College Major, Internship Experience, and Employment Opportunities: Estimates from a Résumé Audit

John Nunley (), Adam Pugh, Nicholas Romero and Richard Seals ()

No auwp2015-09, Auburn Economics Working Paper Series from Department of Economics, Auburn University

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 percent. 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 for the effect of internships on employment opportunities.

Keywords: College Major; Internship; Employment; Field Experiments; Correspondence Studies; Résumé Audit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J23 J24 J60 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-07
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Related works:
Journal Article: College major, internship experience, and employment opportunities: Estimates from a résumé audit (2016)
Working Paper: College Major, Internship Experience, and Employment Opportunities: Estimates from a Résumé Audit (2014)
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