With such a broad range of skills required in marketing today, internships are fast becoming the essential, first step out of university.
Marketing is a fiercely competitive industry. There's an ever-increasing diversification of channels, and the list of skills expected from new graduates continues to grow. So how can you make the transition from degree to high-flying marketer? It's all about getting the right experience.
Neil Morris, Deputy Managing Director of the Institute of Direct Marketing, recently commented in an article for Marketing Week; "Young people in marketing understand concepts at a superficial level, but don't know how to apply their knowledge. They can collect data, but not analyse it; or they've learned a theory, but don't understand its relevance."
Internships help to cement the relationship between theory and practice. According to Ros Kindersley, Managing Director of recruitment consultancy, JFL Search & Selection, "Internships are increasingly being favoured by big brands, like Marks & Spencer, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever. They allow junior candidates to experience different areas of the business, while being guided and mentored throughout the process to leave them with a broad level of experience and a variety of established skills."
Without relevant industry experience, many employers won't even look at new graduates - and without that first big break, graduates simply cannot build up the experience they need to get a job in their chosen field.
"A marketing internship helps graduates build up such skills as learning to write persuasive copy; understanding e-marketing, sales management, strategy development and implementation; developing client handling skills, commercial awareness, and media knowledge; Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Social Media Optimisation (SMO), plus a whole range of other skills. While students may be educated in these areas - employers want to see that they're able to put that knowledge into practice in a real, work environment." Joy Stefanicki, project manager at West Midlands Graduate Internships.
Internships give you that all-important opportunity to prove yourself. Recent graduate, Kiran Patel, graduated with a BA (Hons) in Media & Communication and landed an internship at 'The Vine' publication. She quickly earned recognition as a talented professional and is now a valuable member of the team. "Kiran hit the ground running; producing a high standard of work from day one and without much guidance. I'm amazed at the level of professionalism, and Kiran's now about to start developing our social networking presence." Joanne Gale, Senior Account Manager, The Vine.
The West Midlands Graduate Internships programme (WMGI) has reported an overwhelming demand for sales, marketing and PR graduates by local businesses in Birmingham and the Black Country. And it seems that more and more graduates are starting to realise the importance of widening their approach beyond traditional recruitment.
"Internships are all about opportunity. It's the opportunity to learn vital, on-the-job skills. It's the chance to make important contacts in the industry. It helps counter the difficulties of recession where so many businesses simply are not recruiting. And it gives graduates the ability to stand out from the crowd in a way that the normal recruitment process does not allow. Joy Stefanicki, project manager at West Midlands Graduate Internships.