Internship is a common program used in the U.S and Europe where students are given the chance to work in business organization during summer holidays. In other parts of the world such as Asia, which is known for its technical training given their focus on attracting MNC’s manufacturing operations, mass scale activities are organized for the technical institutions and universities. Students are sent to the private sector as a part of their curriculum, commonly termed as “industry attachment?

　　The internship program in the U.S., whether it is with financial institutions or corporate America, is different from the above-mentioned mass-scale, designated curriculum requirement of “industry attachment? Companies will conduct internship selection process as if they are looking for fulltime employees. They look for suitable candidates who have the aptitude, potential, knowledge and other qualities that are required for fulltime employees. The summer internship is the opportunity for them to get to know these students better, and select the best among them as future employees. In fact, it is commonly said in the U.S. that summer internship is harder to come by than a full-time job. This stems from the fact that employers view summer internship as an investment on human resource for the future and only select the best among them as future employees. Employers give real and meaningful assignments to summer interns, and commit time and resources to assess their capability. Whereas in the case for many of the programs in Asia, “industry attachment?often fall under the auspices of certain national programs, and employers are either unable to or not willing to spend much time and resources in selecting the students. As a result, they are merely performing a national service or participating in the program as good corporate citizens.

　　For employers that “own?the internship program, they set the selection criteria in choosing the students, do the interview and selection, design the activities and work assignments, and closely monitor the performance of these students-all these are for the identification of suitable candidates and potential recruitment upon the candidates?graduation. These organizations that take summer internship programs seriously also see great value in having these students, who have gone through the program, as their on campus ambassadors to propagate the good name. For employers that do not “own?the internship or industry attachment program, the purpose is to accommodate certain national human resource policy or universities?curriculum objective. Students who work for this category of employers are often asked to carry out projects according to the university’s curriculum agenda, that may or may not have relevance to the needs of the employers. The end result of these two approaches could be diametrically different for the students in their career pursuits later on. In fact, experiences obtained from these short career exposures will be viewed quite differently by discerning employers.

　　Interestingly, bulge bracket Wall Street firms hold cocktail receptions for summer internship associates working in Hong Kong, including those from their competitors. These highly competitive firms are truly relentless and vigilant in their pursuit of talented individuals. They realize that these summer interns are outstanding Asian candidates, or Americans with Asian knowledge and background, chosen by other firms to work in Asian capital and financial markets.