“If you say this during an internship, you’ll be out.” Examples of comments that will cause your evaluation to plummet or skyrocket during job hunting, according to a human resources manager. Words and behavior that will instantly make you think, “This student will change jobs in less than a year.”

“Internships that lead directly to recruitment” are becoming established. Hiring activities for students graduating in 2025 are also becoming more active behind the scenes. Norifumi Mizokami, a human resources journalist, interviewed human resources managers at companies about what areas they check on students during internships.

Winners and losers in internship job hunting

Under government policy, internships where student information can be used for recruitment activities have been lifted for students graduating in 2025. However, “internships that directly lead to employment,” which recruit students who participate in internships early on, began before the coronavirus pandemic, and the government has only ratified this.

In addition, government-certified internships that utilize general skills require at least five days, and half of the period must be work experience. Although other types of internships should not be called internships, internships that are called 1-day or 2-day work experience are also rampant.

Recruit announced “Survey on internship/job hunting preparation for 2025 graduates(as of September this year), “The proportion of students who have participated in a career development support program such as an internship of 5 days or more is low at 18.4%.Among them, only 18.4% of students have participated in a career development support program such as an internship of 5 days or more. Only 38.2% of people participated.

Of course it can’t be this small. In recent years, university career centers have been actively encouraging participation in internships, and it is said that 90% of students participate. In the same survey, the percentage of students who participated in internships reached 85.2%. Moreover, 85.1% of the students participated in a 1-2 day program. The reality is that there is a mixed bag of opportunities, including internships of one to two days.

In addition, with the official recognition of “internships that directly lead to recruitment”, participation in internships has become a de facto recruitment selection process, and this year, the recruitment process is faster than in previous years.

A human resources manager in a retail industry says:

“Job hunting is progressing even earlier.In particular, some major companies have started contacting students from April of the third year onwards, when advance entry for internships begins, and inviting students to join their companies for internships. As a result, summer internships have become essentially a recruitment screening process, and even though we may not make an offer through internships, students we like will be told, “I want to work with you,” or “Come to our company.” “We are in selection mode, sending signals, etc.”