Assessing the role of internships in the career‐oriented employment of graduating college students

This study assessed the relationship between the completion of an internship assignment prior to graduation and subsequent employment in a career‐oriented job after graduation. Subjects for the study were 163 seniors graduating with a business degree from a large public university in the mid‐Atlantic region of the USA. Results showed that the completion of an internship assignment was linked with finding career‐oriented employment, but was not related to a higher level of confidence over personal fit with the position that was selected. The article presents implications for future research and discusses practical issues related to the use of internships and other forms of anticipatory socialization in the career management activities of college students.