Increasing internship competition and resources at Lehigh

“What are you doing this summer?” It’s a question frequently asked around campus as students are in the midst of searching for summer opportunities.

Four out of 10 times, the answer is that the student has an internship.

In a Forbes article, “Is An Internship In College More Important Than The Degree Itself?” Brandon Busteed said that internships have taken on more importance than a college degree. 

A study by Gallup-Purdue University found that 71% of recent graduates working full-time had internships as undergraduates, whereas 56% of those who didn’t have internships were employed full-time as recent graduates. 

According to Forbes, internships and work-related experience have never been as important as they are now. In today’s world, internships feel like a need for undergraduate students. 

Joseph Manzo, professor of accounting and advisor to Accounting Club, has been helping students land internships for 15 years. The Accounting Club prepares students for the accounting field through training and networking opportunities with business professionals. 

Over the years, Manzo observed students’ struggles and successes with internships, calling the market a “moving target.”

He said in the past three to four years, “there’s been lots of upheaval and change (in the internship market).” This “upheaval” is the result of a compounding supply-and-demand mismatch. 

The 2025 Internships Index published by Handshake revealed that internship postings declined by more than 15% between January 2023 and January 2025, while applications increased by 7%. 

These conditions have constrained the internship market, causing the application process to be competitive, sporadic and difficult.

For business students, internships operate on a strict timeline that is enforced by large corporations deciding when to begin recruiting — for accounting specifically, Manzo said the Big Four (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC) drive this timeline.

Students’ goal is to obtain an internship for the summer after junior year. In the past, Manzo said, students would begin applying and interviewing around February of their sophomore year, securing an internship by April 1st for the following summer.

Now, he said, large companies have accelerated that process, starting before sophomore year, around mid-August, with applications closing at the end of September. 

When you come back to campus for your sophomore year, you have around three weeks to apply and interview for an internship,” Manzo said. “You’re making these choices probably before you’ve even taken an accounting course.” 

He expressed significant concerns with this, and said students are being recruited before fully knowing what they want to pursue. In some cases, he said this leads students to dislike their internships and ultimately reject full-time job offers.

Not only does the process start earlier, but Manzo said that where firms used to set aside spots for target schools, they now hire on a rolling basis, closing the positions once they’re filled. 

“Although Lehigh students compete well, if they don’t apply early enough, other schools will push us out,” he said. 

Therefore, Manzo said he always tells students the earlier they start looking, the better. 

This sentiment is echoed throughout Lehigh’s Center for Career & Professional Development, whose staff are devoted to helping students with career preparedness. The center has three branches — career education, employer engagement and outcomes and operations — that collaborate to aid undergraduates. 

Karen Kuczynski, director of career education, stressed the importance of early career education. She said in the fall, her team presents in every first-year seminar to inform them about career preparation resources and encourage them to engage with the center.

Kuczynski said the career education team includes eight master’s-level career professionals who are aligned with Lehigh’s colleges, with unique integration of career preparation for each.

“With career education, the goal is to integrate it into the experience,” Kuczynski said. “We don’t want to leave it to chance, and we believe every student deserves the opportunity to have all that information.”

Kuczynski said professional skills are a prerequisite to obtaining an internship or job. For example, she said, students should learn the fundamentals of writing a resumé and what employers are looking for before they begin applications. 

Katie Guynn, director of employer engagement for the past two years, serves as the direct point of contact for employers and organizes networking events.

Guynn said the content of their career education is built from direct feedback from employers. 

“So much success in career development these days is connections, and Lehigh’s network is super powerful in that,” Guynn said. 

Guynn, Kuczynski and Manzo all agreed that Lehigh’s alumni network is particularly strong, and students can connect with them through Lehigh Connects.

“We really want students connecting with our alumni, because they were here in your shoes at one point and they know the value of a Lehigh degree,” Kuczynski said. “I cannot stress enough the importance of getting out there and talking to people within the field of your interest.”

The Career Expo is Lehigh’s main networking event, which typically happens the third week of September. This year, 136 employers attended, and around 40% of them were alumni, Guynn said. 

Guynn said another aspect of the internship market is that both students and employers are raising the bar. Students want real, marketable experience, but that can be costly for employers to provide. On the employer’s side, they want candidates with qualifications that match their roles and expectations.

Manzo said that the main reason employers hire for internships is to train people for full-time jobs, with around 90% of students getting return offers. 

But these factors raise expectations. 

“I am noticing that the rigor of what is required and expected of students for internships is increasing,” Manzo said. “Depending on the field you are applying to, some of them can be brutal.”

According to Forbes, at top companies, it’s harder to get an internship than to get into an Ivy League school.

Lori Kennedy, director of the career center, said in the past employers used to look for a certain major and GPA. Now they’re recruiting based on experience and skills. 

Lehigh has a platform for experiential learning opportunities that employers now expect students to have.

Michelle Spada, the program manager for Lehigh360, was the first full-time hire for the platform; she spearheaded its development and growth. 

Lehigh360’s creation in 2023 resulted from the need for equitable access to information. The platform provides a platform for students to search and filter information about experiential learning opportunities available at Lehigh.

Spada said there’s a direct link between participation in high-impact programs and obtaining internships.

“Oftentimes, I have seen students get that coveted internship their junior year summer because they were able to talk about some of the experiences they’ve had through these programs,” she said. “Being able to say ‘I’ve done research that’s been published,’ or ‘I’ve led my peers’ are very tangible, developed skill sets that could be useful to the company.”

Although obtaining an internship can be stressful and the market is constantly fluctuating, Lehigh provides different opportunities and resources to support students through career-related challenges. 

“It’s a really exciting time to be at Lehigh right now,” Guynn said. “We have so much good happening and an emphasis on interdisciplinary education; I think this makes us really exciting to employers.”