Can offering internships create life-long brand ambassadors?
As I was meandering through the Jungle daily Twitterfeed this morning, I noticed one particular tweet that posed the thought on which this article has been based… “Internships create brand ambassadors for your company” (tweet by CERN’s @Recruiter_Two).
Given the UK employment’s current state, would it be appropriate to offer more internships as a means to helpfully place young people into the sector in which they wish to pursue their future careers? Would this really help reduce youth unemployment? And what’s in it for the brand’s who offer these internships?
These questions are best answered by those who are applying for or who have been placed into an internship… So we found ourselves a student of the University of Leeds who was willing to share her thoughts on how she views brands and businesses who offer internships.
Emma Petfield is studying English Language and Literature with a keen interest in Social Media. As a keen blogger (you can read her exceptionally interesting blogs here) Emma regularly writes content for her own blogs and others to which she contributes.
In 2012, Emma was successfully placed onto an internship at the University of Leeds where she worked alongside another intern writing content for the Careers Center website. Emma impressed them so much so that she was asked to stay on throughout the academic year, but did this change her perception of the University brand?
“It showed me that the University experience is so much more than lectures and essays to bury yourself under. You can actually engage and gain some real help from the people who are provided to give you the best experience.”
Research has indicated that those offered an internship are either kept on or have their internship extended and some offered permanent positions within the company after completing their internship. Perhaps it’s the willingness of a company to help guide and develop the skills of someone eager to positively contribute to a company or industry.
“The Careers Centre is tucked away in the University but does a lot of vital work towards the employability of the students and, at the end of the day, we all want a job at the end of our degree.”
After pondering this question for a few moments I decided to take to Facebook and ask our ‘Likers’ for their thoughts.
87% of those who responded to the poll think that internships can create life-long brand ambassadors, but what do you think?
We were given some very useful feedback by one particular ‘Liker’, Lorna Cole, who now works in Abu Dhabi. Lorna previously interned for a company who left a positive impression, here she tells us her experience:
“I did an internship for PushOn, a medium sized Manchester based Online Marketing Agency. It was a great experience and I got a lot out of it. Happy to return the favour with retweets and recommendations and any other help they might need even though I’m long gone!”
As an intern at Jungle myself, I have an affinity towards a brand who offers a student or graduate the opportunity to succeed in their chosen market and seeing as mine was digital marketing, Jungle was the only company I wanted to work for!
Are you currently involved in an internship? Would an internship make you a life-long brand ambassador? Let us know in the comment box below! You can also tweet us at @Jungle_Drums
