to early talent before they graduate.
When you have entry-level roles available, an internship program means your workforce planning isn’t starting from scratch—an internship program is a future-thinking way to build a solid pipeline of talent that you can tap into when you have full-time vacancies.
Handshake data has found that among students and alumni who have participated in an internship, more than 90% gained valuable experience and insight into their career goals, and 72% of students said they wanted to participate in an internship to figure out what types of jobs they'd like to pursue in the future.
4. Internships create brand awareness and affinity
Gen Z talent is more values-driven than previous generations, with 70% of students saying that they want to work for a company whose values align with their own.
Your employer brand is how you demonstrate and reinforce your organizational values. And your internship program is more than a recruiting initiative—it’s a powerful brand boosting opportunity too. Of course, a challenging, rewarding, and meaningful internship fosters brand affinity directly with your interns, who will hopefully want to return to your company.
According to Handshake data, 86% of students said their internship experience significantly or moderately impacted their interest in working in a particular industry. So employers in lesser known or understood industries have an opportunity to expose early career talent to career paths they may not have otherwise considered.
When you brush up your Handshake Brand Page or recruitment marketing strategy, leverage your interns. It’s a learning opportunity for them, as well as a chance for you to create a brand that’s even more relevant and engaging to your target audience.
Ready to talk about your early talent strategy?
Submit
5. Internships can remove barriers and expand access
For students who are less likely to be exposed to potential career paths through their personal networks, internships can be a powerful source of career insight and inspiration. However, if your school strategy is exclusive, then your internship program is most likely leaving talent on the table.
Another way to reduce barriers to entry for students to participate in internship programs is more flexible internships whether by location, hours, duration, or hybrid.
If developing an internship program seems daunting, you have an opportunity to offer internships that are easier for students to balance with other commitments—which can help you manage resources, too. Handshake data found that 65% of students would prefer to work 10-30 hours a week at an internship, and 30% of students would be interested in a short-term internship experience that lasted 8 weeks or less.
6. Internships upskill your pipeline
Internships give students both skills and experience. But that doesn’t mean your interns are the only ones benefiting. Your organization is, too, because you’re not just building a pipeline—you’re building a pipeline of candidates that already have the knowledge and competencies that meet the demands of your organization.
The #1 reason students say they pursue internships is to build valuable skills.
Charles Schwab's internship program—with 480 interns across 14 business lines—is an excellent example of an internship program that provides early talent with the skills, experience, and exposure. Historically, Schwab has offered 70-75% of the class full-time roles, and 70-75% accept—which is well above the program’s goals.
From cost to opportunity: building the business case for internships, regardless of your company size
Internships have long been positioned as a competitive edge for students looking to get an early start and a leg up in their careers. But internships aren’t just a win for early talent—they’re a powerful advantage for employers too.
With almost 80% of students who've completed an internship saying the experience had a moderate or significant impact on their level of interest in working full-time for their internship employer, and a majority say they'd likely accept a full-time offer, internships help employers build a quality talent pipeline.
So if you’re falling behind with attracting Gen Z talent, improve efficiency in your hiring funnel, or future-proofing your workforce, it’s time to stop asking if you can afford to launch an internship program and ask a more pertinent question: can you afford not to?