Internships do not always lead to job offers. This is because it depends on the intern’s skills and experience, as well as what type of internship he/she takes.
The best thing about internships is that they provide you with real-world experience which will help you land a job in your field after graduating from college or university. You can also learn a lot about yourself by getting an internship for a certain period of time. It teaches you how to deal with different personalities and how to work under pressure, among other things. Internships are good ways to gain hands-on experience before going into the working world and learning new skills while making connections with professionals in your field.
Another way internships help students find jobs is through their recommendation letters when applying for jobs after graduation. The recommendations will speak highly of their accomplishments during the internship, including what they learned during the internship and what they contributed towards their organization or team at work, etc.. Also having relevant skills like coding and design would be beneficial in landing a job post-graduation due to all the technology changing rapidly nowadays!
How often do internships lead to job offers?
![Profile photo for Jonathan Jones](https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-thumb-359945626-50-hhjcecvvellpldyqomgkcrxbcthfxzfk.jpeg)
SVP Recruiting at DE Shaw (fmr Goldman, Point72) (2003-present)
It really depends, and can vary between ‘almost always’ and ‘never’. You need to understand where the probabilities lie on that spectrum before committing to an opportunity.
Internships arguably exist for one of two reasons:
- Interns can be a cheap source of smart, motivated temporary labor. Ideal for getting that annoying project dealt with over the summer that none of the permanent staff can find the time (or inclination) to get to.
- Working with an intern for 10 weeks (or whatever the period is) happens to be a great way for both employer and intern to decide whether they want the relationship to become permanent. It de-risks the hiring process on both sides. The employer knows what they’re getting; the candidate knows what they’re getting into.
If a company is offering an internship for the first reason, the chances of it converting to a full-time opportunity may be well below. They’re not playing the game for purpose of finding a full-time hire.
If a company is offering an internship for reason no. 2, the chances of it leading to a full-time seat are much higher, clearly.
In fact, in industries where the competition for top talent runs high (investment banking, hedge funds, technology come to mind), employers are specifically motivated to ensure the proportion of interns who receive full-time offers is high. It’s only rational: if you’re a top candidate deciding between two firms, and one of those gives out full-time offers to 70% of its interns, while the other gives offers to 20%, which one are you going to choose?
At our firm, we just went through this process with our 2018 Academy internship participants. 82% of them received an offer to return full-time.
Make sure you know the lie of the land before you commit to an internship, so you can do it with your eyes open.