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