As every college student knows, internships are an integral part of the college experience. Thousands of students compete every semester for top internship opportunities even if they don’t get paid. But what they don’t realize is that there a lot opportunities where they don’t even have to leave campus.
Right now, there are hundreds of companies, big and small, that are offering students the chance to work for them. Places like Coca-Cola, Victoria’s Secret PINK, Spotify and even Apple have programs geared toward having students promote their products on college campuses.
These companies are now designing programs for college students to represent them at their school. This is a great way to not only gain experience in working for a company, but students can get free stuff too. Not to mention there are a lot of campus events that representatives can go to for free and even meet the stars of the show.
Some may require students to be communication or business majors because of all the promoting and event planning that is required for each program. But most companies will let any student who applies have a chance to help advertise what ever product they want college students to have.
Being a part of a company in this way is fun and educational for the students involved. They can go to campus events or even create their own events based on the level of promotion the company wants. Students gain real world experience by using social media and campus organizations to their advantage on behalf of the company they are representing, which is more than some internships can offer. Some companies may not pay their representatives, but there are prizes like money or other products related to the company after completing specific challenges and promotions.
As a Spotify representative, I can say this experience isn’t just about sharing Facebook content or putting out posters like many other students believe it to be. We have to apply, fill out forms, go through training and complete specific tasks by the end of the semester. If we do not complete these tasks, we don’t get prizes, money or recognition, just like any other job or internship.
Although this is still somewhat of a new practice for some companies, being a campus representative isn’t just about getting free stuff in return for us liking a few Facebook posts; there is actually a lot of work involved. Representatives have to share and create social media posts, get other students to buy products and go to campus events among other things. At the same time, representatives are expected to track every move they make in order to get credit for doing the job.
In the end, representatives get experience while working for a company they like and the free stuff isn’t bad either. There are even opportunities to get internships or jobs for representatives that would like to continue working for the company. We also get to meet thousands of other students from different colleges that are in the program.
Not only does this increase your experience in the real world, it gives you connections and friends that can last a lifetime, and will definitely come in handy when looking for a job.
