Maturation Effect of Student Interns: A Comparison to
Professional ValuesBrian Patrick Green
University of Michigan-Dearborn Roland Madison
John Carroll UniversityMichael Callahan
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Introduction• Faculty comment on the differences in values
those with and without an internship.• Bring more to the classroom, link classroom to
practice, & significant maturation process. • Firms perceive students with internship
experience better entry level accountants.• Critical to obtaining position is the interview.• Few data driven studies on change in student
values.• Internships’ maturation effect on values important
to employers.
Purpose• Measure the effects of a formal internship
program on students’ reported value traits employers view as important during the interview process.
• Pre-Post survey design • Fall 06, Winter 07, and Summer 07 • Compare student trait values to employers• Measure changes in student values over
time
Prior Research-General
• 1952, the American Accounting Association practical experience …would enhance the overall value of the educational experience.
• 1978 AICPA reinforced support for internship• Lang (1979), Paperman (1979), DeFilippis (1982),
and Chandra and Paperman (1983) identified advantages for employers & students
• 1990 AECC: internships may “be part of the solution to the added costs to meet the 150-hour requirement.”
Prior Research-Specific• Pasewark et al. (1989) Significant positive impact on the
probability of students receiving an office interview for accounting firms.
• Green and Calderon (2005) reported movement in student perceptions and values towards benchmark employer responses.
• OUR STUDY….• Does the internship experience help students understand
factors important to secure an off-campus office visit and an entry-level position?
• Does the internship experience help students understand the traits, skills, and attitudes that are most desirable to employers?
Research Questions• Are student values of interview traits different
than employers?• Are there student maturation effects due to the
formal internship experience? • Are student trait values for a first interview
different than values for a second interview?• Are employer trait values for a first interview
different than values for a second interview?• Are there differences in reported trait values
between students with and without prior professional experience?
Research Data• Four categories trait values identified by
employers and prior research
• Personality, technical/business, interpersonal, and background traits.
• Student values of specific traits and identify potential internship maturation effect.
Research Method
Developing the surveyPersonality (6), technical/business (6), interpersonal (11), and background (11)Pre-Post design
Sample• Business school internship students before and after their initial
internship experience. • Mid-western, regional, non-residential university • 9,000 students (1,100 in the business school). • Fall 06, winter 07, and summer 07 semesters• Pre-internship 105 student responses• Post-internship 58 student responses• 21 employers • Students were highly encouraged, but not required• Only demographic significant difference: Senior/Junior
– 2nd semester juniors now seniors
Demographics
Panel A: Pre-Internship Students n = 105
Male: 53 Female: 52Mean Age: 22.72 Mean GPA: 3.393
Year in School: Seniors 46 Juniors 52 Other 7
Major: Accounting 37 Finance 23 Marketing 24 Other 22
Degree:BBA 94 MBA 5 MS 5 Other 1
Mean Work Experience: Professional 2.60 Non-professional 5.15
Panel B: Post-Internship Students n = 58*
Male: 24 Female: 34 Mean Age: 22.71 Mean GPA: 3.385
Year in School: Seniors 52 Juniors 6Other 0 **
Major: Accounting 20 Finance 17 Marketing 14 Other 8
Degree:BBA 58 MBA 0 MS 0 Other 0
Mean Work Experience: Professional 2.35 Non-professional 5.48* Most graduating seniors did not complete a post internship survey.**Note: Many students advanced from second semester juniors to first semester seniors. Panel C: Employers n = 21
Male: 13 Female: 8 Involvement: Interviewer 17 Supervisor 13 Other 1*
Mean Work Experience: Professional 15.14
Major: Accounting 14 Other 7
Highest Degree:BBA 11 MBA 10 MS 1
Industry: Public Accounting 10 Financial 3 Manufacturing 5 Other 3
* Ten employers listed 2 positions of involvement.
Trait/Value Categories• 1st & 2nd interview students placed less value on each trait
than employers. • Student and employer order ranking of their relative values,
nearly identical • 2nd post-students significantly less value on personality traits• 1st students significantly less value on technical skills than
employers • Pre-students significant increase value of interpersonal skills
1st to 2nd interview. • Employers valued background skills significantly • 2nd Post-students valued background skills significantly less
than pre-students• SUMMARY:• Student most value personality & interpersonal such as
being personable, & least value technical & background such as GPA
• Likable person more important than core knowledge and skills learned in the business school.
1st InterviewMeans P-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student
Post-Student
Employer Pre to Employer
Post to Employer
Pre to 2nd Interview
Post to 2nd
InterviewStudent Pre to Post
Personality 1.476 1.724 1.333 0.4099 0.2927 0.196 0.0303 0.4884
Technical 2.800 3.241 2.333 0.0763 0.0150 4E-09 0.0477 0.1514
Interpersonal 1.704 2.241 1.524 0.3437 0.0571 0.042 0.3551 0.1413
Background 2.619 2.862 2.190 0.0479 0.0386 0.171 0.7452 0.4005
2nd InterviewMeans P-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student
Post-Student
Employer Pre to Employer
Post to Employer
Employer1st to 2nd
Student Pre to Post
Personality 1.552 2.069 1.476 0.6862 0.1666 0.0829 0.1223
Technical 2.105 2.655 2.095 0.9670 0.0726 0.1349 0.1018
Interpersonal 1.581 1.929 1.429 0.3488 0.3060 0.1623 0.1346
Background 2.752 2.931 2.095 0.0025 0.5569 0.7049 0.0084
* 1 = extremely important, 4 = neutral, and 7 = extremely unimportant
Significant at p-value < .10 .05 .01 .001
Trait/Value Categories
• All personality traits extremely important to important.
• Positive attitude most important during the 1st • Strong work ethic next most important • Charismatic personality valued least • Pre-students vibrant and charismatic personality
significantly more important for 2nd
• Employer rate positive attitude & strong work ethic significantly more important than post students
• Greatest significant difference between students and employers is a strong work ethic
• Post see 0.142 mean difference in value between a bubbly personality & strength work ethic
Personality Traits/Values
1st Interview Means P-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student
Post-Student
Employer Pre to Employer
Post to Employer
Pre to 2nd Interview
Post to 2nd
InterviewStudent Pre to Post
Vibrant personality 2.038 2.241 2.238 0.3552 0.993 0.055 0.306 0.543
Charismatic personality 2.057 2.379 2.286 0.3426 0.810 0.066 0.184 0.358
You are personable 1.705 1.966 1.762 0.7989 0.540 0.441 0.415 0.442
You like people 1.790 2.345 2.000 0.3509 0.336 0.207 0.183 0.114
Positive attitude 1.410 1.828 1.238 0.1961 0.094 0.854 0.769 0.264
Strong work ethic 1.429 2.036 1.333 0.4516 0.072 0.747 0.212 0.135
2nd Interview MeansP-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student
Post-Student
Employer Pre to Employer
Post to Employer
Employer 1st to 2nd
Student Pre to Post
Vibrant personality 1.894 2.071 2.000 0.619 0.850 0.204 0.590
Charismatic personality 1.924 2.107 2.238 0.231 0.742 0.825 0.599
You are personable 1.648 1.893 1.667 0.973 0.517 0.576 0.491
You like people 1.714 2.107 1.571 0.352 0.124 0.035 0.276
Positive attitude 1.400 1.821 1.190 0.092 0.065 0.748 0.258
Strong work ethic 1.410 1.929 1.143 0.034 0.029 0.214 0.188
Personality Traits/Values
Technical Business Traits/Values• Employers value technical skills (1.190) and work
experience (1.143) extremely important, during1st • Post students value 4/6 traits significantly < employers
– decision making (p > .01 level), core competencies (p > .01 level), other skills (p > .001 level), experience (p > .001 level).
• Employers rate problem solving, dealing with ambiguity, & decision making extremely important, 2nd pre and post somewhat important.
• Employer importance means’ increased significantly, for all six business traits in 2nd
• Pre (p > .001) & post (p> .05), except for core competencies and work experience, technical business trait significantly more importance during 2nd
• Students may feel that competencies and experience examined through resume and transcripts, yet employers rate high value
1st Interview Means P-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student
Post-Student
Employer Pre to Employer
Post to Employer
Pre to 2nd Interview
Post to 2nd
InterviewStudent Pre to Post
Solve problems 2.133 2.655 2.000 0.564 0.070 1E-05 0.017 0.102
Deal with ambiguity 2.448 2.759 2.238 0.634 0.181 5E-06 0.017 0.311
Decision making process 2.305 2.690 1.667 0.354 0.009 9E-05 0.063 0.260
Core competencies 2.238 2.655 1.571 0.540 0.003 0.058 1.000 0.196
Other technical skills 2.510 3.172 1.190 0.215 1.7E -09 1E-04 0.050 0.013
Work experience in business area 2.288 2.793 1.143 0.161 2.2E -05 0.586 0.270 0.118
2nd Interview Means P-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student Post-Student Employer Pre to Employer Post to
EmployerEmployer 1st to 2nd
Student Pre to Post
Solve problems 1.724 2.214 1.619 0.573 0.116 0.042 0.182
Deal with ambiguity 1.914 2.357 1.762 0.420 0.100 0.002 0.198
Decision making process 1.857 2.286 1.714 0.453 0.145 0.029 0.256Core competencies (major area) 2.048 2.679 1.952 0.580 0.071 0.009 0.102
Other technical skills 2.124 2.679 2.190 0.849 0.191 0.001 0.128Work experience in business area 2.229 2.500 2.150 0.622 0.341 0.002 0.478
Technical Business Traits/Values
Interpersonal Skills Traits/Values• Consistent with the aggregate values • No significance across most comparisons• Employers rated potential to learn as 2nd skill, in 1st
(1.429) & 2nd (1.190) interview. – Pre significantly lower at 1.810 and 1.705 – Post values were 2.241 and 2.000
• Employers rated listening well (1.143) most important skill under all categories – Pre & post significantly value less during 2nd interview.
• Employers & Pre 9/11 traits significantly increase 1st to 2nd interview.
• 2nd interview students place less importance on speaking & listening, critical skills in the overall interview process.
1st InterviewMeans P-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student
Post-Student
Employer Pre to Employer
Post to Employer
Pre to 2nd Interview
Post to 2nd
InterviewStudent Pre to Post
Professionalism 1.552 1.931 1.333 0.210 0.105 0.009 0.424 0.287
You listen well 1.543 1.862 1.286 0.124 0.122 0.401 0.985 0.390
Oral communication 1.676 1.862 1.762 0.723 0.785 0.039 0.745 0.619
Written communication 2.352 2.690 2.333 0.891 0.367 4E-04 0.007 0.354
Self motivated 1.895 2.310 1.810 0.553 0.170 0.012 0.640 0.275
Work with older 2.057 2.931 3.095 0.010 0.747 0.016 0.876 0.044
Be decisiveness 2.314 2.690 2.667 0.249 0.951 7E-05 0.165 0.305
Effective leader 2.076 2.414 2.524 0.166 0.772 9E-04 0.005 0.375
Potential to learn 1.810 2.241 1.429 0.019 0.032 0.187 0.118 0.324
Adapt to corporate life 2.257 2.310 2.333 0.992 0.957 0.028 0.264 0.956
Manage time 1.933 2.069 1.857 0.491 0.545 0.002 0.541 0.878
Interpersonal Skills Traits/Values
Interpersonal Skills Traits/Values
2nd Interview MeansP-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student
Post-Student
Employer Pre to Employer
Post to Employer
Employer 1st to 2nd
Student Pre to Post
Professionalism 1.400 1.857 1.238 0.293 0.099 0.329 0.222
You listen well 1.590 1.821 1.143 0.003 0.057 0.186 0.527
Oral communication 1.562 1.857 1.500 0.678 0.300 0.010 0.405
Written communication 1.962 2.286 1.762 0.238 0.137 0.024 0.376
Self motivated 1.705 2.214 1.571 0.398 0.078 0.056 0.175
Work with older 2.320 2.893 2.714 0.278 0.710 0.088 0.188
Be decisiveness 1.990 2.393 2.333 0.274 0.868 0.090 0.241
Effective leader 1.800 2.071 2.143 0.220 0.850 0.008 0.548
Potential to learn 1.705 2.000 1.190 0.002 0.026 0.021 0.532
Adapt to corporate life 2.019 2.107 1.857 0.367 0.534 0.096 0.973
Manage time 1.667 2.214 1.381 0.054 0.031 0.014 0.227
Background & Other Traits/Values
• Lowest value traits 1st & 2nd by all groups.– background used as interview screens
• Employers see GPA significantly more important 1st interview (2.571 to 2.905)
• Anecdotally extra-curricular activities extremely important to employer, yet data reports “somewhat” important” to neutral (3.190).
• Employers extremely important 1st & 2nd interview (1.667/1.381) “why you want the internship?” (well this is a CPA firm…)
1st Interview Means P-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student
Post-Student
Employer Pre to Employer
Post to Employer
Pre to 2nd Interview
Post to 2nd
InterviewStudent Pre to Post
Why you want internship 1.705 2.276 1.667 0.873 0.119 0.084 0.599 0.123
General work experience 2.200 2.517 2.143 0.763 0.267 0.201 0.523 0.327
Job related life experiences 2.210 2.897 2.238 0.925 0.074 0.999 0.326 0.042
Why chose University 2.886 3.310 3.238 0.290 0.853 0.309 0.282 0.149
Why chose major 2.276 2.724 2.714 0.158 0.979 0.010 0.670 0.143
Made up for past failures 2.295 2.897 2.429 0.719 0.257 0.357 0.020 0.111
Understanding of the company 2.105 2.931 2.381 0.277 0.112 0.006 0.184 0.021
Your goals & how obtained 2.210 2.586 2.190 0.750 0.179 0.039 0.795 0.211
GPA 3.057 3.138 2.571 0.063 0.141 0.102 0.009 0.939
Extra curricular 2.796 2.966 3.050 0.531 0.826 0.659 0.143 0.752
When graduate 2.848 2.893 2.810 0.729 0.830 0.277 0.879 0.916
Background & Other Traits/Values
2nd Interview Means P-Values
Trait or ValuePre-Student Post-Student Employer Pre to Employer Post to Employer Employer 1st to
2nd Student Pre to Post
Why you want internship 1.895 2.357 1.381 0.006 0.010 0.110 0.196
General work experience 2.343 2.571 2.238 0.686 0.375 0.605 0.481
Job related life experiences 2.211 2.750 2.240 0.922 0.195 0.996 0.151
Why chose University 3.000 3.464 3.143 0.634 0.410 0.666 0.178
Why chose major 2.552 2.857 2.714 0.613 0.727 1.000 0.429
Made up for past failures 2.190 2.500 1.905 0.120 0.096 0.038 0.408
Understanding of the company 1.819 2.714 1.857 0.962 0.029 0.004 0.022
Your goals & how obtained 2.038 2.679 1.905 0.365 0.035 0.162 0.092
GPA 3.276 3.786 2.905 0.154 0.038 0.031 0.220
Extra curricular 2.867 3.429 3.190 0.374 0.554 0.541 0.178
When graduate 2.705 2.786 2.619 0.585 0.680 0.296 0.994
Background & Other Traits/Values
• Female students higher values than males on 11/11 (4 significant) interpersonal traits or skills. Significant differences disappeared for 2nd interview, except “adapting to corporate life.”
• Female students placed lower value on 10/11 background traits than males. – GPA, females (3.706) strongly significant lower
value than males (2.334)
Further Analysis: Gender
Further Analysis: Experience 1• > or < 0.5 years of professional experience
– Pre: 72 less than, 33 greater than– Post 36 less than, 22 greater than
• 4 categories– 1st, less ex pre students significantly less value on
• personality (pre = 1.616, post = 1.156) • interpersonal (pre = 1.850, post = 1.375) traits or skills p
> 0.01 and p > .05 value, respectively.
– Less ex post students (2.444) placed more value on background than ex students (3.545) at p > 0.05 value.
Further Analysis: Experience 2• 34 Individual Traits 1st Interview
– Pre 27/34 significant differences, less ex-students placing less value on all traits
• 4/6 personality, 5/6 technical, 11/11 interpersonal, 7/11 background
– Post 9/34 significant differences, less ex-students• 1/6 personality, 3/6 technical, 1/11 interpersonal, 4/11 background
• 34 Individual Traits 2nd Interview– Pre 27/34 significant differences, less ex-students
placing more value on all traits• 3/6 personality, 4/6 technical, 11/11 interpersonal, 9/11 background
– Post 5/34 significant differences, less ex-students• 0/6 personality, 1/6 technical, 2/11 interpersonal, 2/11 background
Conclusions1. Are student values of interview traits different than employers?
– Student consistently place less value on traits/skills than employers.2. Are there student maturation effects due to the formal internship
experience, indicated by a change in students’ reported pre-post trait values?
– Maturation effect, pre to post internships decrease students values of many traits Increase number and severity of significant differences between post & employers
3. Are student trait values for a first interview different than values for a second interview?
– Students tend to increase value of traits from the 1st to 2nd interview 4. Are employer trait values for a first interview different than values for a
second interview?– Employer, generally increase value of technical and interpersonal traits for the 2nd
interview.5. Are there differences in reported trait values between students without prior
professional experience and those with at least minimal professional experience?
– Internship eliminates most significant differences between more and less experienced students’ values of traits or skills