With many students soon starting their summer internships now that classes are over, we recently featured a poll on our homepage that asked:

What is most important to you in a summer internship?

You might think that “high pay” might be most important to students considering all the hype about student loans and unpaid internships these days, but it actually came in a distant second:

Only 20% said high pay was most important.

It turns out that “meaningful experience” tops earning big bucks:

Nearly two thirds of students (59%) said it was the most important thing to them in a summer internship.

The three other options each received a small share of the votes: 11% said the reputation of the employer was the most important; 6% chose mentorship as most important; and only 4% said a flexible schedule was most important to them in a summer internship.

Employers

Do these results mirror the strategies behind your summer internships? With the vast majority of students seeking meaningful experience during their summer internships, will you provide the experience they’re looking for? Or are you going a step further by offering meaningful experience AND high pay?

Let us know in the comments!

Students

What does “meaningful experience” mean to you, and is it what you would have chosen as most important?

Let us know in the comments!

 

Today we start a new poll on the homepage, asking: When did you or will you start searching for your first post-grad job? Click here to vote!