A company’s perceived coolness does have its advantages when playing suitor to young prospects, but image and the thousands of dollars a month some companies pay technical interns isn’t everything, according to Schweichler.

“Apple has the cool factor, as does Google, but there could be a project at, say, Siemens that’s better for one’s career,” the recruiter said. “If you’re an engineering major doing process or chip design, then what Intel does would be cooler over an Apple or Google.”