Students meet with potential employers at athletics internship networking event in the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
Students everywhere are feeling pressure when it comes to applying to internships. According to job application site Handshake, internship postings have decreased by 15% over the past two years, while the number of applications per posting doubled with an average of 109 applicants.
“Last summer I had a really difficult time finding an internship,” said Lucy Flynn, a senior music business major at Hofstra University. “I applied to over 50 and ultimately got an internship that I didn’t even apply to – I just reached out.”
One of the schools that requires some students to complete an internship while in university is the Lawrence Herbert School of Communications (LHSC). One of their associate professors of journalism, media studies and public relations, Mario Gonzalez, shared what he’s seen in his role as a faculty advisor to those pursing internships.
“It’s almost every semester there is somebody that’s like, ‘I can’t find [an internship],’” Gonzalez said. “In the past, before [COVID-19], it was once every couple of years.”
It’s not just students that feel the heat, though. Companies also face challenges in hiring interns. Internship on Demand breaks down the cost of an intern to $21,000 per person if they are getting paid around $20/hour. This does not include any training, housing or free merchandise fees, among other variable factors.
In Sept. 2024, the business higher education forum reported that many employers did not offer or expand internship programs because of difficulty recruiting, finding tasks for interns to do, availability of staff to supervise interns and securing support from other members of the company. Other employers cited design issues, like finding the right structure, complying with laws to protect students and higher education requirements.
These issues have long existed, so why are companies suddenly less willing to offer internships than they were in the past? Although a solid answer is difficult to determine, 26% of employers said uncertain economic conditions within the company or industry was the ultimate culprit behind a lack of an internship program. Additionally, Forbes reported layoffs as a major factor in internship reduction in 2023, and companies wishing to keep a smaller and cheaper workforce decided internships were not profitable. This year, 1,217 companies followed this trend. With the new presidential administration and its Department of Government Efficiency, the federal government is also conducting massive layoffs, including interns.
Despite these conditions and increased competition, getting an internship is not impossible. Flynn, a self-described “chronic LinkedIn user,” utilized her mentor at GrammyU, a member program for emerging adults in the music industry, to secure an artist development internship at AWAL under Sony music for the summer.
Emma Eitel, a junior video and television major and the current Hofstra Entertainment Access Television (HEAT) network general manager, followed something similar by using an alumni contact.
“The last HEAT general manager was a former intern, and she and I had gotten really close because I was working directly under her,” Eitel said. “She was definitely a mentor to me … I was like ‘I’m looking for an internship. Do you have any recommendations?’ And she recommended this one.”
Eitel also said that building connections with faculty members at Hofstra can be beneficial, especially because many professors, both in the LHSC and in other disciplines across Hofstra, work in their respective industries.
Gonzalez encourages students to be proactive in getting an internship by attending internship workshops offered by the Career Center and by taking notes at advisor meetings.
Internships are highly sought after, and 80% of employers said internships had the highest return on investment for entry level hires. In the last two semesters of his college experience, Gonzalez completed an internship which ultimately offered him a job after graduation.
“I vividly remember when I went to the internship, it was like the first week, I was like ‘This is what I want to do,’” Gonzalez said. “If I never had that experience, I don’t know what I would be doing. I try not to minimize how life-changing it could be.”
