Polytechnic and University of Otago students attended the annual Sexy Summer Jobs event armed with their CVs and a drive to get a taste for possible employment avenues over summer.
Employers including the Dunedin Fringe Festival, Otago Cricket and Education Perfect interviewed students at the event.
University second-year marketing student Eric Gou (25) said that he hoped to gain an internship so he could experience what it was like to work before graduating next year.
He said he was nervous before the interviews, but with just four minutes to impress each employer he realised he had ``nothing to lose''.
University accounting student Kirsty Maw (22), of Milton, hoped the event would prove there were enough job opportunities for her to stay near Dunedin after graduating.
Enterprise Dunedin business development adviser Chanel O'Brien said the internship programme met business needs, created high-value jobs and retained skills and talent in the city.
Since the programme started in 2009, 93 businesses had been involved with the programme.
Thirty-two of last year's 46 interns ended up being employed by the business they interned at, Ms O'Brien said.