BUSINESS SCHOOL INTERNSHIPS: SOURCES AND RESOURCES

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1 BUSINESS SCHOOL INTERNSHIPS: SOURCES AND RESOURCES Rothman, Miriam University of San Diego Lampe, Marc University of San Diego ABSTRACT An exit survey was completed by 381 undergraduate students enrolled in a for-credit business school internship course. Among the survey highlights were the following results: the vast majority worked in a for-profit business, with marketing as the most often cited functional area in an internship that was unpaid. A personal contact was most likely to be the source of the internship and one-third received a job offer with some credit being directly related to the School of Business internship program. The full results of the survey are discussed within the context of intelligent careers. INTRODUCTION Intelligent careers, as described by Arthur, Claman, and DeFillippi (1995), suggest that knowing how, knowing whom, and knowing why helps individuals enact meaningful careers. Knowing why reflects the values, interests, motivations and work-life balance issues that are descriptive of the career choices one makes. Knowing whom concerns the network developed regarding personal relationships, in and outside of the job. Knowing how includes the skills and expertise one possesses in the service of career interests. From a developmental perspective, the four years students invest in their undergraduate studies potentially provides the time, opportunity and information needed to identify these initial elements of an intelligent career. Career theorists, such as Hall (1976), call the span between late adolescence and early twenties the years of exploration and trial (p 57). During this time individuals search for and try on different jobs for fit. For young adults who choose to pursue their post-secondary education, exposure to new knowledge, skill development and self awareness occurs during the college years, crystallizing in an academic major. As graduation approaches, testing the waters of a potential career becomes more attractive. Opportunities to engage in career testing are found in many majors. Some universities require students to take a practicum, get supervision, clerk or intern with an individual or organization as part of career preparation. The degree of academic control, however, ranges from setting up the internship for the students to no supervision at all. While some quality control over the content of the internship is beneficial, the experience itself may be sufficient for some students regarding future career decisions. KNOWING HOW In the name of serving one s career, internships offer students a chance to gain a deeper understanding of one or more specialties within their chosen profession through actual work experience. As students move

2 through their academics, classes expose them to new knowledge which stimulates their interest. They take more upper-division classes and build a skill set and some expertise within their major. This interest then manifests itself as a career option. In order to gain a better understanding of what this career option is like in reality, undergraduates participate in internship programs through their college or university. Internships bridge the gap between business education and work (Cook, Parker & Pettijohn, 2004). Students perceive internships as a valuable learning experience that supplements their schooling, helping them better define their interests and abilities (Hite & Bellizzi, 1986). KNOWING WHOM How they learn about internships can come from many sources: family, friends, web sites, career service centers, faculty, etc. These human career sources can become building blocks of executive networks for the student, and alumni-giving for the university. From a longitudinal perspective, they provide the nucleus of a professional network. The connections made during an internship can add valuable contacts to student networks. Students perceive that internships increase business contacts and expand their knowledge of the job market (Groves et. al., 1977). KNOWING WHY The reasons students choose the internships they do varies. However for business students, gaining relevant work experience means exposure to the corporate world. Although many undergraduates have work experience, it is usually in unskilled work such as retail and food service. Therefore, the attraction of an internship in a traditional organizational setting where professional dress is required and mentoring is available provides opportunities for self-awareness and career fit. Experience gained from an internship is a key attribute a student can offer a potential employer (Gault, Redington & Schlager, 2000). Canon and Arnold (1998) found that increasingly students see the internship not just as a supplement to coursework or extension of the classroom, but rather as a separate component of their preparation for the job market, one that is becoming essential in obtaining post college employment (p.203). Internships offer an invaluable opportunity for students and their colleges to connect with the working world. The effectiveness of these internships in securing a job offer can be a significant measure of the program s success. Not only can job offers be assessed, but the degree to which job offers can be traced back to the university s internship program could prove instrumental in securing external funds and support. Moreover, the university community may also benefit through providing high caliber talent to organizations and the means by which to make the recruitment process easier. Career services centers, data bases, career fairs, faculty recommendations and networking events bring students and host companies together. Students too bring their own professional network into contact with their university when they get an internship through friends or family connections. This mutual exposure highlights the reputation of the university to a wider audience and lays the groundwork for future relations (Thiel & Hartley, 1997). There is great potential for internship programs to improve the relationship between the university and business community (Gault, Redington & Schlager, 2000; Fitt & Heverly, 1992). The purpose of this study was to track the sources of the internships for a business school s credit-based internship program, and determine the number of job offers that were received by the interns as a result of this experience. In addition, information about the nature of the placement (i.e., marketing, finance, etc.) and whether the internship was paid or not was also measured. The data in this study was derived from a model that encourages student initiative in finding and negotiating an internship that fulfills requirements of the credited business school class (Lampe & Rothman, 2006). Students are expected to apply their business course work to their internship as part of a graded portfolio, and relate specific classes to at least

3 five individual projects they worked on within the semester long program. Thus students gain information about careers through these opportunities for knowing how, knowing whom, and knowing why METHOD An exit survey was given to nine classes of business school student interns (N=381) at their final meeting of the semester long internship course. Data was collected between fall 2001 and spring 2006 semesters at a private liberal arts university. Participants were undergraduate students in their last two years of college who were business, economics or accounting majors or minors. The exit survey consisted of five questions followed by a checklist of options in which interns reported the type of organization they worked in, primary business function of their internship, source of their position, compensation and job offer or likelihood of offer in the future. Among the follow-up questions they were asked was if their School of Business Administration could be credited with helping create the job offer. RESULTS Students indicated whether the organization they worked for could best be characterized as business, nonprofit, or government. As might be expected in a business school internship program, the overwhelming majority of students, 87%, interned at a for- profit business. Eleven percent of the students worked in a non-profit organization and only two percent in government. Students were asked to select from a list of fourteen business related areas or other, the primary area, or up to two areas that best described their position. The list was presented in alphabetical order and Table 1 provides the frequency with which a function was selected, and on a percentage basis as a whole. From the sample of 381 students, 586 areas were chosen. Therefore, less than half the students chose two areas, with the rest picking a single primary area. Table 1 Primary function of internship on a frequency and percentage basis Function N % Marketing Finance Accounting 55 9 Real Estate 55 9 Function N % Management 37 6 Public Relations 35 6 Information Systems 28 5 Economics 23 4 Operations Management 21 4 Human Resources 19 3 International Business 14 2 Entrepreneurship 11 2 Procurement 8 1 Legal 4 0

4 Other 32 5 Due to rounding, total does not equal 100%. At 26% (N=155), marketing was by far the most common selection. The next most frequently mentioned field was finance which 15% (N=89) of students chose. This was followed by accounting and real estate, each of which was selected by 9% of the students. The fields of management and public relations were chosen by 6% of the interns. All other categories had selection rates of 5% or less. Students were asked to indicate how they originally found their position and were given a list of six choices. If they chose personal contact, lead from faculty/staff or other, they were asked to explain. Thirty-five percent of the students (N=134) found their internship through personal contacts. Most opportunities came through friends (N=51), family members (N=22), friend of the family (N=19) or an individual who was named. (N=42). Table 2 reports the sources of the placements as reported by the students. Table 2 Source of Internship Placements Source N % Business School undergraduate data base Career Services Listing Advertisement 26 7 Lead from faculty/staff Who? Internship Executive Assistant 37 Real Estate liaison 12 Personal contact lead Who? Friend 51 Individual name 42 Source N % Family member 22 Friend of family 19 Other Explain Own initiative 14 Accounting event 6 Previous position 6 Real Estate Institute 5 Company representative 5 Career Event 4 Ad or flyer 4 Word of mouth 4

5 Due to rounding, total does not equal 100%. Twenty percent of the students reported that a business faculty or staff member was credited with assistance in finding their internship (N=77). Almost half of these leads (N=37) came directly from the executive assistant assigned to the for-credit internship program. Next in frequency came a staff member from the Real Estate area who acts as a liaison to the real estate business community (N=12). Therefore 55% of placements came through knowing whom. Another 24% were divided equally between career services listings (N= 45) and the business school s data base (N=46). Approximately seven percent of students found their position from advertising not connected with the university, such as a newspaper listing. The category of other was selected by fifteen percent (N=57) as the source of their position. These methods included own initiative, a campus event, and a position already held by the student. Insofar as the internship program did not require that students be compensated for their work, we wanted to learn what compensation, if any, they received. The four options they could choose from and the results are as follows: an internship that was unpaid was selected by 50% (N=187), primarily an internship for which I was paid was chosen by 30% (N=113), and primarily a paying job for which I also earned internship credit was marked by 18% (N=67) of the students. The remaining interns chose another category and explained they were paid with a stipend or commission. Byrd and Poole (2001) assert that: Those who intern with organizations before graduation have higher salaries, more job offers, a shorter time to obtain their first position, faster movement into jobs with more prestige (p. 31). The survey asked students if they had received a full time job offer or, if they had not yet received a job offer, whether they believed there was a significant possibility they would receive a job offer from their internship employer in the future. By the time the students completed the survey at the end of the semester, about one-third (N=130) had already received a job offer from their employer. Of the remaining two-thirds, those who had not yet received an offer, 55% (N=135) responded that they believed there was a significant possibility they would receive a job offer from their internship employer in the future. Therefore, 62% (N=265), or almost two-thirds of the interns in the study had already received a job offer or believed it likely that they would be offered a position by their employer in the future. This result demonstrates that internships are an excellent way to find a full-time job. The final follow-up question was directed only to those students who answered in the affirmative to either of the aforementioned questions: those students who had either received a job offer or those who believed there was a significant possibility they would be getting a job offer from their internship. This included approximately two thirds of the total sample (N=265). These students were asked if the business school s internship program was responsible for this opportunity, or whether the student would have likely had it anyway regardless of the role played by the business school program. Most students, 57% (N=149) responded that they probably would have had the same offer regardless of my enrollment in the program. Forty-three percent (N=114) said they credited the business school s internship program with this job offer. Therefore, in this total sample of 381 students, 30 % reported that the business school was responsible for this opportunity. DISCUSSION The results of this study demonstrate that the genesis of an intelligent career begins with knowing whom, knowing how and knowing why. The importance of personal contacts for finding an internship, especially family and friends, plays a key role in providing students with these opportunities. Therefore these connections serve to fill in the knowing whom network. Especially for those without such relationships, business school resources would be well spent on meeting student needs through facilitating

6 internship placements. According to the data, the availability of faculty/staff whose job description includes some internship responsibility provides a resource students will frequently utilize in seeking a placement. For those students who may be more independent, but without personal contacts to assist them, accessible online listings are another key resource. Furthermore, knowing whom through making contacts with professionals during the internship enables interns to better solidify their interests (Hite & Bellizzi, 1986). Although students overwhelmingly chose to work in the private sector, 11% reported an internship with a non-profit. With sufficient attention focused on this sector, these numbers may rise as colleges and universities stress public and community service activities for their students through on-campus programming or participation in the Corporation for National and Community Service and classifications such as the Carnegie Foundation for Community Engagement. Many positions in non-profits and government utilize business, accounting or economic knowledge and skills. Such placements can provide students with the opportunity to gain valuable experience while giving back to the community. It appears that, at least in respect to business students, extra effort needs to be taken in order to boost internship placements at non-profits and in government. To do this a business school internship program might actively solicit such listings while heavily promoting them to potential interns. As students close in on their college degrees, and in particular graduates of professional schools like business administration, they re eager to ply their skills and apply their knowledge in an organization. Before hitting the job market, internships allow them a chance to gain valuable work experience in a discipline of their choice with a public, private or not-for-profit organization. The frequency with which functional areas were selected can be used as a measure of student preferences, and is a useful indicator of student s academic interest. This feedback, in turn, may help business schools with course planning and curriculum design. The combination of finance and marketing as the leading functional areas may in part reflect a high number of internships in financial product sales such as positions at stock and life insurance brokerages. The high selection rate for real estate and marketing may indicate a substantial number of students doing internships with real estate brokers. The combination of marketing or public relations being selected by almost one-third of the students indicates that marketing related activities will be a primary function of many interns. If this sample is an indicator of future demand, it highlights the importance of classroom preparation in marketing prior to an internship placement. By becoming more familiar with the desires of employers, colleges can change their curricula by preparing students to meet the needs of the marketplace (Byrd & Poole, 2001). When it comes to being paid in an internship, students needs vary. In some cases, student s paid employment may qualify for internship credit if it meets course requirements. All students whether paid or unpaid, job or internship, had to demonstrate to the internship program director that their position offered a challenging and relevant learning experience in which to apply their college course work while having the opportunity to gain valuable new knowledge in business, accounting or economics. While individuals have different needs around payment for internships and companies have different policies, almost fifty percent of students received some form of remuneration for their efforts. Thus the nature of the placements for this sample of interns indicated that business school skills were applied in a company, most often in marketing, for which the student did not receive compensation. Their

7 degree of satisfaction with this experience as an internship, informs their understanding of knowing how for future career decisions. Internships are acknowledged as a way for companies to try out potential employees before making an offer at the same time as these interns are experiencing a realistic job preview of what it would be like to be employed in the host company (Knouse, Tanner & Harris, 1999; Scott, 1992). Over the course of a semester long internship, students can get a sense of corporate values and culture in order to determine fit (Thiel & Hartley, 1997). An important function of an internship for some students, especially seniors, is helping them to find full-time employment after they graduate. According to Gault, Redington and Schlager (2000): Internship programs provide employers with a known pool of high-quality employees at a significant savings in recruitment costs (p.52). For such employers internships are extended job interviews that last several months. Insofar as a significant outcome measure for internships is a job offer, the results of this study demonstrates that internships are an excellent way to find a full-time job. However, the number of job offers in this sample potentially underestimates the likelihood of an intern who is in a position to want a full-time position being offered such a position. That is, some of the students who did not receive job offers may have been juniors who would not be available for a full-time position. In other cases, seniors who were planning to leave the area or go to graduate school may have eliminated themselves from the local job market. Job offers were unlikely to be made to such students regardless of employer interest. This study provides evidence that confirms research by Scott (1992) that there is a broad perception that internships are a highly effective strategy for college students to find a job. Therefore, knowing why one does an internship enhances the value of the experience. The strong possibility of finding a full-time job can be used as a way to attract students to internships. Students use internships to gain a competitive edge in finding a position and to differentiate themselves from students who do not have internship experience (Cannon & Arnold, 1998). The high likelihood of finding a full-time employee is a way to entice employers to offer internships. Many organizations use internships as a recruiting tool (Cook, Parker & Pettijohn, 2004) and a talent pool (Canon & Arnold, 1998) for new employees. It is a lowcost almost risk-free way to gain assistance and possibly find a new employee (Byrd & Poole, 2001). CONCLUSION In order to prepare students for intelligent careers, formal credit based internships are offered by Schools of Business Administration. Although programs abound and requirements vary, tracking the sources of placements (knowing whom) the nature of placements (knowing how) and the outcome of placements (knowing why) improves the quality of the educational process when metrics are used. The results of this study provide feedback that can be helpful in the development and improvement of internship programs, those in business schools in particular. As Canon and Arnold (1998) note: Business schools should strongly consider allocating additional resources to internship programs, improving program flexibility, and further encouraging student participation (p. 202). REFERENCES Arthur, M.B., Claman, P.H. & DeFillippi, R.J. (1995). Intelligent enterprise, intelligent career. Academy of Management Executive, 9(4), Byrd, J.T. & Poole R. (2001). Highly motivated employees at no cost? It s not an impossible dream. Nonprofit World, 19(6),

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