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Student Internships And Employment Opportunities After Graduation: A Field Experiment

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Listed:
  • Stijn Baert
  • Brecht Neyt
  • Thomas Siedler
  • Ilse Toback
  • Dieter Verhaest

Abstract

Internships during tertiary education have become substantially more common over the past decades in many industrialised countries. This study examines the impact of a voluntary intra-curricular internship experience during university studies on the probability of being invited to a job interview. To estimate a causal relationship, we conducted a randomised field experiment in which we sent 1,248 fictitious, but realistic, resumes to real job openings. We find that applicants with internship experience have, on average, a 12.6% higher probability of being invited to a job interview.

Suggested Citation

  • Stijn Baert & Brecht Neyt & Thomas Siedler & Ilse Toback & Dieter Verhaest, 2019. "Student Internships And Employment Opportunities After Graduation: A Field Experiment," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 19/974, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    • Handle: RePEc:rug:rugwps:19/974
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    24. Stijn Baert & Dieter Verhaest, 2019. "Unemployment or Overeducation: Which is a Worse Signal to Employers?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 1-21, March.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. John Baguma Muhunga Kule & Manasseh Tumuhimbise & Frederick Nsambu Kijjambu & Wilbroad Aryatwijuka & Sarah Akampurira, 2024. "From Realizable Dreams to Sustainable Reality: An Empirical Study on the Relationship between Internship Experience and Future Career Prospects among Business Students," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 16(2), pages 27-31.
    2. Brecht Neyt & Dieter Verhaest & Stijn Baert, 2019. "The Impact of Internship Experience During Secondary Education on Schooling and Labour Market Outcomes," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 19/980, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    3. Ilse Tobback & Dieter Verhaest & Stijn Baert, 2024. "Internships, Hiring Outcomes and Underlying Mechanisms: A Stated Preferences Experiment," De Economist, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 25-48, March.
    4. Di Meglio, Gisela & Barge-Gil, Andrés & Camiña, Ester & Moreno, Lourdes, 2019. "Knocking on Employment´s Door: Internships and Job Attainment," MPRA Paper 95712, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Thanos Mergoupis & Robertas Zubrickas, 2024. "Work experience, information revelation, and study effort," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 76(2), pages 495-513.
    6. Isaac Kofi Mensah & Muhammad Khalil Khan & Deborah Simon Mwakapesa, 2023. "Factors determining the entrepreneurial intentions among Chinese university students: the moderating impact of student internship motivation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Thomas Bolli & Katherine Caves & Maria Esther Oswald-Egg, 2021. "Valuable Experience: How University Internships Affect Graduates’ Income," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(8), pages 1198-1247, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internship; hiring; human capital; signalling; field experiment.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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