The Best Companies for Internships

The Best Companies for Internships by: Jeff Schmitt on December 12, 2014 | 1 Comment Comments 7,140 Views December 12, 2014â€Å"How do I get a job if I don’t have experience?†Every year, college students ask that same question. These days, the question takes on greater urgency. According to a 2014 Accenture study, just 42 percent of 2012 and 2013 college grads found work within six months of graduation. Another 41 percent earned $25,000 or less. Most damning of all, only 48 percent received training from their first employer.So how can students get training and experience? One option is an internship. For employers, every hire carries big risks – particularly with job-hopping new graduates. Here, it can cost employers up to 50 percent of their salary to find a replacement. And that doesn’t factor in variables like opportunity costs or benefits. As a result, employers are seeking new hires with track records, not just potential and people skills. With internships, students can prove themselves and gain experience. A successful internship also helps students build their networks, bestowing an informal certification that they possess the skills and maturity to mitigate their inherent risk.Alas, not all internships are created equal. At some companies, college interns work on key projects, gaining hands-on experience alongside seasoned mentors. However, others are relegated to repetitive tasks and busy work. These students may be exposed to a respected brand, but they’re not being prepared to hit the ground running.VAULT’S NEW RANKING IDENTIFIES THE BEST INTERNSHIP PROGRAMSIn other words, just landing an internship isn’t enough. Students should also focus on finding the ‘right’ internship: a structured program where they’ll receive resources and real work. To help students identify the best learning opportunities, Vault has produced a â€Å"Top Internship Rankings† for the past three years.Today, 40 percent of all entry-level full-time hires in the U.S. are sourced through internship programs, writes Derek Loosvelt, a senior editor at Vault. This means that, for those looking to work for the most desired and admired employers in the country, internships are no longer a luxury but a necessity.Vault, which collects  data from employers and professionals, released its internship rankings in November. Based on a 2015 survey, these rankings include responses from over 5800 interns at 100 different internship programs. Here, students ranked five areas on a scale of 1-to-10, with 10 being the highest score. The ratings covered quality of life (office culture, work hours, flexibility); compensation and benefits (pay structure and perks); interview process (application and interview process); career development (quality of training, mentoring, assignments, and networking opportunities); and full-time employment prospects.   Vault elected not to publish specific compa ny scores in each of these five areas.These survey scores were then averaged to produce an overall score for each internship program. Vault also ranked programs in seven industries, including consulting, investment banking, consumer goods, and media. While most respondents were undergraduates, eight or nine percent of the pool included MBA students.BATES WHITE TOPS THE LISTLooking to get into consulting? While an internship from McKinsey or Deloitte may draw attention, your best bet for meaningful assignments and a supportive culture may come at Washington DC’s Bates White, a 15 year-old firm that provides economic consulting to law firms, Fortune 500 companies, and government agencies. So what sets Bates White apart?For starters, the firm provides valuable experience to interns. â€Å"I loved being able to work on challenging, complicated, real world issues, while developing valuable quantitative skills that are transferable to nearly any career path,† one former inte rn tells Vault. Another reinforces this point. â€Å"You will learn (or improve upon) a number of valuable and marketable skills. You will make a meaningful contribution to the firms work.†Bates White’s culture is another big draw for interns. â€Å"Everyone here is very welcoming and willing to answer questions and help,† gushes one intern. â€Å"There are also a lot of fun events for interns to get to know each other. Another cited easy access to the firm’s leaders. â€Å"Everyone at the firm, from consultants and managers to partners, was friendly and willing to provide mentorship. I even had the opportunity to discuss career paths over coffee with the COO.In an era where interns are sometimes viewed as free labor, a former intern shares that Bates White’s pay is â€Å"great† too. With interns giving Bates White a collective 9.70 score, you won’t find many complaints. â€Å"I honestly think you would be hard-pressed to find a be tter internship program, no matter your field of study,† one intern summed up. Page 1 of 512345 » The Best Companies For Internships The Best Companies For Internships by: Jeff Schmitt on February 26, 2015 | 0 Comments Comments 6,411 Views February 26, 2015â€Å"You need experience.†You’ve heard that refrain from advisors, parents, and peers for years. Like generations before you, you answer with the same question: â€Å"Where can I get that experience?† Sure, you deserve credit for your high GPA. In a perfect world, your extracurriculars would validate your ability to manage time and â€Å"get the job done.† You’re young and hungry – and you have big ideas and a high ceiling. And you clean up well too. Isn’t that enough?Afraid not. Employers want to see you in action. Hiring someone is a big investment. Two years ago, CNN calculated that an employee making $50,000 actually costs a company $66,000, when you factor in social security and Medicare tax, unemployment insurance, and health care and 401K benefits. And that doesn’t include the cost to replace a n employee who doesn’t work out. Inc. reports that it can run as high as 150 percent of an employee’s salary. Bottom line: Employers want to be certain that you can apply your skills and work well with others.That’s where an internship comes in. You can spend your summer – or time outside of class – working in a professional environment. You can practice your craft, notch some accomplishments, and build a network of people who can vouch for you. Of course, landing an internship is easier said than done. Not to mention, not all internships are created equal. Some involve working on significant projects, but others are simply glorified clerical jobs.FACEBOOK TOPS THE LISTTo help students identify the best places to intern, Glassdoor recently published its â€Å"25 Highest Rated Companies for Internships in 2015.† Derived from reviews from actual interns, Glassdoor based its rankings on the highest average company score (on a five point scale). In addition, Glassdoor mined a composite score to cover the difficulty of each firm’s interview (again using a five point scale).And the big winner was Facebook, with a 4.6 average (tied with Chevron and Google). What makes an internship at Facebook time well spent? Here are some recent thoughts from the interns themselves:â€Å"The environment is really fast-paced, with a lot of freedom. As Facebook grows, theres more and more of a spectrum of different types of work environments and managerial relationshipsall the way from entirely hands off, to much more hand holding if you need it.†Former Intern Front End Engineer in Menlo Park, CAâ€Å"You are working on a very interesting problems, which actually affect more than a billion people. You also learn a lot from people around you.†Facebook Intern (New York, NY)â€Å"I was interning at the HQ. Its a very cool place with many perks including a music room, arcade room, gym, outdoor courts, many restaurants and v irtually any game you can think of spread across the campus. The salary is good and the housing is great. A great place to work with its policy to be open about everything going in the company to all employees even interns. Also the intern program is really good they have awesome people over there organising things for interns and helping us with intern stuff in general.†Software Engineer in Menlo Park, CAHere, you have the trifecta: interesting work, freedom, and good people. While entry interviews are slightly more difficult than Glassdoor’s average (3.1 vs. 2.8), Facebook provides great training for handling more complex tasks and a sometimes-stressful environment.FROM FOOD TO MENTORSHIP, GOOGLE LAUDED BY INTERNSChevron also earned high marks, with one Houston intern succinctly listing its benefits as, â€Å"Fast paced, high energy, independence, strong culture.† Culture, in particular, had strong allure to one recent engineering intern, who touted the firmà ¢â‚¬â„¢s intangibles. â€Å"The culture is just as it is advertized. Chevron takes care of its people, and makes sure everyone is a good fit to its culture. Is all about Team Work, Ownership and most importantly Safety.†Past and present interns were especially complimentary of Google, with one intern summing up the firm’s charm as, â€Å"Great office culture, perks, company values, global footprint.†Among recent interns, Google’s freebies grabbed their attention. â€Å"The food! So many perks, too,† one intern gushed. â€Å"Theyll treat you like a princess, Im telling you. Its amazing.† Another cited Google’s legendary â€Å"bowling alley, juice bar, indoor rock [and] climbing wall.† Page 1 of 41234 »