Student Interns’ Socially Constructed Work Realities: Narrowing the Work Expectation-Reality Gap

New employees, including college students, often experience expectation-reality gaps about work, making the assimilation process more difficult for all. This qualitative study explores the role of the internship in narrowing the work expectation-reality gap. This article addresses two research quest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Business communication quarterly 2012-09, Vol.75 (3), p.271-290
Main Author: Barnett, Kathy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement Gap
Business Communication
Business Education
Career Development
Career development planning
Cultural Differences
Curriculum development
Educational Counseling
Expectation
Expectations
Graduate Surveys
Internship Programs
Internships
Interviews
Organizational Culture
Participant Satisfaction
Qualitative Research
School Culture
Social Cognition
Student Attitudes
Student behavior
Work Experience
Workplace Learning
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:New employees, including college students, often experience expectation-reality gaps about work, making the assimilation process more difficult for all. This qualitative study explores the role of the internship in narrowing the work expectation-reality gap. This article addresses two research questions: (a) What do students learn about work through internships that they did not know before? (b) How is this new knowledge reflected in their advice to future interns? Analysis of 59 intern exit interviews or surveys reveals two categories of communication-related discovery that in turn influenced subsequent advice messages. Practical implications for business curriculum and career development programs are discussed.
ISSN:1080-5699
2329-4906
1552-4191
2329-4922
DOI:10.1177/1080569912441360