The Intern Advantage: Why Strong Support Programs Drive Better Talent Outcomes

The college recruiting landscape is evolving in unexpected ways. Recent benchmarking data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reveals that employers are adjusting their timeline strategies—with more than 33% of job offers now extended in spring and summer months compared to just 19% a few years ago. Meanwhile, students are responding faster to offers while being increasingly selective about which opportunities they accept.

Perhaps most telling: NACE's 2025 Internship & Co-op Report shows that organizations with in-person internship programs averaged a 72% offer rate to their intern class, while those with hybrid arrangements averaged only 56%. This 16-percentage-point gap highlights a critical truth—the quality of the intern experience directly impacts conversion success.

The Real ROI of Investing in Intern Programs

The numbers make a compelling case for robust intern support. According to 4 Corner Resources, one-year retention rates reach 71% for hires with internal internship experience compared to just 42% for those without internships. At individual companies, the results are even more striking:

• Workiva sees over 80% of interns accept full-time offers
• L3 Harris reports around 70% of interns either return for another internship or accept full-time positions
• Freddie Mac achieves 90% acceptance among interns who receive full-time offers

These aren't just talent acquisition wins—they're leadership pipeline investments. Data from J&J shows that 45% of interns who accepted full-time roles later moved into leadership positions within an average of 6.5 years.

What's Driving Program Success in 2025

Plus Relocation's newly released 2025 U.S. Domestic Intern Survey Report on Policy and Program Benefits provides detailed insights into how 38 organizations across diverse industries are structuring their intern support programs. The findings reveal both persistent challenges and emerging best practices.

What the Data Reveals

Global Mobility's Growing Role: Nearly two-thirds (64%) of organizations now involve their global mobility teams in managing intern programs—leveraging expertise in benefit frameworks, housing vendor relationships, and payment processing. Nearly 90% of employers believe providing relocation assistance helps them stay competitive in the intern talent market.

Financial Support is Essential: Most organizations (61%) offer lump sums or miscellaneous allowances, with amounts typically ranging from $2,375 to $6,000. However, housing support remains the most valued—and most challenging—provision, with monthly contributions ranging dramatically from $1,500 to $6,500 depending on location.

The Top Challenges

Survey participants identified their most pressing obstacles:

1. High cost of intern housing (56%)—the overwhelming leading concern
2. Measuring program competitiveness (53%)—difficulty benchmarking against peers
3. Helping interns secure quality housing (47%)—logistical complexity beyond cost

These challenges underscore a critical insight: it's not just about having a program, it's about knowing whether your program is competitive enough to attract top talent and whether you're structuring support in ways that actually ease the intern experience.

The Return-to-Office Reality

The survey confirms what many suspected: fully remote internships have disappeared entirely in 2025. Nearly 40% of programs now require all interns to work in-person only, while most others vary structure by role. Looking ahead, 58% of organizations plan mostly in-person internship programs.

This shift toward physical presence creates a collision course: as in-person experiences become the norm, the housing and relocation cost challenges will only intensify. Organizations that invested in remote programs to reduce costs now face renewed pressure to provide comprehensive location support—or risk losing competitive positioning in the intern talent market.

What This Means for Your Program

The convergence of extended recruiting timelines, increased in-person requirements, and rising intern expectations creates both challenges and opportunities:

The Benchmarking Gap: More than half of organizations struggle to measure their program's competitiveness. Without comparative data on lump sums, housing support, payment timing, and policy structures, you're essentially competing blind.

The Timing Problem: Interns need upfront funds for housing deposits and relocation costs, yet fewer organizations are providing advance payments. Those that solve this timing mismatch—whether through RMC partnerships or streamlined processes—gain a tangible recruiting advantage.

The Cost-Competition Balance: While housing costs remain the top challenge, programs without comprehensive support risk losing talent to competitors. The data clearly shows that well-supported intern programs drive measurably better conversion rates and long-term retention.

Get the Complete Picture

Plus Relocation's 2025 U.S. Domestic Intern Survey Report on Policy and Program Benefits provides comprehensive insights from 38 organizations across agriculture, automotive, banking, biotechnology, chemicals, energy, finance, food and beverage, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and technology sectors.

The report includes detailed benchmarking on:

• Financial support structures and payment timing
• Housing assistance approaches and vendor relationships
• Policy standardization and exception management
• Work structure trends and future outlook
• Technology enablement and program administration
• Regional cost variations and competitive positioning

Download the Complete 2025 U.S. Domestic Intern Survey Report

Whether you're refining an established program or building one from scratch, this data will help you design intern support that drives recruitment success, positive experiences, and strong conversion to full-time employment.