Internships seem to be playing a greater role in the job search lately.
Students who have participated in some sort of internship during college may find that the connection leads to employment later on. These provide networking sources for many students. Also, many companies actually hire directly from their pool of qualified interns and cooperative education students. Through these practical experiences, students have already demonstrated their ability to do a job and do it well. This appears to be a trend that is emerging, especially among large organizations that are downsizing their workforces.