College Major, Internship Experience, and Employment Opportunities: Estimates from a Résumé Audit
Published in Labour Economics (2016)

This pivotal study investigates how college majors and internship experience affect the employment prospects of recent graduates. Using a large-scale résumé audit of over 9,400 applications to business-related jobs, the study reveals:

• Internships Matter: Applicants with internship experience were 14% more likely to receive interview requests, demonstrating that internships signal qualities highly valued by employers.
• Majors Don’t Always Matter: Surprisingly, business degrees offered no advantage over non-business degrees in securing interviews, even for business-related positions.
• Policy Implications: The findings suggest that encouraging internships could ease students’ transitions into the workforce, offering both economic and skill-building benefits.

Featured in outlets like Wall Street Journal and Chicago Policy Review, this paper established the authors’ reputation for leveraging innovative experimental designs to answer critical labor market questions.