The Big Read: Fuelled partly by youths’ anxiety, the internship arms race has unintended effects

SINGAPORE — For the last two years of his university studies, Mr Andrew William strategically scheduled his timetable to maximise most of his time outside class taking up internship stints. 
The now-23-year-old would pack his classes into two to three days, allowing him to work for the rest of the week. Weekends were spent in front of his computer, as he toiled for several startups and consultancy companies.
In some semesters, he would take on two internships at once while juggling his studies at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
In total, the communication studies graduate completed 10 internships — although only one stint was a graduation requirement.
The rest of the internship stints?
Mr William, a Singapore permanent resident who graduated in 2022, had taken them up on his own initiative.
Following two internships at an advertising firm and a public relations firm, Mr William felt that the industries did not suit him and decided to pursue a career in consultancy.
“I spoke to some seniors who were working in consulting and learnt it would be quite difficult to pursue a career without a relevant degree,” he told TODAY.
“I can’t change my major, but I also can’t break into consulting if I remain status quo. So I got an internship at (market research firm) Euromonitor as a research consultant intern and slowly took up more internships in the industry.”
To get these internships, Mr William joined his school’s consultancy club — which provided networking opportunities. He also took part in case competitions to boost his portfolio.
While arming himself with 10 internships might seem like overkill to an earlier generation of undergraduates, Mr William —  who now works as a management consultant at an American consultancy firm — is part of a growing number of students who have joined the “rat race” for internships even before completing their paper chase at universities and polytechnics.
Ten university and polytechnic students who spoke to TODAY said they had taken on at least three internship stints for several reasons: Getting more real-world learning experiences, earning pocket money and hoping to increase their chances of securing a better job after graduation.
But getting an internship in well-known companies is no walk in the park, be it for Singaporean students here or overseas, where the pursuit of multiple internships is also common.
CNN reported in 2019 that tech giant Google received 125,000 applications for its internship programme that year in the United States. At investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, 236,000 students applied for its internships in 2022 globally — of which reportedly 1.5 per cent were given a role.
An internship opportunity with Formula One motor-racing team Red Bull also drew “thousands” of Singapore-based applicants earlier this year, of which just two students snagged the internship.
The competition for internships has even spurred international businesses to tout their ability to help students secure coveted internship opportunities in the investment banking and consulting industries for a fee. 
One such business based in Hong Kong, called IBankCoaching, states on its website that it provides job tracking support for internships and “insider tips” to ace interviews with companies such as Goldman Sachs, Blackrock and DBS.
The company claims that it can help students “to get into investment banking in London, Singapore and Hong Kong”, but did not state how much its services cost.
It also lists what is said to be the internship pay at various financial institutions in Singapore, with monthly salaries ranging from S$1,300 to S$13,000. 
TODAY takes a deeper look at why students in Singapore vie for internships, the competition for these positions and some implications of this rat race among youths even before they step into the working world.
Most institutes of higher learning require students to go through an internship as part of their graduation requirements. 
Temasek Polytechnic’s director of student support and career services Samuel Wee said that internships allow students to establish connections with professionals and peers in their field and gain “valuable insights, guidance and potential job prospects”.
“Internships can also provide students an informed evaluation on whether their field of study is one they hope to pursue through future education or employment, as internships give students a first-hand experience of the scope of work, processes, and expectations in his or her industry.”
Like most educational institutions, Temasek Polytechnic partners industry players to provide internship opportunities for its students and “many employers view internships as a pipeline for talent acquisition”, said Mr Wee.
Industry partners are required to provide a training programme, project outline, job scope and learning outcomes prior to the internship among other things, he added. This allows the school to match the internship to the right student based on their specialisation.
Ms Louisa Lau, director of Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Office of Immersion and Careers, added that the polytechnic has education and career coaches who run clinics and coaching sessions to “help students build their confidence when applying for internships and enhance their employability”, among other initiatives to help prepare students for these work stints.
She added that the school is “progressively introducing” year-long internships and dual internships which allow students to embark on more than one graded internship during their course of study.
This is to “provide more opportunities for students to broaden their industry exposure” — something students are increasingly looking for.
Like other tertiary institutions, Ngee Ann Polytechnic has seen more students interested in pursuing multiple internships, said Ms Lau.
Ms Prasanthi Guda, senior deputy director of the Dato’ Kho Hui Meng Career Centre at Singapore Management University (SMU), told TODAY that its students take on an average of 2.6 internships.
This is more than the single internship SMU students are required to go through to graduate.
“Students are seeking diversity in their experience across industries before they graduate to be able to make informed decisions about full-time jobs,” said Ms Prasanthi.
“Even within a particular sector, the differences in companies that operate in the space may be useful for graduates to observe and learn best practices. So, multiple internships are recommended in general for all young people to build a strong foundation for their future careers.”
While these institutions have many internship programmes in place, some students told TODAY that they also seek out internships on their own — to the extent of attending multiple networking sessions and going through several rounds of interviews with the companies they are eyeing.
Take for example third-year SMU student Koh Liang Jun, 24, who participated in a case competition for the chance to intern at global professional services firm Accenture — which he described as the most “tedious” way to get an internship.
In a case competition, students are given a business case study to solve within a set time in teams. Typical prizes include cash and a possible internship opportunity.
“Companies are finding different methods to get talents… such as through case competition where people can showcase their knowledge,” said Mr Koh, who is currently on his fourth internship stint as an automation intern at a bank.
Another Singaporean student, Ms Noreen Shazreen, may be pursuing her degree in arts and communications at the University of Western Australia in Perth — but she is still caught in the internship race. 
Wanting to gain experience and increase her chances of getting a good job at a global company, the 22-year-old has been searching for an internship in Australia and Singapore.
While she had been offered unpaid internships, Ms Noreen did not accept them as she did not want to provide “free labour” — especially since she has prior experience interning at two government agencies in Singapore and is freelancing as a writer and managing social media accounts.
Not wanting to miss out on any time to intern, Ms Noreen has been searching for an internship opportunity in Singapore while she is back in the country for the first time since she started her university studies.
To do so, she has not only canvassed job listings — but also searched for the hiring managers’ social media platforms to drop them a private message in the hope of increasing her chances of getting an internship opportunity. 
As for second-year National University of Singapore (NUS) business administration student Ryan Ong, sitting through several rounds of interviews was all worth it when he secured his fourth internship at a travel startup in Vietnam called LFG.
What made the process smoother was that Mr Ong had met the startup’s founder during a networking session a few months prior. Having left a good impression, Mr Ong’s request to intern for LFG was quickly approved, he said.
Barely a month into his internship now, the 26-year-old told TODAY he has plans for a fifth internship later in the year — in New York.
Mr Ong was able to snag the two internships in Vietnam and New York because he is part of the highly competitive NUS Overseas College programme.
The programme, which gives NUS students the opportunity to intern overseas at a startup, involves rounds of interviews to get into, followed by another round of interviews with several startups to secure the internship.
Mr Ong, who also runs mental health support group The Catalyst Collective, said that while he has taken on the internships mainly to gain real-world experience and try out different careers, peer influence also plays a role.
“There’s a lot of pressure to take on internships because I see people around me taking on multiple internships. Some are even doing it part- time, building and using connections to get these opportunities,” he said.
Mr William, the consultant who took on 10 internships, acknowledged that he might be among those who have spurred the “rat race” that has made internship programmes more competitive. But he said it was a necessity as he wanted to pursue a career that differed from his studies. 
“It’s extremely difficult getting into the top three consulting firms as there’s so much competition globally,” said Mr William of firms such as Bain and Company, McKinsey and Company and Boston Consulting Group.
“You really have to stand out, and do above and beyond to get your foot through the door for that interview opportunity.”
For 22-year-old Vera Lim, taking on seven internships over the past three years was to satisfy her curiosity about different jobs while getting a small allowance.
The NUS business administration student is currently a client and markets intern for professional services network Deloitte. She started her internship journey with startups, before securing stints with bigger companies like Deloitte and management consultancy BCG X. 
“There’s a lot of people around me that take on more than five internships since it’s so competitive… But I know that I’m definitely fuelling the rat race by taking on so many internships.
“It is tough to make it out in the working world and this (internship) is one way to stand out,” Ms Lim said. 
But despite her lengthy resume, which also includes running a fitness start-up and volunteer work, Ms Lim has been rejected by multiple banks and large corporations when applying for internships.
She has also taken on an unpaid internship, while another part-time internship was for S$300 a month. “I took them for the experience and just wanted to try my hand at something new,” she explained.
Ms Noreen, the 22-year-old Singaporean studying in Australia, told TODAY she has been told by some companies that they did not pay interns as the interns “gained more than the company”.
But not all interns go unpaid though — schools often have a recommended allowance. At NUS, the recommended allowance is at least S$800 to S$1,000.
Students who spoke to TODAY said they were paid, on average, between S$800 and S$1,500 per month. 
Some investment banking firms however offer much higher pay for interns, at rates roughly similar to the starting pay of fresh graduates in certain roles. 
The Business Times reported in 2017 that the monthly internship pay can be up to S$10,000 at firms like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
Mr Felix Tan, founder and chief executive officer of skills-based hiring platform Skilio, told TODAY that he has seen some university students map out a “four-year internship roadmap” on the types of companies they want to intern at during their studies.
With many companies moving away from hiring just based on academic grades, Mr Tan said that internships have become not just valuable in helping youths stand out from other candidates when vying for a job — but a necessity.
Agreeing, Mr Rob Wisdom, director and head of supply chain of recruitment firm Ethos Beathchapman, added that internships can help students identify skill deficits, strengthen their technical abilities and validate their career choices.
Beyond that, these opportunities also allow them to make career changes and gain expert knowledge from mentors.
“(Internships can also) be a springboard for entry into the permanent job ladder and even potentially help you command a slightly higher starting salary.
“Amid today’s job market uncertainty, it is also good advice to ensure valuable use of all your time. In this sense many internships can be value adding and help pave the way into full-time employment.”
Mr Wisdom added that prestigious internships with multinational companies, big brands or forward-thinking companies are attractive on a fresh graduate’s resume.
“These internships are definitely of value as they are often competitive to get and increasingly are scrutinised by governments or certain bodies to ensure they are not exploitative and give the intern good exposure,” he said.
Highly reputable company names —  such as Google, Meta and JP Morgan — are also keywords that get flagged by job application tracking systems. 
These systems, which recruiters and employers use to manage job applicants, might rank candidates with such coveted internships higher — meaning they have a higher chance of getting an interview with the respective companies.
Amid this new rat race, what should students focus on in getting the most out of their work stints?
Mr Kenji Naito, group chief executive officer of recruitment agency Reeracoen, said that students should “focus on internships that offer meaningful work, learning opportunities, and professional growth rather than simply accumulating numbers”.
This is because when a company is hiring a candidate, it looks at what they had done during their internships and how they had performed.
So what are the attributes of a good, quality internship?
A good quality internship would be structured with clear objectives and learning outcomes, said Mr Naito.
There should also be access to mentors who provide guidance and feedback, as well as assignments that challenge and develop the intern’s skill sets.
“Companies should also offer feedback through regular performance reviews to help interns grow… and provide exposure to different aspects of the business,” he added.
Mr Wisdom said it is important to identify some of the things that interns want from their internship programme. 
“For example, do you know if your personality suits a corporate or small company environment? Or, often had an itch for a certain role but not sure? Scratch it with an internship,” he said.
“Employees are undeniably far more successful, happy and value adding in roles and environments that fit them well.”
Company reviews and testimonials from former interns may also help students to decide if a particular internship is suitable for them.
Educational institutions told TODAY that they take steps to ensure that internship programmes with companies they partner provide students with enough depth and experiences.
The students are also equipped with interview skills and resume tips taught by education and career coaches which can help them secure internship opportunities, said Ms Lau from Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Students told TODAY that they also found networking to be a useful tool in discovering internship opportunities and securing them — noting they have had friends getting internships through their social circles.
“Internships are also networking opportunities since you can build connections with people in the industry,” said Mr Wong Wai Fai, 25, a NUS final-year business administration student.
Such links have allowed him to learn about different internship opportunities, beyond learning more about the industry itself.
Like other students, Mr Wong, who is an e-commerce marketing intern at Sony Electronics, also used professional social media platform LinkedIn to network with people in the industry.
While taking on multiple internships at a time seems to be par for course for a growing number of students, some youths told TODAY that it comes at a price: Less “me-time” and a toll on their mental well-being.
“If all your summer holidays are used for internship and you don’t get a proper break, you don’t get the chance to be a student,” said Mr Ong, the NUS business administration student interning in Vietnam now.
“It’s not really healthy to be in this perpetual state of grinding and hustling it out… not forgetting you’re just going to be doing that for the rest of your career.”
For Mr Ong, he finds time to take on volunteer work, and also runs his mental health support group — which has helped him gain opportunities to intern in the social impact industry which he is interested in pursuing.
Taking on internships outside of a school curriculum also puts students at risk of taking on stints that proved to be bad experiences, where they were either overworked or asked to do menial tasks such as picking up coffee orders.
In Ms Lim’s case, the NUS student had taken on a part-time internship but found herself working more days and hours than she agreed upon.
Juggling her studies and taking on more job scopes than agreed, she later fell sick. Despite being on medical leave, she was asked to complete certain job tasks which she complied with.
While most educational institutions pair students with a mentor or career coach who can help manage company expectations during an internship, youths may not have access to such resources when taking on their own gigs.
“I just dealt with it as there wasn’t much I could do but suck it up,” said Ms Lim of her experience.
“It was extremely stressful but I learnt how to set proper boundaries following the incident.”
She is not the only one with a bad internship experience. Several netizens took to online forum Reddit to discuss their intern “horror stories” last month — including one user who worked at a Singapore firm that had interns do most of the human resource work, and another who would run errands for their boss.
The competition for internships also raises questions about whether it is a level playing field for students who do not have social or professional network in a particular industry.   
NUS sociologist Tan Ern Ser noted that students who have larger social networks would have better access to opportunities and the relevant information.
“In short, connections matter, even in a meritocracy,” said Assoc Prof Tan.
“This is not to argue that ability in terms of knowledge and skills isn’t important, but that it has to be ability in terms of networking skills or ability which enables one to be recognised by people with power and connections who would recommend one to others in their social networks.”
Because of this, lacking connections could translate into internship inequalities — and that would also apply to job opportunities too.
This could be alleviated by providing students with more opportunities to network and increasing mentorship programmes, said Assoc Prof Tan.
Companies could also look at placing more value on different student programmes and achievements when assessing their candidates — such as volunteer work, leadership positions in co-curricular activities and more.
Looking back, Ms Lim said she might have taken a different approach when applying for internships if given a second chance.
“At the beginning, I was ‘job hopping’ to find my place and interest,” she said, pointing to the array of internships she had done. These included working for a venture capital, organising events and trying her hand out as a marketing intern.
“There are much more targeted approaches to taking internships, such as focusing on building up your skills for a particular industry, before taking on internships only within this industry.”
Still, she described her internships as “maximising” her potential.
“In the end, I’m just trying to do everything to the best of my ability. And through these internships, I can at least be confident that my job in the future fits me, fulfills me financially and has room for me to grow,” said Ms Lim.