Many students graduate high school with little expectation of ever having to repeat the college application process. But students may be surprised to encounter many of the same rigors of admission when entering the market for summer internships.
With the most competitive wave of college applicants now becoming the most competitive wave of undergraduate internship applicants, current college students will find themselves meeting the same stiff competition they faced in the college admission process when applying for a summer internship.
A January article in the New York Times compared the common internship application process to the college application process and said that an internship is as essential to a job as community service can be to a college application.
And the link between internship experience and future job offers is becoming increasingly pronounced.
Last summer, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) released its 2007 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey, which found that surveyed employers had offered full-time jobs to approximately two-thirds of interns. Interns accepted these job offers over 70 percent of the time, according to the survey.
But even if an internship doesn't yield a job offer, many students are finding their experience as an intern is sometimes required to find a job elsewhere.
Director of Career Services Jean Papalia agreed that internships are becoming increasingly important and increasingly difficult to obtain.
"Tufts Career Services, as well as our students, recognize the importance - and the competitiveness - of internships and their value in terms of professional development," Papalia said.
NACE's 2007 survey enforced Papalia's words, reporting that over 30 percent of survey respondents' college hires had come from their own internship program, and that over 60 percent of their hired employees had internship experience.
More often than not, internship programs require previous internship experience, begging the question of where students can turn to begin their hunt. For many, the only choice is to work without compensation.
Sophomore and engineer Peter Taylor-Brown is facing such a dilemma.
"For the past two summers, I've worked as a paid lifeguard at my local high school, so I've never had an internship before," he said. "But this summer, I'm looking into an unpaid internship with a Boston engineering firm. I don't really feel too bad about not getting paid because I've worked for the past two summers, but I would definitely feel uncomfortable if I hadn't."
For the past three years, Career Services has worked to quell some students' fears about not receiving a summer salary by offering summer internship grants to approximately 25 students, according to Papalia.
But if students aren't merited a grant through Tufts, those who haven't saved funds from past jobs often choose to supplement an unpaid internship with some sort of additional paying job in order to support themselves.
"Students often combine a part-time unpaid internship with a part-time paid summer job," Papalia said. "Gaining hands-on experience in a potential career field is valuable in demonstrating to an employer your skills and interest in the field and helping you explore career options and hone in on future goals."
Taking into account students' desire for payment as well as employers' increasing tendency to secure interns as potential employees, some internships are now beginning to offer their interns some form of payment - be it an hourly wage or a weekly stipend.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles, for example, hosts both six- and eight-week full-time summer internship programs which provide interns with $4,000 stipends. Because the pay rate is so competitive, the admission process rightfully follows suit.
With a two-round selection process in which finalists must submit a taped interview to the Los Angeles offices, the coveted internship usually receives roughly 800 applications - to fill only 35 slots.
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Internship Program Director Nancy Robinson said the number has remained relatively steady for a number of years.
"For the past nine years I've been involved with our program, the number has remained pretty constant," Robinson said. "But since the program itself started, there definitely has been an increase in the number of applications we've received."
Though these are sobering odds for some students, others remain optimistic about their summer internship prospects, even in light of not having had previous experience in the field.
"Although I haven't had an internship before, I'm not too worried about being able to find one," Taylor-Brown said. "There always has to be that first internship, which I'm hoping to secure based on the activities I've pursued here at Tufts."
The activities Taylor-Brown refers to often give students a much-needed edge to make them eligible applicants within an increasingly competitive field.
"Our students have done exceedingly well at securing summer internships," said Susan Eisenhauer, associate director of the Communications & Media Studies (CMS) program at Tufts.
Eisenhauer, in addition to overseeing events, speakers, and courses relevant to the CMS program, also helps students pursue internships in that field, whether they choose not to receive credit or to enroll in either a part-time or full-time credit-receiving program through the Experimental College
According to Eisenhauer, the number of students pursuing internships for credit has risen heavily.
"This past summer, 50 students took CMS internships that required them to enroll for school credit," Eisenhauer said. "That number from last summer was about equal from the summer before that - but I've been overseeing [this program] for 16 summers, and when I started, there were only about 10 students involved. It's been steadily increasing ever since."
One reason for the increase in participation might lie in the expansion of the 'networking' process, especially among alumni and current undergrads. With the improved ease of e-mail communication and social networking, students today are taking advantage of all connections possible to secure a summer internship.
"You can't just sit around and wait for things to happen," sophomore Darren Ferguson said. "Getting an internship is really about putting yourself out there - signing up for things and not being afraid to e-mail people."
An architectural design major who is also pursuing a sales associate position at Coldwell Banker Realty, Ferguson is contemplating a summer internship in real estate development, which he found though his connections on the Tufts football team.
"Being on the football team, our coach encourages the Tufts Football alumni to give back to the program by giving players internship opportunities in the field they've gone into," Ferguson said. "I got lucky this internship season - being a part of an organization at Tufts makes it a lot easier to have ins in the field that you want to ultimately go into."
Whether obtained through a team sport or academic affiliation, Papalia said it's important to stay connected with potential employers.
"We absolutely agree with the importance of networking - it's pretty much our Career Services 'mantra,'" she said.
