College major, internship experience, and employment opportunities: Estimates from a résumé audit

B-Tier
Journal: Labour Economics
Year: 2016
Volume: 38
Issue: C
Pages: 37-46

Authors (4)

Nunley, John M. (University of Wisconsin-La Cro...) Pugh, Adam (not in RePEc) Romero, Nicholas (not in RePEc) Seals, R. Alan (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We use experimental data from a résumé audit to estimate the impact of particular college majors and internship experience on employment prospects. Despite applying exclusively to business-related job openings, we find no evidence that business degrees improve employment prospects. By contrast, internship experience increases the interview rate by 14%. The returns to internship experience are larger for (a) nonbusiness majors and (b) applicants with high academic ability. Our data support signaling as the most likely explanation regarding the effect of internships on employment opportunities.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:labeco:v:38:y:2016:i:c:p:37-46
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-26