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Secondary analysis of the UK's 2011/12 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey reveals that many existing assumptions about graduate internships are questionable. This article proposes a reliable way of estimating the true extent of internships including those reported as 'voluntary' jobs: hidden internships. In doing so the article finds: (1) at six months after graduation, internships are a small feature of the UK graduate labour market, but significant in certain sectors; (2) unpaid internships are much more prevalent than previously estimated, especially in these same sectors; and (3) contrary to some public policy debate, unpaid internships appear, on balance, to be a residual option more likely to lead to underemployment and less favourable career development outcomes. Post-graduation internships appear less likely than pre-graduation work experiences to confer long-term employability advantages.

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