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It’s not easy being an intern – but who wants it to be easy?

September 6th, 2010

Graduate intern

Upon initially reading the strives and toils of the five female interns featured in recent Telegraph article, ‘It’s not easy being an intern’, it seemed I would have another battle on my hands defending the value of graduate internships.

Describing their intern experiences – ranging from placements at Vivienne Westwood to Whitechapel Gallery – Jessica Turner explained how she has to commute an hour each day to her internship in London, whilst Hannah Sanderson noted that most of her friends were buying houses and have cars.

Yet, essentially, by the end of the piece, a simpler message doggedly and unavoidably rang through about internships – that they were worth it.

“I never feel I missed out,” explained Hannah, who is currently interning with emergency relief charity Merlin, “because I‘m doing what I’ve always wanted to do.”

All the women’s experiences listed in the piece demonstrated one of the initial great advantages of an internship – they allow access to employment areas otherwise often strictly closed to new, inexperienced graduates.

But of course, there is far more to an internship than just a bridge into those no-go zones. They can help build professional confidence, teach all the important occupational knowhow, provide relevant contacts and provide the opportunity to acquire work experience sometimes imperative for achieving a permanent position in the employment field you really want to be in.

But no, I’m afraid they aren’t always easy.

What would be the point if they were?

Just think about all those “Devil Wears Prada” incidents you hear about – I shall set the scene:  a lucky someone has accomplished an internship – and it’s going to be ground-breaking. They just know this is going to be their step up, the break they need to really make it in the world.

Then they arrive and get handed the morning’s post to sort and the office’s tea and coffee order to prepare. Turns out, discovering who has sugar – one lump or two? And alphabetising letters are to be some of the more complicated tasks they will be allocated during their time with the company. What do they learn? Nothing. Why? Because it’s all just too easy.

Crucially - internships are a learning experience. They are meant to be challenging! They are meant to make you think and they are meant to teach you something new, not wear out and bore the skills you’ve already perfected – even if you do make a damn good cuppa.

Sure, there is a different side to ‘not being easy’. Some people may need to take a second job to top up the pennies, or have to adhere to a strict budget for a few months, retained from previously saved funds topped up with the paid expenses from the internship. A tough, tiring and limiting experience as I very well know – I’ve been there numerous times myself.

But then is this any different to those who have to do the same to get through their university degree or college course?  - Minus the fact that they don’t get the added bonus of refunded expenses? No, not really. And do those people get criticised? Of course not. They get commended for their hard work and commitment to doing whatever is necessary to achieve their aspirations. Hmm, I see a connection here…

An internship should be regarded as a similar extended curve of education. It is meant, and should be regarded by both sides of the intern agreement as a training opportunity; a chance to work alongside professionals and get the practical skills and wisdom that just can’t be taught in a classroom.  Hopefully such a vocational and colourful educational experience will strongly compensate being a bit short for a few months or having to work a few extra hours. And if it doesn’t? Then leave! No internship should ever obligate you to anything, or -importantly – go on for longer than a few months, i.e. a reasonable amount of time to learn all the tricks of the trade. If it’s not working for you, find something that does.

Despite all the intern horror stories that often take prominence in the media (c’mon – it’s the media…) there are a lot of really good, genuine internships out there, organised and structured for everyone to get the most out of them. Just take our Telegraph girls for example. Hannah is now eagerly anticipating getting involved with the relief programme for Pakistan through her internship. “It’s still very early on for them,” she explains, “and that’s one of the issues with crises – when does the emergency finish? Usually, not for years.”

And Jessica, who was working as a script development intern for Future Films, is thrilled to have just been offered a paid role of production and development assistant at the company. “I’m so pleased to be able to stay,” she said. “It’s been tough getting to this point, but you can’t expect too much because it’s a competitive industry. Because my degree was in film theory, I didn’t come away with the practical experience of being able to go on set and know what’s what. Maybe I would’ve progressed more quickly if I had.”

Like the girls in the Telegraph article, few of the graduates I speak to regret doing an internship.  Instead, they appreciate what they gained from the experience, and are enjoying the career boost it provided for them.

And sure, few of them will say it was easy. But who wants it to be easy?

To read Telegraph article ‘It’s not easy being an intern’ visit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/7956303/Its-not-easy-being-an-intern.html

Inspiring Interns is the UK’s leading internship consultancy. We provide meaningful three month internships, mentoring and graduate job opportunities in London and throughout the UK. The majority of our roles lead to paid, full-time employment. For the latest vacancies visit our website: http://www.inspiringinterns.com

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Internships: It’s a win/win situation

September 1st, 2010

Ben Tatton-Brown, Co-Founder and CEO of RingRing Media

Ben Tatton-Brown, Co-Founder and CEO of RingRing Media

Earlier this year, Ben Tatton-Brown, co-founder and CEO of RingRing Media sold his company for an estimated $20m after just 18 months of business. Here, he explains the value of internships in aiding his business’ success, in advancing the interns themselves, and why he recommends Inspiring Interns to other start-up companies.

Anyone starting up a new company will tell you that time is precious, money is sparse and all hands are needed on deck. When we founded RingRing Media back in February 2008 we had no idea how things were going to pan out and knew that if we were to be successful, we would need to get some great-minded, dedicated people on the team.

It was 18 months ago that we first started using Inspiring Interns. They promised to always provide the right graduates for targeted roles – and, I can happily say, have yet to fail us in their pledge. After passing over a specification of the people we were looking for, Inspiring Interns immediately  sourced, interviewed and put forward suitable candidates for us to interview and choose from, saving a lot of time and toil. From the shortlist, we selected people who we felt would both fit into and bring something to the company – important, as we hoped to offer full-time positions after the initial three month internship. Starting primarily with just four staff, we worked hard to get the company up and running, quickly getting our name on the mobile advertising map.

In June 2008, RingRing Media launched the RingRing Exchange – the world’s first and largest mobile advertising exchange. Connecting operators, media owners, publishers and mobile apps to brands and agencies through one dynamic platform, the project proved a huge success and boosted the company to an internationally recognised level. As the company grew, our interns became  full-time staff, and we hired more Inspiring Interns to both support existing roles, and fill new ones within the business.

The internship arrangement not only benefited us, but also, significantly, the graduates. All of our interns were paid for their travel and lunch expenses and we ensured they received full training and hands-on work experience in their specific job area. Obviously this was great for us if they decided to stay on at the company, but it also importantly provided the graduate – many of whom had had little or no experience in a corporate environment – with the fundamental skills, practice and knowledge to advance them in other future employment ventures.

At the beginning of this year RingRing Media was acquired by a large  mobile advertising company called Amobee headquartered in Redwood City, California, an acquisition which allowed us to complement our revolutionary mobile advertising exchange  with the most deployed telco-grade ad-serving solution in the world and benefit from Amobee’s exceptional international connections. Together, as a new company, we are expanding rapidly; we have over 75 employees worldwide across 4 continents  - ten of which are Inspiring interns that stayed on with us full-time.

I can recommend Inspiring Interns to any business looking for talented and targeted graduate staff; we are aiming to be the largest mobile ad exchange in the world, and we will continue to use the services of Inspiring Interns to help achieve our aspirations.

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They think it’s all over – think again!

August 20th, 2010

They think it's all over - think again!

It’s fair to say there was a strong feeling of apprehension in the air travelling to work yesterday. Groups of parents quietly muttered expectations together on the regular commute, the headline of the daily freebie spoke of record results, and parades of nervously giggling young people – something of an unusual sight at that early time after weeks of summer holiday – indicated which day it was: results day.

And yet this year everybody’s concern wasn’t necessarily about what grades they got. For weeks the headlines had reiterated the same gloomy forecast for this year’s school leavers hoping to go to uni: that there are too many applicants and not enough places. With multi-million pound cuts leaving universities particularly feeling the sting, and student applications ever rising – a said result of heightened media emphasis on the necessity of having a degree mixed in with the effect of recession scare mongers crying about the lack of any employment opportunities right now – the future looked bleak for a generation where even hard work and good grades couldn’t save them from an already pre- determined fate.

The final published statistics said it all. A record 97.6% of students passed their exams, 27% of which acquired an A and one in 12 scored the new, media hyped A* grade. With such consistent high achievers there is no longer an obvious divide between those bound for academic greatness, and those who face a different (and often just as successful) route to their future careers. Instead, a top-end scramble for the 200,000 of those who didn’t quite achieve their predicted results (including notably a large number of brighter school-leavers who just missed out on achieving a set of ambitious grades) is occurring through clearing. Some – the lucky ones – will claw back a last chance second place option. The rest will leave empty-handed, disheartened and dejected by a system that has let them down, and often, with no back-up plan.

Go abroad for a degree the headlines shouted today at the crestfallen.  Take a gap year, go travelling, do an apprenticeship, enrol on a college course. Certainly it is a bewildering time for those whose aspirations were focused on being achieved via a university experience to suddenly have to rethink their strategy. Yet, however great the initial disappointment, and however patronising the media , they do have a point. A pro-active attitude to what could now be a new beginning (especially for those believers of everything happening for a reason…) is the only way to get through such grim times. After a summer of post-exam relaxation and fun it really is time to get off the sofa and get practical.

And by practical we mean making it count. It is time, as John Guy said in a recent Guardian article, “to be selfish and think about what would help your career most in the next five years.” A year out shouldn’t be viewed as a waste, but instead as an invaluable opportunity to not only get some life experience, but to also enjoy the luxury of time – away from the professional and peer pressure – to truly consider what to do in life and which career path to take.

Of course, just considering is often still not enough. How is anyone expected to know what they want to do when the options are things they have never done before? One of the main problems today is that a lot of life-affecting decisions are being made on assumption. As law graduate Ben found out, choosing a degree in something you think sounds good doesn’t always work out; “I hadn’t had any previous experience in Law before choosing to study it,” he explains, “but had always liked the idea of becoming a barrister one day from what I had seen on the TV. I had no idea how boring it was going to be and by the end of my three years knew that law was the last thing I wanted to do. I wish now I had done some work experience or an internship beforehand to give me some better direction on what to do with my life.”

Internships are always a great option – the value of work experience should never be underrated. Not only will an internship allow a proper, lengthy working insight into a particular job sector (rather than just the kettle boiling insight of a work experience kid…) but also, unlike with most work experience placements, they will pay travel and lunch expenses, meaning that there is nothing to lose via the experience, just lots to gain. Plus, in the midst of the current university administrative chaos, more companies are coming round to the concept of taking on interns of all different academic backgrounds – not just university graduates – meaning that finally the opportunity really is getting there for everyone.

Though for some it may seem like a huge defeat to have to wait another year, the professional and personal development that can be achieved during that time (not to mention all those extra points on the CV) can more than make up for it. A portfolio of working experience will not only heighten any candidate’s credentials, but also assist a far more informed decision of where to go and what to do next, and hopefully – if the perfect job has been discovered – drive the motivation to succeed in achieving the realised goal. Recent statistics have even shown that students who take a gap year often achieve better academically than those who go straight onto university – so don’t write off the year just yet.

Hopefully for those who did miss out on the grades, the potential that can be achieved during a year out will be realised, and rather than disappointment, a sense of new beginnings will join me on today’s trip home.

Inspiring Interns is a recruitment agency that place students and graduates in internships with a view to full-time employment.   See http://www.inspiringinterns.com for all the latest news and vacancies.

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Money v.s Life Experience

August 17th, 2010

Minimum wage

Internships: they’re becoming the trendy next-step for graduates, and are a proven success in getting young people onto the career ladder.  But as Julia Margo pointed out in her Sunday Times article, there’s one sure-fire way to ruin them, and it all comes down to money.

In terms of internships, it’s impossible to escape the wage debate – it is dominating all media interest on internships, diverting all attention away from the benefits of these invaluable work experiences.  People are forgetting why internships are there in the first place, what the actual concept means.  It is not a graduate job, nor is it a minimum-wage, bottom-of-the-company-tea-maker position.  It is an experience, a taster of what working-life is really like, an insight into a company.  Internships are not designed for graduates to make a quick buck and then move on to something else.  Their value lies within the experience they provide, which is what many school-leavers and graduates need before they plunge themselves head-first into a job about which they know very little.

The suggestion that all companies pay their interns the National Minimum Wage would entirely undermine the concept of what they stand for – work experience.  Clearly in some cases it is appropriate that the intern receives some level of remuneration.  However, if all internships paid the same amount as entry-level jobs, then why would a company hire an inexperienced intern over an experienced worker?  The intern may be talented and contribute to the company, but then again he or she may be totally unsuited to the role.  Why take the risk when there are plenty of capable potential employees waiting to be given the thumbs up for an entry level job?  Moreover, if internships cost more, then companies and businesses, who already invest a lot of staff time into running these placement programmes, simply won’t be willing to shell out huge amounts of money to run them.  Internships will be harder to come by, and young people will be in an even tougher position when they are looking to enter the job market.

The perception of internships needs to revert back to what it used to be – people should focus on the reasons for why internships occurred in the first place: for the experience, not the pay packet.

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How much are you willing to pay for higher education?

August 13th, 2010

IOUWith A-Level results released next Thursday, it looks set to be a tough ride for the thousands of people who have applied to university for the coming academic year. With even more barriers to overcome, and even more costs to factor in, the big question is: how much are students willing to pay for higher education?

The first hurdle to leap over is actually securing a place at university.  We all know that this year has seen record numbers of university applicants, following a trend of eager teens on the quest to continue their studies (or delaying their entrance into the real world of work).  If they do manage to secure a university place, then two more giants need overcoming.

Student debt.  For the lucky few out there, student debt is not a major concern.  However, for the majority of university students and graduates, student debt forms a menacing black cloud that stands as a threat to the financial stability of themselves and their families.  New figures have now been released by online university guide Push which estimate university starters of 2010 will have to endure up to £25,000 worth of debt when they finish their degrees.  The average amount of debt accrued per year has risen by 5.4 per cent, with some universities costing even more; Goldsmiths, University of London, expect their graduates to leave with an average debt of £36,638, while London’s Central School of Speech and Drama graduates bid their university farewell with an IOU of £38,071.

Push editor Johnny Rich is right in his concern that “many talented potential students may shy away when they hear a degree will cost £25,000”, though there are means to support students through their years of tough budgeting, aside from the bank of mum and dad.  The Student Loans Company is a UK public sector organisation established to provide financial support to over one million students annually across the UK.  In theory, this should induce a sigh of relief from many a student-to-be, but beware the woes of applying for a student loan!  It may not be as peachy as it should be.

Thousands of students will shudder at the mere memory of last year’s student finance fiasco; by the start of the 2009 academic year the Student Loans Company had processed a mere 43 per cent of applications, forcing many to simply hold tight and ‘manage’ for a number of weeks at university without any financial support.  The company are looking to avoid a similar situation this coming year, beginning with the appointment of Ed Lester as the interim chief executive.  Under his leadership, 63 per cent of applications have already been approved. Of those outstanding, 103,000 require applicants to provide further information, while a further 37,000 have been classified as “works in progress”.  Despite Mr Lester’s efforts, including hiring more than 520 additional staff to deal with telephone enquiries and to process applications, he has already stated that “it may be uncomfortable for a week or two” come September.  Is it too cynical to presume that the word ‘uncomfortable’ was deliberately ambiguous? Perhaps Lester wanted to dissuade  students from rashly deciding to forfeit their place for fear of not being able to survive financially.

The question remains: is a university degree enough of an investment to persuade the masses into thousands of pounds worth of debt?  According to a spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, “graduates on average have better employment prospects and can expect to earn at least £100,000, net of tax, more than non-graduates across their working lives.”  Perhaps it is worth feeling uncomfortable after all.

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Internships – a ‘first stage of recruitment’

August 9th, 2010

I got a new job

If the term ‘internship’ makes you think of tea-making and picking up the boss’s dry cleaning then think again – internships are now being hailed by the BBC as almost a ‘guaranteed rite of passage’ in the ever-competitive job market.

2009 saw record numbers of university leavers and new figures show more than 660,000 people have applied for a university place for the next academic year.  This staggering amount is up by 12 per cent from last year, once again breaking the record for the number of university applicants.  With these figures on the rise, the coalition government have made an extra 10,000 university places to support the hefty amount of applications, meaning more students than ever will be graduating with degrees in the coming years.  It is becoming even harder for employers to recruit graduates when they simply cannot distinguish who is more qualified for the job – how does one chose between the graduate with the 2:1 History degree from Durham or the 2:1 English Literature graduate from Bristol?

The answer, I hear you cry, is internships.  These are becoming the latest box that graduates need to tick in order for them to increase their employability and stand out from the other hundreds of applicants after the same job.  According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 21.7% of graduates in full employment within six months of graduating were taken on by employees who had previously provided them with some form of work experience.  It would appear that employers are less willing to gamble on a new recruit who may look fantastic on paper, instead choosing to take on someone who has already experienced working at the company and who therefore has a “basic grasp of workplace dynamics”, according to a BBC article.  In other words, the internship has become an ‘extended interview’ whereby the intern has a chance to showcase their abilities and see if they fit into the company lifestyle.

One could even go as far as saying personalities are coming back into fashion as far as job placements go – seemingly, it’s no longer just about the prestigious university and impressive degree result; employers are interested in who they are recruiting rather than trusting the CV alone.

So where does this leave graduates? With competition for entry-level jobs as tough as it has ever been there is no room to rest on your laurels. A good degree is not enough to take you onto the career ladder: experience, contacts and demonstrable skills are your key to a first job. An internship will give you all three. So the message is clear: don’t get left behind – call us, email us, tweet us, facebook us, send us a pigeon or do anything to get in touch so that you can do an internship and realise your potential.

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Are you flexible enough?

August 2nd, 2010

A recent study by Orange has revealed that more and more job-seekers are flexible blog imageprepared to work flexible hours in their first job.

Out of the 1000 students that Orange questioned, over 53% said that they expected to work on a flexible basis, either working remotely or out of the traditional office working hours.  A further 69% said that this option was of high importance to them.  Gone are the days of graduates expecting the standard 9-5 working day for their first job – remote and mobile work has become such an integral component of corporate life that now there seems no need to even be in the office.

But what will this do in the long run to office mentality and general company well-being?  Will the annual Christmas party be a room full of people who have only ever communicated via conference-call or online, unable to recognise one another face-to-face?  Flexible working is undoubtedly a convenient way to work – you can chose your hours if your life is too hectic to fit to the 9-5 regime, or if you don’t have the means to get to the office, you can stay at home or go to the local Starbucks and login remotely.  Life no longer has to fit around work – today work can fit around your life.

These new statistics come at a time when Facebook has just revealed its worldwide population of over 500 million users, who collectively spend 700 billion minutes per month on the social networking site.  This undoubtedly confirms the influence of technology and the growing importance of social media in today’s world.  Access to networking sites in their first job also came high up on the list to graduates – 43% felt that access to sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn was integral to building up contact lists for their professional development.  Social networking is no longer confined to keeping in touch with friends and family; it’s fast becoming the most important way to connect with potential clients, business partners, and new employees.

Max Taylor, Director of Corporate Marketing at Orange, commented on his findings.  “Today’s graduates are far more digitally savvy than their counterparts of ten – or even five – years ago.  They expect to be able to work on the move and make use of tools like social media and the internet wherever they are.”  Yet despite the increased flexibility that social networks provide, there may also be some negative knock-on effects; social networking and modern technology may be doing a very good job at destroying the most basic of human abilities – that to communicate with other individuals.  In a world where technology rules, it is easy to forget how simple things like eye contact and body language make a huge difference in how a person is perceived, but these aspects are instantly lost behind a computer screen.  For the ‘flexible worker’, physical interaction between work colleagues may arguably be less important than the amount of Facebook friends or LinkedIn connections.  Is this the high-tech future we are heading towards?

Inspiring Interns is a recruitment agency that place students and graduates in internships with a view to full-time employment.   See http://www.inspiringinterns.com for all the latest news and vacancies.

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Fashion Internships – a Fashion Faux Pas?

July 27th, 2010

Alternative-fashion-week--001For the student or graduate of fashion, it would be fair to say breaking into the London fashion scene is high up on the ‘to-do’ list.  Alongside Paris, Milan and New York, London claims the title of being one of the fashion capitals of the world, harbouring some of the most sought-after designers and never failing to produce fresh talent each year from some of the most prestigious fashion schools and colleges.  It’s such a highly sought-after career path that it seems like the young and inexperienced are willing to undergo exploitation in order to secure their dream job.

An article written by Jamie Elliott and published in the Guardian details the dream-turned-nightmare of an intern at Alexander McQueen, who was forced to work strenuously for long hours every day, enduring 8 months of unpaid work before deciding to quit.  Not only had he regularly been working seven days a week and doing tasks fit for actual employees, but he soon realised that there was realistically no chance of him ever gaining full employment.  His account is a chilling reminder that there are some companies out there who are more than willing to exploit their interns, unfairly subjecting them to the same working conditions and targets as actual employees, or sometimes even worse.

If you are looking for a fashion internship, fear not!  This is by no means ‘the norm’ and you should not feel disheartened by stories such as these.  There are always fantastic internships available which will feed your passion for fashion without the accompanying horror story.  Poppy, who completed a fashion internship through Inspiring Interns and is now a fashion designer at Timex Fashion 2, spoke about her experience as a fashion intern: “I learnt so much during my time there. I was able to build on my interpersonal skills, gain and expand my knowledge about the whole fashion industry, as well as widen my career prospects within the sector”.  Read her testimonial and a whole range of others at http://www.inspiringinterns.com/interns/testimonials/

Using a reputable internship agency is a safe way to ensure your work experience is a beneficial undertaking.  At Inspiring Interns we advertise a number of fashion internships, and we thoroughly check the companies beforehand to make sure that our interns’ experiences will be fair and non-exploitative, as well as being genuinely worthwhile.  We strive to provide internships which will lead to full-time employment, seeing the three-month period as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.  Take a look at our website at http://inspiringinterns.com/interns/vacancies/ for the latest vacancies to see if anything takes your fancy.

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Eine deutsche Praktikantin in England : A German intern in England

July 22nd, 2010
Anja is 18 years old and is interning in the UK for six months.   She is originally from Leipzig in Germany and is now living near Canary Wharf in London.  It took her three months to arrange her placement through an international recruiter in Germany and she is just coming to the end of her third week in London.
Why did you choose to work in the UK?
My boyfriend had planned to move out of the country and we wanted to go somewhere together.  He could have gone elsewhere to Singapore or Spain, but I also wanted to move out of Germany and improve my language skills.  I am almost fluent in Spanish and I also know a lot about Spanish culture, I could tell you practically everything about the country!  I wanted to live in a country where I could learn about the culture and people who live there, so we chose England.
What do you hope to gain from your experience?
Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out what I want to study, because there are so many areas that are interesting and it’s hard to make a decision.  From my internship I want to get some experience of the working world.
Did you have to prepare a lot for moving to London?
I actually packed my bag the evening before I came away!  It was less preparation than I had thought.  Obviously there are some things to organise when you move to a new country, but in the end it was quite easy.
What are the things you like about working in a foreign country?
It’s really different from my own country, especially the people – it’s amazing to observe them and learn and laugh.  There are also lots of shops here that don’t exist in Germany so it’s fun to go in and look around and get a feel for English tastes.
Are there any negatives about living and working in a foreign country?
I do miss my friends and my family but I knew this would happen.  I’m German and my boyfriend is French and we both don’t speak each other’s languages, we needed to move somewhere outside of France and Germany.  I sometimes have difficulty with business vocabulary but the language is not a problem – I think in internships and work it’s important that people from another country get a chance to prove themselves even if English is not their first language.
Do you think doing an internship abroad will make a difference back home?
Yes it will.  My language skills are going to be much better, and being independent will help to expand my knowledge.  I like the idea of making friendships so in the future I can visit the country again and the friends I have made can visit me.
Although you’ve only been in London for a short while, do you think you will want to work here in the future?
I actually expected a little more from London, but I’ve only been here for three weeks.  It is hard to find friends outside of your work – in the first few days it seems impossible but I’m beginning to find my feet and I’m sure I will meet new people.  I can imagine living in London for a while.
Inspiring Interns is a recruitment agency that place students and graduates in internships with a view to full-time employment.  They help both British and international candidates.  See http://www.inspiringinterns.com for all the latest news and vacancies.

anja photo blog

Anja is 18 years old and is interning in the UK for six months.   She is originally from Leipzig in Germany and is now living near Canary Wharf in London.  It took her three months to arrange her placement through an international recruiter in Germany and she is just coming to the end of her third week in London.

Why did you choose to work in the UK?

My boyfriend had planned to move out of the country and we wanted to go somewhere together.  He could have gone elsewhere to Singapore or Spain, but I also wanted to move out of Germany and improve my language skills.  I am almost fluent in Spanish and I also know a lot about Spanish culture, I could tell you practically everything about the country!  I wanted to live in a country where I could learn about the culture and people who live there, so we chose England.

What do you hope to gain from your experience?

Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out what I want to study, because there are so many areas that are interesting and it’s hard to make a decision.  From my internship I want to get some experience of the working world.

Did you have to prepare a lot for moving to London?

I actually packed my bag the evening before I came away!  It was less preparation than I had thought.  Obviously there are some things to organise when you move to a new country, but in the end it was quite easy.

What are the things you like about working in a foreign country?

It’s really different from my own country, especially the people – it’s amazing to observe them and learn and laugh.  There are also lots of shops here that don’t exist in Germany so it’s fun to go in and look around and get a feel for English tastes.

Are there any negatives about living and working in a foreign country?

I do miss my friends and my family but I knew this would happen.  I’m German and my boyfriend is French and we both don’t speak each other’s languages, we needed to move somewhere outside of France and Germany.  I sometimes have difficulty with business vocabulary but the language is not a problem – I think in internships and work it’s important that people from another country get a chance to prove themselves even if English is not their first language.

Do you think doing an internship abroad will make a difference back home?

Yes it will.  My language skills are going to be much better, and being independent will help to expand my knowledge.  I like the idea of making friendships so in the future I can visit the country again and the friends I have made can visit me.

Although you’ve only been in London for a short while, do you think you will want to work here in the future?

I actually expected a little more from London, but I’ve only been here for three weeks.  It is hard to find friends outside of your work – in the first few days it seems impossible but I’m beginning to find my feet and I’m sure I will meet new people.  I can imagine living in London for a while.

Inspiring Interns is a recruitment agency that place students and graduates in internships with a view to full-time employment.  They help both British and international candidates.  See http://www.inspiringinterns.com for all the latest news and vacancies.

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Graduate Tax – Friend or Foe?

July 19th, 2010

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As a graduate or current student, the words ‘tuition fees’ and ‘student debt’ may make you shudder at the mere thought of them.  You might want to add ‘graduate tax’ to this list, as the Government has revealed plans to totally scrap the tuition fee system.

Vince Cable, the new Business Secretary under the Coalition Government, gave his first speech on Thursday outlining the proposal to introduce a graduate tax to replace tuition fees.  According to Cable it would be a fairer system, whereby graduates are taxed according to their earnings, higher earners taxed considerable more than those with lower salaries.  “The problem”, he said, with the current tuition-fee system, is that “it is a fixed sum – a poll tax – regardless of the income of the graduate. It surely can’t be right that a teacher or care worker or research scientist is expected to pay the same graduate contribution as a top commercial lawyer or surgeon or City analyst whose graduate premium is so much bigger.”

The proposal comes as part of an independent review, led by Lord Browne, which is assessing how universities are to be funded in the future, with the report being published in the Autumn.  There are a number of keys issues that are going to be reviewed alongside the new proposal, including the impact it will have on student debt and how to encourage more students from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into higher education.

NUS (National Union of Students) President, Aaron Porter, commented after Cable’s proposal, stating his opinion that “the fair solution is to abolish tuition fees and ensure that graduate contributions are based on actual earnings in the real world, rather than sticker prices in prospectuses, which are based on guesswork”.

So does this mean that tuition fees, as well as a hefty student debt, will soon be a distant memory?  Cable recognised this as a major problem with our current university system – that students now expect to come out of university with huge amounts of money owed to the Government.  “Most of us”, he said, “don’t think of our future tax obligations as ‘debt’”.  However, the new tax could mean the top 20 per cent of earners will be paying the equivalent of £16,000-a-year tuition fees, according to The Russel Group which represents twenty elite universities.  Perhaps a graduate tax is the way forward – what do you think?  Is it a fairer system or an excuse to wring out more money from graduates?  Tell us your thoughts.

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