Without a doubt, internships are unmatched for preparing college students for careers. Summer and during-the-academic-year internships help students gain workplace skills and experience, build professional networks and shape their long-term career goals so they can succeed in their first job — and every job that follows.
Internships are just as valuable for employers. They help companies build brand awareness and craft a proactive long-term strategy of identifying, recruiting and hiring best-fit early talent. New data from Handshake reveals that more than 80% of students say their internship experience influenced their interest in working for a particular employer and in a specific role and industry. Even more encouraging for employers, more than half of interns (56%) would “probably” or “definitely” accept a full-time offer from the company where they had their internship.
Understanding the internship landscape can give forward-thinking companies an edge. Here are six tips for building a powerful internship program to attract and retain the best early talent:
Pay your interns fairly.
Increasingly, most internships today are paid. But it matters to students whether their internship salary or stipend is meaningful — or merely a token gesture. Intern pay can set expectations for how they would be treated as full-time employees.
When deciding intern pay, employers should consider industry benchmarks and the cost of living for the locations where they assign interns. Handshake survey data shows paid and unpaid interns consider full-time offers from their internship employer at roughly similar rates. But 82% of interns who feel they were paid fairly would consider a full-time offer compared to just 63% who didn’t believe their internship pay was fair.
Mentorship is key.
Internships can be stressful because college students find themselves in unfamiliar territory alongside more experienced coworkers. Interns often need support from a more senior colleague who can answer their questions, listen to their concerns, offer career guidance and help them have a positive internship experience.
Robust mentorship is central to the comprehensive internship program at United Airlines, for example. The company pairs interns with mentors outside of their department so they’ll gain different perspectives and learning opportunities and a broader and deeper understanding of how the company operates.
Mentorships definitely make a difference. Nearly 60% of students say the mentorship opportunities they received (or didn’t) had a significant effect on their interest in pursuing a permanent role with their internship employer. Handshake data also shows that students who connect with a mentor during an internship are more likely to accept a job offer.
Team culture leaves a lasting impression
Internships represent a “try it before you buy it” experience for a specific company role and an employer’s work culture. Nine in 10 students say team culture and their interactions with colleagues played at least some role in their decision to pursue full-time work with a company.
Food manufacturer General Mills converted nearly 90% of its interns to full-time employees in 2024. One key pillar is its annual National Intern Summit, which brings together interns from around the country to its corporate headquarters for networking and development opportunities. By enabling interns to meet and socialize with leaders and other interns, the company signals that it offers a welcoming and supportive environment.
Offer a wide range of experiences.
Just as companies use internships to scout out prospective talent, interns are getting to know the company. Employers that allow interns to work in multiple business units can give them valuable hands-on experiences and teach them much about a company and the industry.
Textron, a Global manufacturing company, exposes its interns to a wide range of teams, functions, industries and locations so they can make more informed decisions about their potential career paths. That approach has helped Textron — whose talent strategy is based largely on promoting from within — hire former interns for more than 70% of its entry-level positions.
Build pathways for the best interns.
Internships don’t have to be one-off experiences. They can be the starting point of a dedicated pathway to advancement within a company.
At cosmetics company L’Oréal, the most successful interns can qualify for the Seedz Management Trainee program, which provides new college graduates with mentorship, leadership and development opportunities and experience across multiple business units over their first two years with the company.
Financial software giant Intuit partnered with national nonprofit Education at Work to create a corps of college students who work as paid part-time tax specialists to help address the shortage of entry-level tax and accounting workers. Participants earn money to pay for college plus the experience needed to work as seasonal employees immediately after graduating.
The best time to start is now.
Demand for internships is surging. As of January, 41% of the Class of 2025 had already applied to at least one internship on the Handshake platform. Compare that to the Class of 2023, where only 34% had sought an internship by the time they graduated.
Internships can be transformative not just for interns but for the companies that hire them. While internships let students expand their horizons and gain experience that can guide their working lives, they also allow employers to locate the early talent to help them grow and be profitable in the years to come. When companies provide learning opportunities for students before they launch their careers, they’re helping to build a stronger workforce.