Why is there a gap year between an internship and a full-time job?

Hey guys, I am really curious about one question. Why do banks offer Summer internships only to sophomores and juniors, and not to seniors? I mean, isn't it more logical to hire a senior or a recent graduate for SA and after the internship either give him/her full-time offer or not, without having a gap of 1 year between SA and a full-time job? This way: 1) banks will bear less risks because during the gap year between SA and FT economy may change, or bank's need in FT workers may change, or the worker's interests may change (he/she may decide to switch to another job function or another bank) 2) banks will not cut off a huge part of high-quality students, including Master's students and undergrad seniors. Any thoughts?

19 Comments
 

Most people get their full-time jobs in the fall semester of their senior year (or early spring semester). If they had to recruit for a SA position at the same time, they would most likely take the offer for a FT job upon graduation over an SA position that could leave them unemployed after 3 months

 

Its the same with recruiting for college sports. Think basketball: Duke, UNC, Kentucky - these guys are recruiting kids who haven't even stepped on a high school court yet. Like banks, athletic programs survive on attracting the best talent, and in order to compete, they need to lock promising talent down as early as possible before someone else swoops in. The process is starting earlier and earlier every year. I think its ridiculous, but thats the evolution of recruiting for ya.

 

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