Archive for June, 2010

How my internship took me to the World Cup

June 28th, 2010

andrewInspiring Interns’ very own Andrew Scherer is currently working (and living it up) at the World Cup in South Africa. Here he explains how an internship helped him land his dream gig…

It’s a hard life: I’m currently sat by the pool atop my hotel roof looking out over the Johannesburg skyline as the South African winter sun warms my face.  I’ve already seen Brazil, Ivory Coast, Argentina and Holland in action.  At work I mingle with the likes of Clarence Seedorf, Kevin Keegan…and Andy Townsend (it’s not all good).  And I’m being paid to be here.

‘How on earth,’ I hear you cry, ‘are you such a jammy sod?’  Well, the short answer is I did an internship.

As part of my course at university I was obliged to undertake a year abroad, and I took the opportunity to boost my work experience. I found a sports media company in Munich looking for interns, and secured a ten month stint at a firm whose clients include UEFA and Bayern Munich.  This period not only gave my CV a fantastic boost, it also allowed me to make some very useful contacts in the sports media field.  Over the next two years I kept in touch with these newly-made acquaintances, and earlier this year when they were looking for people to work in South Africa I was at the forefront of their minds.

So now I find myself milling around with some of the biggest names in the world of football, experiencing an incredible and unique sporting event, and having a pretty good time while I’m at it.

Obviously I have been lucky.  Very lucky, in fact.  But my story does demonstrate the huge value of an internship. Thanks to my stint as an intern my CV was suddenly full of attributes that employers are desperate to see, opening doors that had previously been shut to me.  And as I have described, the contacts I made during my work experience have proved invaluable in securing new, paid work.  So if you are desperately looking to kick-start your career, take it from a man on an all expenses paid jolly to the World Cup: an internship is the key.

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'I've graduated – what next?' Guardian Careers Q&A

June 24th, 2010

Yesterday, Inspiring Interns’ CEO Ben Rosen took part in a live web chat hosted by Guardian Careers. The subject was ‘I’ve graduated – what next?’ and Ben was one of a panel of careers experts on hand to give out advice to confused or concerned graduates. It was a lively and engaging discussion, with plenty of questions to keep him busy, so we thought we’d do a summary for those of you who couldn’t make it (either due to the fact you were busy securing your future at the Guardian graduate fair or you were settling down to watch the football in your local…).

One question that repeatedly came up was whether doing a Masters was a worthwhile investment, in terms of time and money, when it came to finding a job. One graduate was interested in pursuing a career in public policy and wanted to know whether a Masters would be a good idea. The general consensus among the panel was that doing a Masters shouldn’t be used a last resort because job hunting has proved unsuccessful. They can prove expensive and with increasing numbers of graduates resorting to them they are no longer as valuable as they once were. Most of the panel suggested that work experience is now considered more valuable to employers than a further qualification, something we have experience first hand here at Inspiring.

Another big worry among graduates was the state of the economy and the effect on job prospects. Despite the fact that there are fewer opportunities out there and as a result, graduate jobs have become fiercely competitive, graduates shouldn’t lose hope. Job hunters simply need to find innovative and resourceful ways to proactively search for and create opportunities, such as using online networks. For hints and tips on using social media for job hunting, check out our blog post here. New emerging industries such as social media are always on the hunt for internet savvy graduates, so you may find that the ability to arrange nights out on Facebook and stalk Lindsay Lohan’s every move on Twitter are actually considered valuable skills in the workplace.

You can look at the Guardian Careers Q&A here to look at the discussion in full. The panel gave excellent responses to all the questions, so if you’re confused or worried about life after graduation, it’s well worth a read.

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Using social media for job hunting

June 21st, 2010


You probably already use social media to catch up with your peers, arrange a night out or stalk old school friends, but are you using it effectively for finding a job? Networking has always been an important and useful tactic for finding a job, especially since the majority of vacancies are never advertised. With the advent of social media, networking has moved from the water cooler to the online sphere and is therefore much more accessible. With graduates job prospects appearing limited and frustrating, now isn’t the time for university leavers to be sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. Job seekers need to be proactive and resourceful when it comes to finding that first graduate job or internship.

With all this in mind, we have put together a helpful guide to using social media for getting a job.

Blogs

Creating your own blog is a great way to showcase your abilities. You can write articles, publish your CV, or show videos or photographs. By creating a blog, you are essentially creating your own brand and showing employers what you are capable of. You can start a blog using a site such as WordPress or Posterous.  You may even want to purchase your own domain to make your blog look even more professional. You can also subscribe to other relevant blogs to keep up with industry developments and stay ahead of the game.

Facebook

With over 500 million users, Facebook is the biggest social network in the world. In fact, if it were a country, Facebook would sit as the third largest in the world. Companies are now using Facebook for marketing, customer service and recruiting, so it’s a great place for graduates to do some valuable networking. Facebook is also indexed by Google, so if recruiters or hiring managers type in your name, your Facebook page may crop up.

Before you start interacting with potential employers, make sure you go through your profile, info and photographs and make sure there are no dodgy wall posts or too many drunken pictures. You can either play it safe by deleting anything you wouldn’t want your future boss to see, or adjust your privacy settings (including choosing who gets to see your status updates). Facebook offers employers an insight into who you are as a person and how you will fit into a particular company. Remember, personality can often by just as important as skills when it comes to graduate recruitment.

Once you’ve cleaned up your profile, you want to use your information tab to make it clear that you’re looking for a job. You also want to use this tab to list your skills, education and past work experience, as well as your interests. You can then join relevant industry groups, interact with members and ‘like’ companies you’re interested in working for. Use your status bar as a way to link to relevant articles, post your own articles and link to your CV.

Twitter

Whilst Twitter can be great for stalking celebrities and keeping up with the latest high profile rows, it can also be a fantastic tool for job hunting. Twitter is now almost twice the size of LinkedIn and like Facebook, is indexed by Google. The more followers you have, the more relevant your profile will be. Again, the first step is to create a relevant profile, including a recent picture, biography, location and links to your other social media profiles and blog, so those who are interested can find you and get in contact. Be sure to make it clear you’re on the lookout for a job.

Once you’ve got your profile sorted, you can then start following people. Following relevant recruiters is a great move, especially since many of them will tweet job vacancies. We tweet all of our internship vacancies through Twitter. Like your Facebook status updates, you can use Twitter to link to relevant articles, link to your own blog and ‘retweet’ any relevant tweets. If you’re looking for a job in design, you should use your Twitter page as an opportunity to showcase your work and design your own background. You can also use hashtags to make your posts easier to find. We always follow our vacancy tweets with #internship #graduate and #jobs to allow people who are searching for these words to find our tweets more easily. It’s important to bear in mind that once published, tweets cannot be deleted, so check your spelling and links before you post.

LinkedIn and Viadeo

LinkedIn and Viadeo are designed for professional networking and are therefore fantastic places to connect with potential employers and recruiters. 95% of companies using social media use LinkedIn as a tool for recruitment. Again, start with your profile and make sure you list relevant work experience, education and skills. LinkedIn and Viadeo are also great places to show off any great references, so be sure to get at least one recommendation from a past employer. Building up your network is the key to using these sites successfully, so start by connecting with past employers, friends and any other contacts. You will find that you have shared contacts or links to people you’d love to connect with. By building your contacts, more networking opportunities will open themselves up to you. By joining relevant industry groups, you can also directly message group members, get involved in discussions and keep up with the latest news

YouTube

YouTube is a great place to post a video CV. Here at Inspiring Towers, we create a video CV with each and every candidate who comes through our doors. You can check some of them out here to give you an idea of what to include. A video CV is a great way to showcase your enthusiasm and personality and sit perfectly alongside your written CV, so be sure to provide a link to that with the video. Again, make sure you use relevant keywords when tagging your video, so it can be easily found by employers.

Now you’ve set up your social media outlets, you need to be sure you link them all together. Provide links to your other profiles and ensure that each profile is consistent. You also need to live up to your online persona, so don’t sell yourself as something you’re not and don’t forget to make your CV accessible. If you need any help sprucing up your CV, check out our blog post on creating a CV, succeeding in an interview and making the most of your internship.

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Are online games the future of graduate recruitment?

June 16th, 2010

From the moment I first picked up the controller of a Nintendo Entertainment System as a wide-eyed youngster, I understood the impact that computer games would have on my life. Never has there been an invention, a medium, more detrimental to personal success and aspirations. Their power lies in their ability to create a false sense of achievement whereas in reality you have achieved nothing; the fact that you managed to complete Metal Gear Solid in less than three hours is not going to help you in your quest for success. So when I heard that L’Oreal had created an online ‘business’ game to aid their graduate recruitment, I thought that this is it, it’s finally here: a productive computer game.

Reveal is the latest in a long line of ‘business games’ produced by L’Oreal, to aid them in their bid to attract the hottest graduate talent. Dubbed ‘the first multi-vocation talent detector’, it claims to separate the wheat from the chaff whilst suggesting possible livelihoods for the player. During the game, the hapless applicant takes the role of a new recruit at L’Oreal’s Head Office in Paris. Here they are set a variety of tasks by a group of increasingly bizarre characters, supposed to address several potential career paths. There appear to be many evangelists who believe that this technology is ‘the future’, whereas others have dismissed the process as a gimmick. I decided that the only way in which I could pass judgement was to give it a go myself.

The first thing that struck me about Reveal is its distinct style. Somewhere between Pokémon and semi-erotic manga, I couldn’t seem to fathom the link between the game and L’Oreal, stylistically speaking. The result is a game in which the L’Oreal testing labs are portrayed as a place of a truly threatening and nefarious nature, and I was left wondering when I was going to have to save the world from a debilitating super virus; albeit one that leaves you with gloriously, silky, smooth hair of course.

Upon beginning the game, I needed to assign myself an avatar. Most of the options were of fairly standard fair but one in particular stood out.

What I can only assume to be a product of L’Oreal’s animal testing in the early 80s; I was amazed to see that these animals are now being considered for graduate marketing roles. That aside, in choosing this as my on-screen icon, I’m moderately sure that I have been disregarded from the hiring process before it has even begun.

The other characters didn’t appear to fair much better with notable mentions going to a facsimile of Brittany Spears in the video for Toxic, and a cone-headed barman named Tim.

The ‘game’ itself played out a little like a cross between Broken Sword and a choose-your-own-adventure novel, extra points if you know what either of those are. You are required to question characters for information and scour rooms for clues, whilst every now and then being asked droll questions about account management. The game feels drawn out and monotonous, and after playing for half an hour I felt as though I would have preferred the questions without all of the contrived dialogue.

This is clearly a brazen attempt to be ‘down with the kids’ with the tagline for the whole project (What R U up 4?) being excruciatingly cringe-worthy. I acknowledge the attempt to make recruitment a more exciting process, but judging by this wayward effort there is still a lot of work to be done.

Thomas Riegel, L’Oreal’s director of recruitment explains the motivation behind the project: “We had the idea because the concept of the ideal career path has changed from 10 years ago. Then the goal was to become a senior manager on a steep career ladder; today, it’s flexibility. Graduates want to choose when and how they work, and don’t necessarily want to be in an office face-to-face with colleagues.” This may be true, but I personally like recruitment to be concise and to the point. The game draws out the process and takes the total time of application to upwards of an hour. I’d rather spend this time crafting intelligent and relevant answers instead of ordering imaginary beverages in a cafeteria.

Riegal goes on to say that “students in the UK don’t do many internships and often don’t have a clear idea of what’s available to them.” I think that this is slightly naive of him as students and graduates are increasingly partaking in internships as a way of bridging the gap between university and their first job. Inspiring Interns offer internships over a variety of sectors, the majority of which can lead to full time employment; all without the aid of a pink critter and an insufferable barman.

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SEO and PPC- the perfect profession for people with a passion for numerical analysis

June 16th, 2010

Does the mere mention of SEO or PPC make you salivate wildly like a Pavlovian dog?  Perhaps you have a soft spot for numbers, tables and graphs? If the answer is yes to either of these questions then your destiny might just lie in SEO or PPC.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and its sole purpose is to maximise the visibility of a website on search engine result pages aka SERPs. Search engines like Google will trawl through the entire internet, looking for keywords found on websites. A keyword is a word that describes what your site is about. For Inspiring Interns our keywords might be ‘interns’,’ internships’ and ‘graduates’. Sites crammed with keywords are found more easily by search engines and positioned higher up on SERPs. The higher up your site, the easier it is for people to find/visit you.   A SEO manager will  tag keywords onto videos or blog posts and can imbed them into website’s HTML. Another technique SEO managers use is called link-baiting. This is where a website’s URL is placed on neighbouring sites. People can find your site more easily by clicking through from other related places on the web.  So why is SEO on everyone’s lips?  It is a hugely effective way to increase traffic to your site. Moreover if you are an e-commerce then it is a great way for potential customers to find you.  SEO is cost-free and classed as a ‘natural search’, as opposed to PPC which is paid for and called a ‘paid search’.

PPC’s aims are the same as SEO – to maximise the visibility of a website. PPC managers pay for sponsored links that are found at the top of or the right hand side of SERPs. You can bid for the position of your sponsored link against competitors’ sites that have similar keywords, or pay a flat fee paying for every time someone clicks on your link.  PCC is perfect for number-crunchers because statistical analysis is often required by clients to analyse the true value/efficiency of a PPC campaign, in terms of resulting sales and page views. Both SEO and PPC are highly numerical and you’ll need razor sharp analytical skills and fantastic attention to detail to excel in these roles. Because SEO and PPC are cost effective and yield measurable results, they are very popular with marketing managers and are therefore growing rapidly as an industry.

At Inspiring we have lots of meaningful internships than evolve into entry-level roles in this innovative industry. Make sure you pop your CV over to our team, if you are looking for a foot in the door. We love helping graduates in any way that we can!

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What is social media and is it a career for you?

June 10th, 2010

Inspiring Interns has placed many graduates in social media roles. If you have a flair for words you might be considering a job in copywriting or journalism, dismissing social media as a serious career option. In the past 24 months, this has all changed. Brands are crying out for talented, web-literate graduates with an innate understanding of social media.

The essence of SM is engaging and connecting with others- your peers, your friends, brands, communities, and celebrities. It allows you to share photos (Flikr/Twitpic), conversations (Twitter/chat rooms), your life (Facebook), knowledge (Wikipedia), videos (Youtube), your CV (LinkedIn) and your views (WordPress/Blogger). Social media is powerful. Facebook has 500 million active users and could hypothetically form the third largest country in the world. In May 2010, FB overtook Google as the most used website in the US.  FB captures an intricate insight into users’ views and interests, and its ads are therefore highly targeted and relevant.

Dell is a classic social media success story. They’ve used social media to engage with their customers, improve their products and improve brand loyalty. Their Twitter page has been used to provide immediate online support for their customers. Their acclaimed blog IdeaStorm has their customers sharing ideas and feedback on their products, which effectively helps Dell improve their designs for free. Dell’s SM has resulted in a significant increase in its sales.

Careers in SM vary widely. Every brand wants to harness the power of the masses. It’s cheap and it can be hugely effective if done right. Good social media managers are like gold dust and the industry is mushrooming.  SMPs can work in-house for a company/brand, as part of an in-house marketing team or for a specialist social media agency such as Alterian.

Social media professionals write blog posts, analyse audience’s reactions and act accordingly. SMPs need to be able to think on their feet, as timely responses are an imperative. You need rock-solid written and oral communications skills.  Because things are changing so rapidly in the ‘real’ world and online, you’ll need to be able to challenge thinking and create new solutions.  If you can create order from chaos and find clear pathways through disparate ideas, then social media might be up your street. It’s important that you have an inquisitive mind- that you are curious about the world around you and the social media industry as a whole.

Because social media is so popular with companies and graduates, it is usually quite difficult to secure a job with little experience. They usually hire interns or give the job to people who are already working in the company. Inspiring Interns can provide the perfect gateway into this industry, finding meaningful three month internships in social media roles that lead to full-time employment.

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This week's insightful introduction to the world of mobile marketing

June 7th, 2010

Here at Inspiring we are on the cusp of graduate recruitment. We offer roles in finance, IT, graphic design and more.  This week we’ll be introducing you to the exiting fields of mobile marketing, social media and SEO/PPC, which are areas growing rapidly and on the look out for quick, passionate graduates.

So what is mobile marketing? Mobile is an industry as hot and fresh as a Greggs’ pasty. At Inspiring Interns we can help provide you with a stepping stone into this and many other exciting industries. Mobile is currently in its infancy and growing rapidly. In the UK there are currently 48 million adults but 76 million mobile devices- that’s 1.6 devices per person. The future currently lies in smartphones-internet enabled devices. Some 54 million smartphones were sold worldwide in the first quarter of 2010 and the smartphone is set to become the way to access the internet. This growth is due to the improvement in mobile internet connections and cheaper data plans.  Mcommerce is hot on everyone’s lips. It will allow people to purchase tickets, receive vouchers, and manage their bank accounts through their mobile. In Japan, the mobile has already been integrated with contact-less debit cards and oyster cards. It is not a communication device. It is an integral part of people’s lives.  The potential of mobile is massive and advertising companies have only touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of exploiting its potential.

Advertisers have only recently recognised the potential of mobile marketing and specialist mobile companies are rapidly being snapped up. M&C Saatchi recently purchased InsideMobile for a tidy sum. These companies not only produce apps, they also create mobile (WAP) sites & mobile adverts (banners/videos).  Everyone is getting excited about mobile because it allows marketers to know what happened, by whom, when and where.  Ad campaigns involving SMS, MMS, Bluetooth and QR codes, allow marketers to gather a lot of accurate data on customers. They are also highly personal and sociable- they enable individuals, communities &brands to engage with each other in creative, innovative ways.

If you like a challenge, love working as part of a team and have razor sharp communication skills- mobile might just be your thing. Get in touch and we’ll help you in any way we can.

Later on this week we’ll be blogging about social media and SEO/PPC, so keep your PCs on and your eyes peeled!

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Will the National Minimum Wage really help interns?

June 7th, 2010

National Minimum Wage

Over the last few years, there have been numerous calls from pressure groups and individuals for new legislation to force companies to pay their interns the National Minimum Wage. They argue that by allowing companies to use unpaid interns, the whole system of internships and work experience is undemocratic and tailored to those with affluent parents, who can afford to work for free. With internships rapidly becoming a vital rung on the career ladder, it is important that the experience is accessible for everyone and isn’t based on wealth or location. However, simply forcing companies to pay interns the National Minimum Wage won’t solve the problem of elite internships. If anything, it may make it worse. Smaller companies will no longer have the budget to take on interns, leaving only the bigger, multinational companies open for work experience. This lack of internship opportunities will also promote the idea of ‘unofficial’ internships, which would undoubtedly see graduates with good connections and an influential network offering to work for free. This will make internships and work experience even more elitist, basing opportunities on existing connections rather than talent and skills. In a recent BBC news article discussing the possible solution to ‘unfair’ internships, Tom Richmond from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development states that ‘the concern would be that if you put more pressure on businesses to pay them more, it could be they say they simply can’t take on internships any more, and then we would see a drastic reduction in the opportunities available’.

Another reason for avoiding the enforcement of National Minimum Wage for internships is the simple fact that it would still be almost impossible to rent accommodation in London, pay travelling expenses, buy food and generally live on £4.83 an hour. Without an existing place to stay, graduates who live outside London find it extremely difficult to stay in the capital for weeks at a time. The solution to opening up the world of internships to all graduates lies not in enforcing the National Minimum Wage, but in a range of solutions which avoid putting financial pressure on companies, particularly during this time of slow economic recovery. We at Inspiring Interns believe that student loans should be made available for those wishing to complete an internship over the summer. We also believe that affordable, short term accommodation should be provided for those interns who have nowhere to stay. This could take the form of University halls of residence, which are often left vacant over the summer period. Currently, £15 million is distributed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to universities to support internships. However, many university careers services are ill equipped to handle this and as a result have a deficit of willing students to take up these paid internships, due to a lack of communication and engagement.

The government shouldn’t be punishing companies for taking on interns. By doing this, the companies will simply stop offering work experience and as a result internships will become even more difficult for talented graduates to obtain. We need structural change from the government to make internships more accessible. Only then will internships become fair.

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Does University equip graduates for the real world?

June 4th, 2010

graduate image

The last few days have seen a buzz of opinions and debate in the pages of the Metro about the expectations of graduates when it comes to life and jobs after University. Some have argued that the expectations of graduates are far too high upon obtaining a degree, ‘arrogantly’ believing that this qualification will issue them a fast track ticket into a high flying and well paying job. There has been a backlash against this opinion from a number of recent graduates, some of who bemoan the fact that they have studied hard for a number of years, only to find themselves working in a theme park, in a bar or stacking shelves. Others argue that not all graduates leave University expecting their degree to carry them into a fantastic job. Many work hard, completing work placements and gaining experience in their field of interest and eventually landing that dream job.

Highly academic subjects, whilst offering research, analysis and writing skills, do not equip a graduate with many specific skills needed for a career in marketing, sales or HR. This is where the deficit lies. With 300,000 due to graduate from University this summer, competition for graduate jobs will be extremely fierce and a good degree from a top notch University may not be enough to distinguish one graduate from the thousands of others. Work experience is therefore becoming an increasingly vital addition to any graduate CV. James Caan has recently written about the importance of internships for graduates in the Telegraph. He argues that securing work experience is crucial and encourages graduates to use their summer wisely, by completing an internship.

With the recession still looming large, companies are reluctant to risk hiring a graduate full time who, although may have an impeccable academic record, has no real work experience. An internship is the ideal way for a graduate to prove to an employer that they can do the job well and fit in with the company and in our experience, often results in a higher starting salary, since the element of risk has been removed. University is therefore increasingly viewed as the first step to graduate employment and an internship as the second. The first proves your academic worth and the second proves your ability to do a particular job. Combined, they are the key to career success.

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