Finding a good internship can prove to be extremely difficult, just like it is difficult to find a good, rewarding and satisfying job.

However, if you want to stay ahead of the race and jumpstart your career, it is advisable to start early. However incredulous it may sound, many college students have started scouring for internships for next summer from now itself.

Career website Vault.com surveyed thousands of present and past interns regarding their internship programs and asked them to rate their experience in 5 core areas namely :Interview Process,  Compensation and Benefits, Quality of Life, Career Prospects and Full-Time Career Prospects. After getting the results and combining the data, they have published a list of top internships for 2015.

Only those programs were evaluated wherein more than 10 interns returned the questionnaires.

The list was compiled after gathering data from more than 500 companies and their interns. The companies were asked to give details about their programs and the number of interns they hired after the internship, duration of the program, the departments where interns are usually placed and requirements.

Vault has been publishing such an internship directory since 1993.

The Top Internships
According to the survey carried out by vault the top internships that students should look out for include:

Bates White Summer Consultation Program is rated as number one on the Vault’s list of top internship programs of 2015. Upon survey it was revealed that 18 students at Bates White’s summer internship program worked alongside PhD economists and MBA’s and lawyers. According to the HR Manager, Meghan Benson, the program has been built in such a manner that it identifies worthwhile interns so that the company can recruit them as future full-time employees.

The nature of the company is such that interns get to do industry-wide research, work with complex database and put together trial exhibits. Furthermore, interns are also paid a good amount for all their hard work. They also enjoy other perks such as sailing trips and corporate dinners. Last year out of the 18 interns, all were able to secure a job at the company. Due to such a combination of meaningful work, good compensation along with perks has made helped Bates White earn the number one spot on the internship list by Vault.

At the number two spot on the list is Elliot Davis, a southeast regional accounting firm.  The firm offers a seven week summer internship program to 50+ interns at its home office in Greenville, SC wherein they are first given a 2 day orientation.

The interns are then spread into the firm’s 5 other offices in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The interns spend 3 days a week working directly on client projects and those who are on the audit team travel with the clients and help them in completing the auditing. The tax interns on the otherhand are required to work on actual returns. The firm also assigns them other additional work such as making videos to educate other members regarding the firms other specialties like community banks, life sciences and technology.

Interns are also encouraged to work on their soft skills such as time management, communication and emotional intelligence. Furthermore the interns are also asked to spend 2 to 4 hours a week for volunteering work. Just like most accounting firms, the internship program is used by Elliot Davis as a recruiting tool. Out of the 71 interns last year, 56 were offered jobs at the firm.

The third on the list is Frank Rimerman, a Palo Alto based accounting firm. The firm specializes in representing high net-worth Silicon Valley clients along with venture-backed start-ups such as YouTube. The company has 250 employees at the moment and its summer program last year had only 24 interns. However, the firm plans to expand their eight-week summer program to 36 interns.

The interns at the company are not restricted to a single department like audits or tax but instead have the opportunity to rotate in 7 different areas of specialization including sales, property tax, payroll etc. Although the firm has already finished its on-campus recruiting in 14 schools, it is still accepting online applications for its summer internship program. The firm is looking for atleast a grade point average of 3.3 in accounting courses. There is no dedicated deadline for the applications; last year the firm had openings as late as May.

Thus, take a look through the Vault’s list and look through those companies which according to you have the most appeal. It is also advisable to work on your LinkedIn profile at this point and start your applications.

You should go through:
Recent Available Internships
Best Internships For 2015 By Vault