As anyone looking for a job now can probably attest, the job market is cooling.
A rising number of recent college graduates applying to internships could be a sign of these challenging times.
Careers site Glassdoor this week released its list of the best internships of 2025, based on median salary, overall reviews, and ratings of workplace factors like career opportunities, culture and values, and work-life balance.
In the report, Danny Cao, who leads the company’s internship program, spoke of a trend he’s seen among their own prospective interns.
“While the majority of our internship applicants are current students, I’ve noticed a slight increase this year in recent graduates applying for summer internships,” he noted in the report. “This could potentially be a growing trend that showcases how internships are evolving into a stepping stone for not only students but also early-career professionals navigating a challenging job market.”
Trainee programs and apprenticeships aren’t unheard of for recent graduates. But more new grads applying for internships that are traditionally filled by students could mean early-career workers are struggling to find job prospects out of college.
“The fact that you have more of these new grads applying to internships is a sign of the slower job market and the bunching that we’re getting down at the bottom of the career ladder where progress up the career ladder has slowed,” Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor, told BI.
“Whether that means new grads or interns, there is this difficulty that folks are facing with getting their foot in the door in the first place,” Zhao said. “So some new grads are turning to internships to get their foot in the door, whereas in a hotter job market, they would just go straight to an entry-level job.”
Glassdoor’s report pointed out that last year saw the most competitive season for internships since the pandemic. Applicant pool aside, a dearth of internships from employers’ end is also contributing to the cut-throat competition.
“As companies have slowed down hiring, they’ve also pulled back on entry-level and new grad opportunities in addition to internships as well, so that’s I think why we’re seeing such high competition this year,” said Zhao. “The slower job market overall means that companies are less willing to invest in their internship programs this season.”
So what should applicants do in a highly competitive market? It’s important to remember to “consider the rest of the applicant pool,” Zhao said.
His advice is to look for a qualification that can differentiate you, whether it’s additional project experience or even a past internship that may not be particularly on-topic but can add interesting value to your application.
“It’s really important to stand out and to really try to make your application pop so that it gets that second look over from the hiring manager,” he said. “Ultimately, your goal as an applicant is not to show that you are qualified for the job, but to show that you are the best candidate for the job.”
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