Diversions : Obstacles for Undergraduate Students when Applying for Internship Positions Online

Abstract

The objective of this research was to investigate how the decision of Brazilian university students to enroll (or not) in internships’ selection processes would be affected by the form and content of the ads published in social media. Thus, a qualitative research was carried out through a multiple-case study. Data were collected in semi-structured interviews via Skype, as well as direct observations of eight individuals. The category Diversions presented the most relevant results shedding light as to how the interviewees’ focus was shifted while searching for internship positions during their interviews. The title refers to how distractions make students stray from their intended search for internship positions. Instead, social media exerts a sort of magnetism that is more powerful than recruiting posts and ads, attracting their attention away from internship openings search, making them secondary. In conclusion, diversions were found to become obstacles for undergraduate students when applying for internship positions online.