Interns: Big Job Opportunities with Facebook and other Companies

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Bump internFailing to hire and retain enough full-time employees, several technology companies are hiring more interns. Dropbox, for example, will hire three times as many interns this summer as last, and interns will make up one-third of the company's engineering team. Google will hire more than a thousand interns this summer, while Facebook plans to hire 625.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, with the "try before you buy" philosophy, many companies are stepping up their intern programs and offering $10,000 for the summer-not a bad cushion for the upcoming fall semester. As a new strategy, venture capitalist firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is now recruiting Engineering Fellows for its clients.

The encouraging news about increased intern hiring, as most students know, is the increased probability of a full-time offer. As a representative of Google says, most of its interns receive full-time offers.

(Image source: WSJ, "Tom Greany, 23, a full-time software engineer at Bump Technologies, was originally a summer intern at the company.")

Discussion Starters:

  • How are you approaching your intern search? What has worked successfully for you, and where do you need help improving your prospects?
  • What are the possible disadvantages of accepting a full-time offer with a company where you interned after junior year?