From Realizable Dreams to Sustainable Facts: An Empirical Study on the Role of Internships in Students’ Career Plans in a Turkish Business School

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of internships that are done during undergraduate education on graduates’ first job choice and later career plan in a Turkish business school context. To accomplish this purpose, a case study that utilized both quantitative and qualitative data was designed. The quantitative data were obtained from 133 graduates via an online survey form, whereas the qualitative data were obtained from nine graduates during a focus group session. The qualitative data were used to complement the quantitative data and to gain further understanding of the findings of the survey. The results showed that the graduates who did their internships in sectors in line with their career plans continued their career in the same sectors or similar sectors to the sectors in which they did their internships. The duration before starting the first job after graduation was found to be significantly shorter for graduates who did their internship in line with their career plan than for graduates who did not do their internship in line with their career plan. The findings provided useful insight into the role of internships during undergraduate business education.