May 3, 2013 | Gen Y, Internship
Over the last few years, organizations have increasingly relied on college summer internships to help fill the new hire pipeline: 80 percent of companies surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) said that recruiting for full time hires was the primary purpose of companies’ internship programs. Summer internships aren’t new, but it’s only recently that they’ve taken on the full magnitude of what amounts to a summer-long job interview. Clearly, this works for companies, as it provides a cost-effective opportunity to kick the tires before purchasing, but it also provides a tremendous opportunity for the interns themselves to demonstrate value and convert their summer positions into full time job offers. But the anecdotal and empirical evidence suggest that summer interns are not maximizing the opportunity. For example, in a recent survey (Emily Bennington, Seriously Empowered Leadership) of more than 700 executives, approximately 75 percent believe that the recent crop of college interns and grads aren’t “cutting it.” In fact, of the 68 percent of respondents who work with or hire new grads, only 26 percent felt those grads were prepared for the rigors and requirements of the 21st Century workplace. While these aspiring professionals may emerge from college with some subject matter intelligence, they’re not arriving with a mastery, let alone understanding, of the critical skills needed to secure the job, demonstrate value…and then succeed. In some cases, companies — to see return on their summer investment — offer training to help interns enhance their performance and start taking ownership of their careers. With that said, make no mistake: this is not a one-way transaction. Instead,...
Dani Ticktin Koplik —
Leadership consultant, executive coach, change agent and passionate professional development expert and speaker. You can learn more about Dani and her clients by visiting dtkBio page. 