I was one of those people at university a couple of years ago that had it drummed into her that degrees mattered! If I’m being completely honest, in hindsight, and the mess that has been our economy for the last couple of years, I’m not sure that I would have tried so hard. But that aside, at that moment of refreshing your computer screen every five seconds in heart stopping nerves, I was thrilled to see that I had achieved the results that I wanted and worked so hard for. My mum obviously cried and then fought with my dad about not getting excited enough!

Anyway, I must admit that I was ecstatic! Not just about all those hours, coffees (and red bulls) in the library finally paying off, but the new slight sense of relief I was now experiencing in regards to my job hunt. The ‘it must be easy to get a great job doing exactly what I want’ vibe which my friends and I celebrated and relaxed in the knowledge of for the next week (well a month if I’m truthful).
In hindsight, the economy and headless suits slightly brought my reverie into a premature end.

All I wanted to do was travel when I left university, but I knew that at some point I would want to knuckle down and make something of myself. I didn’t know ‘exactly’ know what I wanted to do, but got stuck into various jobs to try my hand – in property, fashion and pr with a variety of corporate and start up businesses. I enjoyed my jobs and learnt invaluable skills along the way, but got slightly tiresome of being the bottom rung of the ladder, and not really knowing how long my job would be available for.

It was at this point after receiving through the daily vacancy email results and a recruitment company progress meeting scheduled for the following week that I found an advert for an internship at Ivy Lettings.

Now I had always fantasised about working in the travel industry as I think many graduates do these days; the idea of combining a serious career with the travel bug which never truly leaves your system. The internship was to work for a small company holding a niche position in the travel market – offering a ‘home from home’ experience in London for travellers. Having experience in marketing, properties and travel – I applied immediately!

I met Guy in the Westfield’s centre, (perhaps a secret shopaholic?!) and chatted through what I could bring to the company. Only then did I learn that by ‘small company’ it was just 1 person and it was a rare chance to get involved with an entrepreneurial company from its early stages with opportunities for growth all around. I was shocked to say the least but impressed! (And my first impressions were indeed correct with his eyes flickering towards the Mac store and our office now being the Mac showroom of Kensington!)

It is a very different thing working for a small business and even more so when on your first day you move into the new office and organise everything from phone lines and stationary to where the nearest coffee shops are as you haven’t got any kitchen supplies in yet. But without a doubt it allows you to feel part of something new and exciting from the very beginning, and even better, has given me such as diverse role that I don’t think I could ever go back to the corporate side of things.

Working in a small team can feel strange at first and the team meetings are granted a bit strange/pointless with just the two of us. But the over-riding advantage is the vast role variety and opportunities which only a small growing business can offer. No two days are the same, with meeting new clients, new properties, website management and marketing schemes as just a few, as well as business expansion ideas and strategies when you get the time. There are so many new avenues to explore that there is never a dull moment. I believe that business really does work to the motto that you reap what you sow, and just as it was the most satisfying moment seeing those percentage marks pop up on the computer screen a couple of years ok, it is rewarding to read rave reviews on the internet after your hard work and watching the business expand –we’ve just taken on a third colleague!

The best thing about small businesses also rings true with internships – the opportunity to get stuck in and try things! No one can ever be good at everything, but only by trying your hand at diverse tasks and inevitably doing things wrong at some point will teach you your strengths and being able to play to these is key with employers. Being thrown in at the deep end can be daunting, or rather IS daunting but only in hindsight will you realise how many skills you learn and perhaps discover that you never knew you had. Even often overlooked aspects such as the confidence you gain working with unfamiliar people and meeting new clients are invaluable skills which employers will look for (especially in that all important confident hand shake).

The willingness to try and get stuck in is what employers will be most impressed with and might be the deciding factor in turning an internship or opportunity into a full time position.

Everyone’s telling you what a fantastic idea internships are – how you learn so much, build your CV and get your foot in the doors. All true, but once you’re sold on the idea, having cultivated that ‘can do’ attitude and bagged the internship(s), then making the leap from hungry intern to fully fledged employee can be troubling.

It strikes me the problem is it’s easy to be good value for money to a company when only being paid expenses – almost whatever positive contribution you make will be a help. But to become essential to everyday working life and worth good money, not to lose takes a different skill set than just being a good intern. I’ve done numerous internships whilst attempting to find a way into fashion journalism, and at times I’ve wondered whether I haven’t fallen into an ‘intern trap’ – forever a great intern, without ever being employed.

Sure I’d had great feedback, people were always sorry to see me go – but with the lack of budget allocated to editorial staff, no one was putting their money where their mouth was. Editorial positions are not advertised with ‘competitive salary’… just ‘salary’.

BUT, finally, I was offered my first paid editorial job – editorial assistant and fashion news writer for a well known website. It was temporary, but a huge validation, confirming months of hard work hadn’t been in vain. In taking my first step (which I was convinced I was overly ready for), despite all my work experience, I realised what a big one it actually was. With jobs so difficult to come by, everyone on the payroll has to pull more than their weight – especially newbies. Value for money will now mean more than an inquisitive nature and an exceptional cuppa. All the great ideas you had as an intern will now have to come more frequently, on demand and into fruition if you’re to meet steep expectations.

I say this not just to prepare you for the fact that dream jobs will be hard work even after you get them – I’m sure by the time you get there you’ll be willing to work hard enough to face those challenges. The experience has shone a bit of light for me on how I could have come across a more employable intern because as I now see it, giving an employer what they may want from an intern and what they need in an employee is often very different. Here are my tips on convincing employers you’re up to the job, not just the internship:

1. Take on responsibility wherever you can – think long term projects, e.g. redesigning any inefficient systems they use. Make their lives easier, but do it all yourself – don’t just have the idea, be prepared to see it through and manage the project from start to finish. Let them know when it’s done and how it makes life easier. If possible be the only one to know how the new system works!
2. When work loads are heavy, ask to do the low priority work of the paid staff – depending on your placement you might be doing this already, but use their state of panic as the opportunity to take on new tasks you haven’t yet been asked to do. This will have the effect of narrowing the psychological gap between them and you.
3. Write a list of everything great you’ve done since being in the placement (if you can, include one unfinished project) and have a list of ideas for the future. Request a meeting with whoever is responsible for your placement, present them with the list, your ideas for the future and say you would like to stay with the company and why. Explain why this would be cost effective for them (all the time you would save them, how much more work could be done overall, what impact this would have on the company etc). Most company budgets are strained at the moment – could they afford to take you on part time?

There are so many more ideas that could help with making the jump. If you think of one, post them below and help fellow impoverished graduates get employed. Or just tell other people your experiences – they really do help.

Ruth Gibbs

I think I originally thought it would all be very clear-cut. Finish university, have the summer off and then ‘Bang!’ – straight into the dream job I always wanted… Well it’s a year down the line and I’m afraid to say I’m still looking for it BUT I have spent the last 4 months doing something. Actually doing something every day, having something to get out of bed for and to make weekends feel like they are well-deserved! A friend of mine introduced me to WEXO and after a couple of interviews, I accepted a paid internship.

For the past 4 months, I have been working for new start-up, made.com, an online furniture company, backed by Brent Hoberman, that cuts out the middleman by ordering in bulk and thus delivers at affordable prices. Design or furniture was never something I thought I’d start having an interest in at all so it took a while for me to come round to the idea. My responsibilities here have been varied; I am first port of call for all customer and press enquiries (which can get pretty busy), I also write the design blog on our site and have started doing the copy for product pages. It is a varied role and although I am still trying to explore and pinpoint what I would ideally like to do as a career, it has been an enlightening experience. Working in a small start-up company is educational as you are exposed to all sorts of vocations and involved in many different decisions. Opinions count and working in a small team makes you feel like you’re really part of it.

Since starting here in April, our collection has tripled and we launch a new product every week. This means there is always something to do and with our first deliveries, lots of customers to deal with. This can be quite testing but it does teach you to be patient and deal with all sorts of angry, frustrated or sometimes even happy people!

Looking back over the past few months, this has been time well spent, as I had come to the end of my tether with temping agencies and tedious, unrewarding roles. I have now gained more hands-on experience, feel like a part of something and I’m still not entirely sure what I want to do but I’ve learnt a lot and it has undoubtedly been a good starting point.

Nicola Seagroatt