Nine out of ten graduates plan to use internships to boost their career prospects

Internships are hot career stepping stones for students who are keen to complete a placement to improve their chances of getting a job.

Graduate recruitment website Milkround.com asked 300 students and graduates for their views on internships, revealing they are as popular as ever.

Internships are viewed as crucial by students and graduates, with nine out of ten polled planning to complete or having already completed a placement. This is despite only three in five claiming an internship is essential for their preferred career.

Of those who expect to complete an internship, summer is the favoured time of the year. More than three quarters (79 percent) expect to use the long vacation for testing their abilities in the workplace while 21 percent would prefer to finish a 12 month internship.

A majority of 42 percent said they would apply for an internship directly through employers while 26 percent will use a recruitment website and 23 percent will contact their university careers service. Just two percent don't expect to do an internship.

Just two percent of those polled said they did not think internships improved job prospects. The overwhelming majority viewed placements as being ways of building contacts, proving themselves to companies who might then hire them before or after they finish their degree and putting skills to the test to see if an industry or job is right for them.

One said: There are plenty of graduates with the right qualifications, but doing an internship shows you're not only capable of doing the job, but you're enthusiastic enough to work without pay in the field in which you're interested.

Another added: As a graduate with no prior experience, I've found myself without a job yet. It has been four months since my graduation. I should have done an internship while I was studying.

The Milkround.com survey also asked respondents which industries they thought placed an emphasis on internships when looking to hire. Accountancy and actuarial was joined by business and management on 21 percent. Surprisingly, the media industry and journalism profession only received nine percent each despite many graduates having to go through a period of unpaid work to get hired.

Internships tend to range from being completely unpaid or covering expenses only to offering a good wage. When confronted with costs for internships, more than half (56 percent) said money would not determine whether they could do an internship or not. The majority of those polled claimed gaining experience outweighed financial concerns. One said: In many aspects, my main goal for internship is purely for work experience. Even working as an unpaid intern, I would likely to give it a go.

Milkround.com spokesman Mike Barnard said: These results show graduates are prepared to put in the extra effort of completing an internship during or after their studies to ensure they get the job they want. With so many people's CVs sporting a degree now, it's important they don't rely on their qualifications to set them apart and an internship is the ideal way to show off their ability to employers.

He added: One surprise is few respondents singled out journalism or breaking into the media industry as being internship led. Most graduates will find some form of unpaid work is needed to prove their potential unless they come out of university having learnt key skills.