Since getting underway in February this year, Inspiring Interns have been striving to match student and graduates with SMEs in mutually beneficial partnerships. Solving the twin crises of mass youth unemployment and the effect of the recession on small businesses has been our mission plan, and we like to think we’ve done pretty well. Coming soon: Inspiring Interns end poverty and bring about world peace.

In all seriousness 2009 has been a difficult year for many people, as the economic downturn proved to be one of the longest of recent times. Young people (students and graduates in particular) were badly hit by the lack of jobs available. Many have resorted to menial work, for which they are wildly overqualified, in order to make ends meet. Inspiring are working to resolve this situation.

By matching high calibre candidates with smaller enterprises and start-ups we provide outstanding opportunities for young people to boost their CVs with meaningful placements, while new businesses can benefit from the candidates’ many abilities as they look to grow, but without major overheads.

When she came to us Jo was really struggling to find a position relevant to her education, despite having successfully completed a Masters in marketing. She bemoaned the fact that “as there were so many candidates applying to every role, I was not even considered for interviews. I began to feel that all the years I had spent studying were for nothing because I was looking at accepting menial retail jobs in order to pay the bills. I was disheartened, depressed, disillusioned, and very skint!”

Sadly Jo’s story is all too typical of the current job market. Happily, the resolution is very typical of Inspiring’s work (this stuff writes itself sometimes):

“Inspiring totally sorted me out! They helped lift me out of despondency and set me on the right path to eventually securing a permanent, paid position. I am now working for a viral seeding agency in East London, and I am learning loads. I really get stuck in with the daily operations of the agency and my input is valued and respected. I feel that I am on to a good thing now, and I owe a lot of my excitement about the future to Inspiring Interns.” We didn’t even have to pay her to say that or nuffink. How nice.

George was in a very similar position when he came to us a few months ago: “After searching for an internship for almost a year with no luck, Inspiring Interns turned the situation round for me. They found me a position in the exact area I was looking to work in. My time there was so beneficial – with the projects and promotions I was able to take part in or oversee I gained so much.“ Cue a collective ‘ahh’ around the office and an outbreak of feeling warm and fuzzy.

So in a year characterised by much economic negativity, Inspiring Interns have gone some way to helping students and graduates turn the corner in the job market. In fact Gordon Brown has just named us British Company of the Decade*. So why not give us a go?
*He hasn’t. But he should.

Inspiring Interns- specializing in internships and work experience in London – visit http://www.inspiringinterns.com/