Handshake’s Internship Index 2025

Handshake, our event and campus job board platform, shared a report outlining some survey results of more than 6,000 students and recent graduates, as well as job postings and application data from the career network. From this data, Handshake has identified 5 internship trends to watch in 2025. We’ve read the report so you don’t have to (but if you would like to, it’s linked below). Here are our takeaways.

1. Competition

Internships have become more competitive in 2025. Postings for internships declined more than 15% between January 2023 and January 2025, while internship applications have surged. As of January 2025, 41% of the Class of 2025 had applied to at least one internship on Handshake (compared to 34% of the Class of 2023).

Certain industries, such as technology and finance, also see higher competition than other areas.

Handshake also noted two primary factors that prevent students from pursuing internships:

1. Time

Students are often overwhelmed by coursework and other commitments. The majority of students who complete an internship report that they dedicated at least 20 hours a week to the experience. 1 in 8 say they worked 40 hours a week or more. This can be untenable for students who are balancing an internship with coursework (and more than 50% are, according to Handshake) or who need to work an additional job to supplement income.

There is also data around those who are first-gen, or the first in their family to attend college. 80% of these students juggle coursework or full-time/part-time jobs (compared to 70% of their peers). 50% of first-gen students in the Class of 2025 had participated in an internship (compared to 66% of their non-first-gen peers). Proximity to school or home is also particularly important for these students – more than 40% say they consider this when selecting an internship.

2. Opportunity

Students who have applied for internships but haven’t been selected is another preventing factor. With strong competition and fewer internships, this means students may miss out on the learning outcomes and community connections that come with a structured internship.

2. Hiring Timelines

Hiring timelines also affect what opportunities students may find. For fields such as business, tech, and finance, these timelines can start nearly a year ahead of time (ex: if students are looking for a summer or fall internship in 2026, they will want to be looking from August- October of 2025). September and January are peak months for recruiting, but some industries and employers of all sizes recruit year around.

3. Fair Pay and Culture

While most internships are paid (and we advocate for paid over unpaid internships), students in 2025 are noting whether the pay is truly meaningful or just a token gesture. 85% of interns who felt fairly compensated said they would likely accept a full-time offer from their internship employer, compared to just 63% of those who didn’t feel their pay was fair.

89% of students said that team culture had some impact in whether they chose to work full-time for their internship employers and 90% say the same of their interactions with colleagues.

4. Long-Term Goals

72% of students seek out internships to help them figure out what types of jobs they’d like to pursue in the future. 59% say participating in an internship is essential towards clarifying their career goals.

5. Talent “Pipeline”

79% of students who completed an internship say the experience had a moderate or significant impact on their interest in working full-time for their internship employer.

56% said they would definitely or probably accept a full-time offer.

Takeaways

In a rapidly changing job market, competition is fierce. Students need to be ready to stand out – especially in even more competitive fields (particularly tech). And, the onus is not all on them.

Employers need to be ready to struggle with recruitment if they are not also offering internships. Large companies may be able to get by with name and brand, but not all students will want to work with them if they don’t have a standing relationship through an internship or related exploratory experience.

Location matters. Even large companies will not always be able to pull in talent if it s far for someone to travel. If companies are interested in recruiting first-gen employees, this is information to keep in mind.

Relationships matter: Companies should be supporting students, creating learning objectives for them, and showing them a positive work culture. Likewise, faculty who support internships or require internships for keystone or major classes should work with students to help them identify what they are learning and what internship supervisors are asking of their workers.

If pay is not competitive, students will not stay. Paying above the market rate for roles – especially in non-profit or humanitarian fields can go a long way in keeping internships at your organization.

Finally, students are juggling many obligations – in their academics, in their finances, in their families and communities. Higher ed should make it easier to be in school and to have an internship through support and realigning expectations. Additionally, employers can help by recognizing that not all students can work 40 hours or even 20 hours a week during the school year.

Internships are extremely valuable – they increase positive career outcomes for students by nearly 2x the average and help students connect their education and love of learning with what they can do after they graduate. How can we create a more sustainable and supportive internship arena for students so that all students have access to internships?

Have questions or want to talk more about internships? Contact us at careers@augsburg.edu.