Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals, September 28, 2011 

Interns appear to internalize the values and corporate culture of their internship employers, according to results of NACE’s 2011 Student Survey. 

Results from 20,000 participating seniors suggest a correlation between what students prefer in a job and an employer and the values and corporate culture they absorbed through their internship experience. 

Although interns in general rated “opportunity for personal growth” as the key attribute they seek in a job/employer, the type of work experience they’ve had does seem to influence some of their preferences. For example, those who reported taking part in a paid internship with a for-profit organization rated “opportunity for rapid advancement” more highly than their peers who took part in other types of internships. At the same time, the “opportunity to improve the community” earned its lowest ranking from this type of intern, while it earned its highest marks from paid interns at nonprofit organizations. 

The 2011 Student Survey was conducted mid-February through April 30, 2011. Read the executive summary. For details about the survey report, see “The Class of 2011 Student Survey Report.”