Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals, April 25, 2012 

Providing interns with social activities is the benefit most commonly offered among organizations responding to NACE’s 2012 Internship & Co-op Survey.  

Nearly two-thirds of employers cited social activities as a benefit to interns, and nearly half reported that they provide their interns with paid holidays. Other benefits trail in popularity: Approximately 27 percent say they count the internship toward service time, and just under 14 percent offer a 401(k) benefit.  

Overall, however, there appears to have be some movement toward providing interns with benefits. Just over 18 percent of organizations said they offer no benefits to interns, down from 22 percent in the 2011 and 2010 surveys.  

Although not strictly a “benefit,” relocation assistance is perhaps the most popular add-on for interns. In fact, nearly 60 percent of responding organizations expect to provide some form of assistance to help students undertake their 2012 internship. (See “More Employers Offering Relocation Assistance to Interns,” in the February 29, issue of Spotlight.) 

The 2012 Internship & Co-op Survey was conducted November 11, 2011, through January 13, 2012; 280 organizations holding NACE membership, representing more than 20 industries, took part, for a 29.4 percent response rate. Read the executive summary at www.naceweb.org/intern-co-op-survey/.