DETROIT — A week into his internship at General Motors Corp., University of Michigan graduate student Alex Keros was asked to represent the company at a technology expo in Chicago.

"He was a GM employee the day he showed up," said his supervisor, Britta Gross, manager of hydrogen infrastructure and strategic commercialization.

"He's really forward thinking," Gross said, hinting that Keros' chances of employment after his current second internship at GM look good.

"His willingness to learn about the program and express himself and his personal view — a young view — is what GM wants."

With jobs scarcer than ever — the national unemployment rate in April was 4.6 percent — summer internships are no longer just a way to get work experience. They have evolved into a summer-long interview that job hopefuls can't afford to squander, says Jill Jordan, who owns the interview-coaching firm IW Associates in Southfield, Mich.

Lesson No. 1? Students need to think strategically and go beyond what they're being asked to do if they hope to land a permanent job, Jordan said.

"It's no longer a summer job to help you with the real thing," Jordan said. "You have to take this opportunity very seriously."

Strategies include going out to lunch with co-workers, managers and the CEO and volunteering for projects outside of what you are asked to do, Jordan said.

"I get the chance to make a difference in one of the most important companies in the world," said Keros, 29, of Ann Arbor, Mich.

"Hopefully, my actions speak for themselves."

Local companies say they increasingly are using internships as their main source of recruitment. It's cost-effective — companies can try out an employee at discount wages before they're hired full time.

Employers who responded to a 2004 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers said they extend offers for full-time employment to nearly 45 percent of the students who served internships with their organizations in 2003, and to more than 60 percent of those who took part in co-op assignments with them. The survey was sent to 1,036 employers and received a 20.5 percent response rate.

In Detroit, a handful of companies contacted by the Free Press said they have expanded and grown internship programs. They include General Motors Corp., Deloitte & Touche, Compuware, Campbell-Ewald and Plante & Moran.

Accounting firm Deloitte & Touche's intern class has grown from 68 in 2003 to 90 in 2006. In 2003, 50 interns were hired full-time. This year, the company hopes to hire 80 of them, recruiter Dana Catania said.

Deloitte & Touche audit associate Adam Tymowski was hired in the fall of 2005, following an internship in the summer of 2004.

"I went out of my way to get to know and talk to as many people as possible," said Tymowski, 23, of Northville, Mich. "I reached out to people a little higher up in the food chain. The point of an internship is getting a job."

Warren, Mich., advertising firm Campbell-Ewald revamped its internship program six years ago and plans to offer jobs to half of this summer's class, said Barbara Rozman-Stokes, vice president and manager of human resources.

In those six years, the company has offered full-time jobs to 32 of 63 interns.

"They can get their hands dirty about what happens at an advertising agency, sell creative projects, high-level exposure," Rozman-Stokes said. "And for us, we are evaluating whether we want to hire this person for a position. It allows us to get the best talent that we've tested over the summer."

Crystal Johnson, 23, of Southfield was hired at Campbell-Ewald after her internship.

"I gave 150 percent," Johnson said. "You want to make sure you want to take advantage of this experience. I contributed my best while I was here.

"I tried to speak up and volunteer as much as I could, and when I met with potential clients, I made sure I was professional and made sure my voice was heard."

If companies wait until graduation, the talent pool is vastly diluted because most public accounting job candidates, for instance, accept jobs during or following an internship, he said.

At Michigan State University, many recruiters this year are hiring just interns, not full-time employees, said Kelly Bishop, MSU's director of career placement services.

"More companies are doing strictly internship hiring, and there are more companies identifying talent at an early stage, developing it, growing it and retaining it," Bishop said.

"There are also companies that, when the job market is less certain, they continue hiring interns so that when they can go out and hire, they have someone who is tested and true," he added.