Employers Eager to Hire Interns and Recent Graduates

The results of the 2012 Intern & Recent Grad Pay Rates & Practices Survey, conducted by ERC and NOCHE, showed that an overwhelming majority (83%) of 117 participating Northeast Ohio employers were either maintaining or increasing their internship programs, while almost two-thirds (64%) were in the process of hiring or planning to hire new graduates for positions in their organizations. These organizations look for candidates with relevant majors in their field, high levels of professionalism, strong interpersonal and communication skills, and past work or internship/co-op experience.

Recruitment Trends

Despite a strong online recruiting presence, organizations are primarily using job boards/websites focused on interns or recent graduates to pursue candidates, social media remains low on the list of recruitment methods at for both interns and recent graduates. Interestingly, 2012's survey does mark a small increase in social media recruitment for recent graduates from the preceding years, up 9% from 20% in 2011. However, when compared to more traditional recruitment methods such as job postings on college career center websites or relationships with professors, social media recruitment methods appear to remain a largely untapped recruitment resource. This trend suggests that for tech savvy Millenials searching for an internship or first job, LinkedIn or Facebook may not be the most effective platform through which to reach potential employers.

Benefits of Interns & Recent Graduates

While the overall lack of interest in social media recruiting is consistent with trends in the world of Human Resources, it sits in stark contrast to one of the top emerging benefits of hiring interns and recent graduates, i.e. familiarity with the latest technological advances. Both groups continue to be seen as a key element for injecting organizations with fresh, innovative ideas, particularly in the realm of technology.

Employers commonly express a high level of confidence in the expertise of interns and recent graduates as employees. By coupling this high skill level with a strong financial incentive to hire from within these groups, pursuing interns and recent graduates as future employees is largely viewed as a positive investment in an organization’s future. 

The 2012 survey also reports average starting salaries for recent graduates, which vary significantly depending on the type of degree. Similar to the 2011 data, an engineering degree showed the highest average starting salary for a Bachelors degree.

Average starting salaries for college degrees