Meet Charlotte, our new social media intern for the summer, just two weeks into her placement she gives us a rundown of her experience so far…

“I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, Calibre Search is not your average internship”

As a student you spend countless hours, days and weeks searching for summer internships. Work experience is essential to getting the graduate job you want, we all know it and we are all reminded of it far too regularly. Consequently, when summer comes, job site searches are our lives. Online applications are a killer and knowing the good from the downright awful isn’t that easy.

After five summers of different internships I would class myself as somewhat of a “job criteria connoisseur” I know the buzz words that employers use to entice us desperate students and I know that most are too good to be true.

“Not your average internship” is up there with the most overused and inaccurate job descriptions I’ve come across. Whilst the description remains vague you imagine trips abroad, a temporary position on the board of directors and 10 till 2 days whilst being paid fulltime. In reality, it means you are still filing for hours, getting coffee and inputting data into a spreadsheet but at this company YOU GET TO WEAR FLIPFLOPS ON A THURSDAY!!

So, with my connoisseur head on I was somewhat sceptical when I went for my first job interview with Calibre just over a month ago. Despite the job criteria being clear “marketing summer internship” and with no embellished descriptions, stepping into the office on my interview day there were beanbag chairs, a table tennis table and goldfish bowl all within a few feet of me. The tell tail signs of a “not your average internship” office. I’d fallen for this before. I wasn’t being fooled.

I have had plenty of summer internships over the years and I knew what to expect, you start at the bottom and you do the jobs everyone else doesn’t want to do. I was applying for Calibre because I liked their values, the size of the company and a chance to work on marketing campaigns...and money, as a student with an overdraft, I needed money. But I wasn’t expecting anything particularly different to the traditional internship.

A week after my job interview and I was offered the job! I was delighted and very excited to start the following week. Getting a good, local and paid internship, I was the envy of my fellow student friends, but we all knew the reality of an internship and by week two the excitement and enthusiasm for the job starts to dwindle.

Two weeks have passed and with all the will in the world I can’t stop myself: I cant believe I’m actually saying this, Calibre Search is not your average internship.

This last few weeks has raised the bar for any future internship. Not only are the people lovely, the directors super friendly and the office in a great location but two weeks in and I already feel like a valued and important member of the team.

I’ve been given the freedom to create campaigns, pitching to the directors almost daily, the opportunity to attend events with the team to learn hands on rather than following a manual and important responsibilities from day one.

After 10 days, I’m not counting down the days until it ends -like I’ve had a habit of doing-, I’m gutted I’m already two weeks down.
Yes, I’m still in the honeymoon period but I honestly believe that this could be the first time that the job criteria doesn’t do an internship justice. Two weeks in and I can’t wait to see where the placement takes me, what more I can learn and how I can help the company’s marketing grow*.

So what has the first two weeks at Calibre Search taught me?
1. Not all internships are the same;
2. Sometimes a beanbag chair is the sign of good things to come; and
3. Don’t try and persuade your Manchester United Supporting boss to wear a Leeds United Shirt, it won’t go down well!

I wonder if I will feel the same in another two week, check back to see my next update of The Intern Diaries!

*Calibre Search has not bribed me with extra money, holidays or a Leeds United Season tickets to produce this post, however all are welcome…