Effects
of
Internship Predictors
on Successful
Field
Experience
FRED BEARD
AND
LINDA
MORTON
Internships have become a neces-
sity for mass communication students
making the transition from college to
career. Researchers note this necessity:
Kosicki and Becker (1995) report that
80
percent of journalism and mass com-
munication undergraduates serve as
interns. Rowland (1994) found that an
internship is the “deciding factor” for
most entry-level jobs, and Horowitz
(1997)
found that students’ assessments
of internship quality are significant pre-
dictors of future job satisfaction.
Mass communication programs
recognize this necessity with most as-
sisting students in locating internships
(Basow
&
Byme,
1993)
and many offer-
ing academic credit. The Accrediting
Council on Education in Journalism and
Mass Communications (ACEJMC) rec-
ognizes the legitimacy of internship
credit, allowing credit for up to
10
per-
cent of a student’s course work
(ACEWC, 1997). However, there is little
empirical evidence to assess the qual-
ity of internships, to provide schools
with predictors of quality internships,
or
to determine the relative importance
of various predictors in assuring suc-
cessful internships.
This study deals with such evi-
dence. Its purpose is to assess the rela-
tionship between two sets of linearly
related variables: predictors of intern-
ship success and outcomes of success-
ful
internships. The characteristics of
advertising and public relations interns
and their internships are used as pre-
dictors. Interns’ evaluations of the suc-
cess of their internships are used as
outcomes,
or
criterions. Focusing on the
nature and strength of the relationships
between predictors and outcomes, this
study seeks to determine what needs to
occur during
an
internship in order for
beneficial outcomes to be realized.
Predictors
Six important predictors of in-
ternship success are suggested in the lit-
erature. These include: (a) academic
preparedness, (b) proactivity/aggres-
siveness, (c) positive attitude, (d) qual-
ity of worksite supervision, (e) organi-
Beard
(FBEARD@OU.EDU)
is associate professor of journalism and Morton is associate
professor
of
journalism at the University
of
Oklahoma.
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zational practices and policies, and
(0
compensation.
Academic preparedness.
Several
researchers note that successful interns
are well prepared academically (Basow
&
Byrne,
1993;
Beard,
1997;
Campbell
&
Kovar,
1994).
For
many programs,
academic preparation includes a spe-
cific number of completed credits, in-
cluding a number of mass communica-
tion courses with an acceptable grade
point average. Bourland-Davis, Graham
and Fulmer
(1997)
note that interns
should at least have “an understanding
of the field, its key concepts, and basic
technological skills, especially writing”
The importance of academic pre-
paredness is emphasized by Basow and
Byrne
(1993),
who warn that some stu-
dents should be cautioned “against at-
tempting some internships prema-
turely” (p.
52).
Similarly, Beard (1997)
notes that one of the most significant
findings from his study of interns is
“that academic preparation leads to
more and better opportunities on most
internships” (p.
8).
Proactivitylaggressiveness. The
literature indicates that students are
more likely to have successful intern-
ships
if
they demonstrate initiative
(Basow
&
Byrne, 1993; Beard,
1997)
and
are aggressive in making their wants
and needs known. Basow and Byrne,
for instance, recommend that students
be encouraged to be aggressive by vol-
unteering for assignments and asking
questions. Similarly, Beard (1997) notes
that there is an “almost universal
as-
sumption’’ among interns and their
su-
pervisors that interns should demon-
strate initiative by finding things to do
and asking questions (p. 10). Beard also
found that when interns make their
wants and needs known, their supervi-
sors
generally respond positively.
(p.
27).
Positive attitude.
The literature
suggests that students will more likely
have a successful internship
if
they
have a positive attitude toward it as both
a learning and occupational experience.
In his study of interns and their super-
visors, Beard
(1997)
found that both
groups emphasized the importance of
interns treating almost any task as a
potential learning experience. Students
are also expected to realize greater ben-
efits from an internship if they treat it
like a real job. Beard found that many
internship supervisors expect interns to
come
to
the worksite ready to work and
to exhibit the same attitudes as new,
full-time employees. Similarly
Bourland-Davis et al.
(1997)
suggest that
interns should have accurate expecta-
tions and set appropriate goals for the
internship.
Quality
of
supervision.
Beard
(1997) found that good supervisors
manage the relationship with their in-
terns by providing specific direction
and examples, some autonomy and in-
dependence, and positive and construc-
tive work-related feedback. Similarly,
Taylor (1992) notes that good supervi-
sors
are supportive, increasing, rather
than lowering, the intern’s self-esteem.
Such supervisors “demonstrate high
work standards and competence, pro-
vide frequent feedback, develop the in-
dividual through coaching” (Taylor, p.
56),
evaluate interns, and help interns
to “understand how the isolated activi-
ties and encounters fit within the scope
of an entire
.
. .
program” (Bourland-
Davis et al., 1997, p.
31).
Gabris and Mitchell (1992), in
their survey of public administration in-
terns, found that effective supervision
was strongly and significantly corre-
lated with an overall “intern satisfac-
tion index.” They conclude that
“
.
. .
supervisors who
. .
.
work to develop
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‘99
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interesting and challenging assignments Byrne (1993) found that interns receiv-
for their interns are more likely to find ing payment evaluated their internships
their interns satisfied with the educa- higher. Moreover, Beard (1997) found
tional benefits
of
the experience” (p.
1
that “even token payment appears to
191).
lead to many positive consequences,
Organizational practices and
1
such as reduced physical and mental
policies. Related to the effectiveness of
j
stress for students and a more positive
an intern’s supervisor
I
policies that organi-
ture and manage in-
I
1
are the practices and
l__~
__
zations use to
strut-
‘Related to the effectiveness
of
ternships. Structure
an
intern’s supervisor are the
includes considering
the length and appro-
ships, establishing
basic expectations,
practices and p&cies that
priate terms of intern-
organizations use to structure
and manage internships.’
and conducting
weekly intern meet-
ings (Bourland-Davis et al., 1997).
Managing internships includes:
(a) providing interns with the physical
and other resources needed to accom-
plish assigned work (Beard, 1997). (b)
providing interns with an experience
that approximates that of a full-time
employee (Verner, 1993), (c) providing
students with the opportunity to work
on projects from inception to comple-
tion (Beard) with little “busy work”
(Campbell
&
Kovar, 1994; Krasilovsky
&
Lendt, 1996), and (d) providing ap-
propriate study programs for the site
(Bourland-Davis et al., 1997).
Compensation. Research indi-
cates that interns have more successful
internships if they are compensated
for
their work. Basow and Byrne (1993)
contend that compensation should at
least include academic credit. ACEJMC
agrees. It developed Standard 7 to guide
schools in offering internships for credit
(ACEJMC, 1997).
However, other researchers con-
tend that payment is the best compen-
sation
for
an
intern’s work. Basow and
outlook toward the value of the intern-
ship” (p. 18).
Other writers suggest that mon-
etary compensation leads to more suc-
cessful internships for four reasons.
First,
it
reminds students that they art?
entering the “real world“ and should
treat the internship like a job (Beard,
1997; Hamilton, 1992). Second,
it
im-
plies a commitment on the part of the
sponsoring organization to make the
internship meaningful (Hamilton).
Third, it helps students offset the loss
of income from other part-time jobs
(Beard; Berger,
1992).
Fourth, it helps
students justify an internship to par-
ents, who are often bearing much of the
financial costs for college and who may
discourage students from doing unpaid
internships (Berger).
Outcomes
An extensive body of research,
conducted in a variety
of
professional
disciplines, suggests that the success of
an internship might be appropriately
evaluated using five constructs. These
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include: (a) acquisition of technical
skills, (b) career-related benefits, (c) ca-
reer focus, (d) acquisition of interper-
sonal skills, and
(e)
outcomes of a more
practical nature.
Acquisition
of
technical skills.
The acquisition of technical, work-re-
lated skills is almost synonymous with
the notions of “experiential learning”
and “internship.” College graduates are
increasingly competing with the under-
employed and victims of corporate lay-
offs, who already possess substantial
work skills. It is not surprising, then,
that Beard (1997) found that all his
study respondents “recognized the im-
portance of the intern gaining ‘real
world’ experience from the internship,
including technical job skills” (p. 6).
Career
benefits.
For students, ca-
reer benefits include: (a) improving
prospects for obtaining entry-level jobs
(Horowitz, 1996; Perlmutter &Fletcher,
1996), (b) obtaining mentors (Basow
&
Byrne, 1993; Verner, 1993), (c) acquir-
ing a new recognition of the relevance
of college course work, (d) attending
regular professional development semi-
nars and participating in mock inter-
views (Brightman, 1989; Farinelli
&
Mann, 1994), (e) developing a profes-
sional attitude, and
(f)
developing
prioritization and organization skills
(Bourland-Davis et al., 1997, p. 31).
Career focus.
Another benefit
presumed to accrue to students in-
cludes greater focus on a career path
(Perlmutter
&
Fletcher, 1996). Career
focus includes a recognition of the vo-
cational abilities students should be
able to offer future employers, as well
as those they will need to be successful
in their careers (Taylor, 1992). Thus,
career focus is believed to lead to more
positive beliefs about the intern’s career
choice and is also believed to
be
corre-
lated with future job satisfaction (Tay-
lor).
Acquisition
of
interpersonal
skills.
Some researchers have noted the
importance
of
internships in develop-
ing students’ interpersonal skills
(Beard, 1997) and adjusting to the cul-
ture and climate of the professional
workplace (Campbell
&
Kovar, 1994). In
fact, after their internships, many stu-
dents “report a newfound appreciation
for the interpersonal and communica-
tion skills required of the professional
in the workplace” (Beard, p. 6).
Practical outcomes.
Beard (1997)
found that, while gaining “real world”
job experience is an important outcome
of an internship, tangible evidence of
this experience is equally important.
Thus, practical outcomes include ma-
terials for portfolios and job interviews,
personal references, and simply being
able to demonstrate the use of common
workplace technologies, such as
fax
ma-
chines and copiers.
Research
questions
The overall purpose
of
this study
is to explore and assess the nature and
strength of the relationship between the
characteristics of interns and intern-
ships (as predictors) and intern evalua-
tions of the positive outcomes by which
they assessed the success
of
their intern-
ships (as criterions). Thus, the follow-
ing research questions were addressed
in this study:
Question 1: What proportion of ad-
vertising and PR students experience
an
internship that has beneficial out-
comes?
Question
2:
To what extent does a
relationship exist between the predic-
tors of a successful internship and posi-
tive outcomes?
Question 3: What is the proportion
of variance in internship outcomes that
is predictable from knowledge of intern-
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ship and intern characteristics?
Question 4: Which of the character-
istics of internships and interns are
most highly predictive of successful
internship outcomes?
Method
Data were gathered from a na-
tional sample of advertising and PR stu-
dents. It was not possible to construct a
sampling frame of all advertising and
PR interns, both for-credit and not-for-
credit, and to sample randomly from it.
However, given the goals of this study,
which are more analytical in nature, a
purposive sample consisting of students
who had recently completed intern-
ships was deemed appropriate. Thus,
respondents were identified by first
identifying and contacting academic
internship supervisors and coordinators
at the
102
accredited journalism and
mass communication programs listed in
the ACEJMC annual publication (1997).
Twenty-four of the contacted pro-
grams agreed to administer the survey
to students who would complete an in-
ternship during a summer semester,
gather the completed questionnaires,
and return them to the study’s investi-
gators. The participating
24
programs
produced a total of
193
respondents.
Sample.
In terms of degree area,
the largest proportion of respondents (n
=
193)
declared themselves PR majors
(60.6%), followed by advertising
(25.4%), and “other” (14.4%). Becker
and Kosicki’s recent survey (1997) of
journalism and mass communication
enrollments reveals that, of the total stu-
dents enrolled in advertising and PR,
46.1 percent are in PR,
39.7
percent are
in advertising, and 14.2 percent are in
combined programs. Thus, advertising
students are somewhat under-repre-
sented in the present sample.
Almost all the respondents re-
ceived academic credit for their intern-
ships (95.3%), with 58 percent receiv-
ing some form of monetary compensa-
tion. The most common internship site
was a PR/advertising agency (25.8%),
followed by “other” (22.8%), and busi-
ness/industry (18%). Females repre-
sented a greater proportion of respon-
dents (82.4%) than the recent survey of
journalism and mass communication
undergraduates (Becker
&
Kosicki, 1997
=
59.4% female respondents)
or
a re-
cent survey of a large midwestern
university’s JMC graduates (Horowitz,
1997
=
73% female respondents). Thus,
females are somewhat overrepresented
in the sample.
Similarly, a larger proportion of
respondents (89.5%) classified them-
selves as “white” than in Becker and
Kosicki’s
1997
survey (79.3% white
graduates). Finally, respondents re-
ported a mean GPA of
3.28.
Measures.
The survey instrument
was a self-administered questionnaire,
consisting of three major sections: (a)
assessment of predictors,
(b)
assessment
of criterions, and (c) demographic and
other descriptive data.
A
five-point,
Likert-type response, ranging from
“strongly disagree”
(1)
to “strongly
agree” (5), was used to construct multi-
item, composite scales. The instrument
was pretested among a sample of adver-
tising and PR interns prior to its use in
the survey. Some items were revised to
improve clarity and scale reliability.
Predictors.
Six items were used
to measure the extent to which interns
believed they were academically pre-
pared for their internships (e.g., “My
college courses gave me the skills
I
needed to perform well on my intern-
ship”). The extent that interns reported
being proactive and aggressive during
their internships (e.g.,
“I
often volun-
teered for tasks during my internship”)
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