Although employers have maintained recruiting college graduates for full-time hire, companies are beginning to discover that hiring new grads as interns can yield a high return in the form of cheap -- ahem, cost effective -- labor.
According to a recent study by Intern Bridge, a Massachusetts-based college recruiting consulting firm, 70% of students would accept less pay if it meant a more auspicious work experience.
"In the past, companies hosted internship programs as a recruiting tool. Organizations are quickly realizing that internships can also ease their workforce dilemmas in a tough economy," maintains Intern Bridge founder Richard Bottner.
While growth in college recruiting for full-time hires is expected to remain flat in 2009, the use of internships is expected to rise as organizations recognize the advantages to of hiring a newly educated workforce at a reduced cost.
The 2008 study interviewed 42,000 students from 400 universities.
