Enternships Blog

Enternships Case Study: A Financial Story Posted on Monday 12 December 2011 at 12:08PM by trrpaipai

Enock Koola is a former intern at Amoo Venture Capital Advisory, a boutique firm supporting pre- and post-VC technology startups with strategic direction and business development. He has taken the time to answer a few questions, revealing how his enternship lead him to be offered a full-time position in a funky financial firm.

How did you come across Enternships?

I was referred on to the website by a friend. He had used it and thought it would be a good tool to use in search of a summer internship.

What made you decide to do an internship?

I was interested in VC/PE and felt an internship will provide me with insight on how either VC/PE work and whether it was a perfect suit for me.

What are the challenges you’re facing when looking for an internship? What’s the most difficult part?

The most challenging issue is finding the right internship to apply for. There aren’t many internship programs for working in the PE/VC sector.

How did you go about the application? How do you usually prepare your job applications?

I made sure I had done my homework. I researched and studied the company to know more about the role and the company. I kept up with the latest global financial news.  I made a specific CV and Cover letter to the companies I was applying to in order show my understanding of their businesses.

What do you think is the most important part in a job application? What helped you get the internship you applied for?

In my opinion, making yourself aware of the business and role you are applying for and whether it suits you is a very important key step in getting the job. I got the job because I researched the company and the position and I was very passionate about VC which I think came across in the interview.

What are the top 3 things you’re looking for on an employer’s profile/internship listing?/Why did you choose to intern at Amoo?

1. Track Record
2. Early responsibilities
3. Long term goals

I chose to intern at Amoo VC Advisory as I believed it was a great opportunity to learn more about VC, opportunity to work on real live projects and because the company was small, I believed I would get more responsibility and possibly even manage my own project. In addition after my interview and meeting the director and associate, I liked the atmosphere and the long term plans for the company.

What was your role there? What kind of projects did you work on?

I applied for the sales & research analyst role; this involved working on live projects. Some of my key tasks included analysing business plans, building financial models for start-ups and supporting entrepreneurs in their fund raising process. Furthermore I attended several tech events a week and this provided me the opportunity to interact and meet very inspiring entrepreneurs.

Has the enternship helped you get closer to your career goals? If so, how?

My career goal is to one-day start my own fund with an African focus. The internship allowed me to work with smart, creative and innovate people, gave me the opportunity to gain a better understanding of VC and how they work.  I enjoyed working in the VC environment and supporting clients through their different fund raising round. The internship ignited my entrepreneurship spirit and has fuelled my desire to start my own firm.

Was the internship worth it, would you do it all over again if you could go back in time or is there something you would change?

The entire experience was a blessing and I am grateful for that opportunity as I learnt valuable transferable skills. I would definitely do it all over again and again.

What would be your best piece of advice to give other students/graduates looking for internships?

Internships are good as they give you an insight and the opportunity to realise, adjust, and validate your career goals.  Sometimes we are not sure what exactly we want to do and doing an internship allows you to see whether the role suits you and if it is the right lifestyle for you.  Moreover employers nowadays look for graduates with experience so doing an internship gives you a competitive advantage over the other graduates.

What do you think about the work Enternships is doing in helping students finding internships?

I think it is great what Enternships is trying to do; it allows students to discover their entrepreneurship spirit working with small and dynamic businesses. Especially nowadays where unemployment is at an all-time high, we need such platforms like Enternships to help students get internships.

What is your piece of advice for us at Enternships? Is there anything we could improve on to help candidates in their internship seeking?

The website is great but I think the site could do with a better interface. Also there weren’t as many financial roles when I was applying. It will be good if Enternships could get even more mid-cap companies to recruit through their website.

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Friday Fun: Get your free ticket to the coolest party on Global Entrepreneurship Week Posted on Friday 04 November 2011 at 13:35PM by trrpaipai

Not such a big fan of Tuesdays? Get ready, ladies and gents, because Enternships might just change that for you. Here's how we'll chip in to bring glam back in the middle of your week: on 15 November we're putting on this awesome party at one of London's most attractive club venues  during Global Entrepreneurship Week.And to make things even more awesome, we partnered with City A.M. to create a competition that will get you free entry to our event at Fabric Club. 

Interested? Read on!

All you have to do is come up with the most original answer to this simple question:

What is the weirdest question (or task) you have been asked at a job interview? 

In order to do that simply sign up to leave a comment on our blog or Tweet us your answer for your chance to get boogie next Tuesday night at our fab event. Have got more than one awkward interview challenge that's been asked of you? Feel free to increase your chances to win and share them with us!

But hurry up! We're closing down the poll on Thursday and will announce the lucky (and wacky) winner on Friday. Tell your friends, your mums and bosses - anyone is welcome to take part!

We've all been there, face to face with the scary suited man (or woman) behind the desk, ready to throw at us all those horrifying questions that will make the difference between affording those much wanted designer shoes and going back home to keep those CVs rolling.

Sometimes it is like that - you quiver all the way through a painstaking process of answering boring questions meant to reveal how well you can sell yourself and buy the employer on your side. It's all a game of endurance and skills retail. Sometimes you get a bit lucky and manage to get a smile or a joke out of the conversation  - that surely is a good sign!

But if you're really lucky..you'll be in for a ride that will either get you out of there laughing or crying. In this case, your interviewers will not settle for the usual Q&A session. They will try to drain every inch of creativity they possibly can in a 30 minute session and test your genius to the max. They might ask you why does Adam have a belly button, play the role of a paper cut, what Star Trek® character you would be and so on. These are all a lot of fun to answer but they might get your forehead sweating when that answer has to go to a potential employer.

So this is what we're looking for. The wackiest the better. Best answer gets a free ticket to the party we're putting on Global Entrepreneurship Week on November 15 (woop woop!), as well as a spotlight in the article City A.M. will publish.

So stop wasting time and enter your answer here for your chance to win. We can't wait to read your comments and have a little laugh :)

No worries if you don't win, we'll compile a list of the best answers and publish it on our blog next week. To attend our party go to our event page and grab your early bird ticket to make sure you'll take part in a night of entrepreneurial fun at one of London's most popular club venues.

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Friday Fun: Insights into the life of our founder Rajeeb Posted on Friday 14 October 2011 at 15:51PM by trrpaipai

This week The Employable, a website that offers guidance and support to job seekers, focused on startups, entrepreneurs and how they provide solutions for the unemployed. Alastair Cameron, one of the founders, wrote a great profile of our very own Rajeeb Dey talking about what it takes to strive in the world of entrepreneurship and how he turned Enternships from a university project into a start-up business. 

I think if anyone can be called an ‘Entrepreneur’ it’s Rajeeb Dey. At just 25, Rajeeb is an inspiration to young Entrepreneurs. Taking a look at his accolades and achievements, it’s amazing to think he has been able to squeeze it all in!

How do you fit it all in?

I am quite good with multitasking and time management; I love to keep myself busy and get involved with a whole range of activity. The most important this is that I love what I do so none of it feels like ‘work’ and thus there isn’t the concept of “work-life balance” in my case!

So, tell us about Enternships, whats it for and how does it work? Enternships.com is a portal which connects students and graduates to internships and full-time work placements in start-ups and SMEs around the world. Businesses can set up a profile and start posting their vacancies and candidates can apply directly via our site (with an application management system built in for businesses to manage the recruitment system all in one place.)

What inspired you to start this business and how did you develop the idea in the first place?

Whilst at University I was the President of Oxford Entrepreneurs – the society for student entrepreneurs at the University of Oxford. The society is one of the largest networks of student entrepreneurs in Europe and I found myself being frequently asked to promote job roles to our members from start-ups and small businesses.

What I realised was that whilst the blue-chip corporations had the time, brand awareness and HR resources to come on to campus and recruit via the ‘milkround’ the startup and SME community was completely disconnected from campus talent. At the same time I thought to myself that whilst an aspiring banker, lawyer and accountant can do an internship – what can an aspiring entrepreneur do? The best way to learn about business other than setting one up yourself is to work in a startup/small company to learn the ropes. Thus I decided to create a new word – an ‘enternship’ to denote ‘entrepreneurial’ internships within small companies.

The site started off as a simple listing site for student at Oxford and it wasn’t my intention to necessarily work on it as a standalone business. However when I graduated in 2008 into the graduate unemployment crisis it became clear that there was a market gap and opportunity for Enternships to become the global jobs community for start-ups and SMEs and help bridge the gap between the universities and SMEs.

What made this business stand out and be different?

What makes us stand out? Well the brand and name Enternships is very important. Whilst we know of ‘internships’ I have created a new word – an Enternship to signify entrepreneurial work placements (“entrepreneurial internships”), a word which I hope over time will make its way into the dictionary!

At University, was it then that you decided being an Entrepreneur would be the career path you took or had you planned this for awhile?

Looking back I’ve never been one to accept the status quo and always like to look at alternative ways of tackling problems – something most entrepreneurs do. My parents tell me that I’ve always been a bit stubborn and like doing things my own way – again a classic entrepreneurial trait! The best thing about business and entrepreneurship is the freedom it gives you to shape your own path and satisfaction from seeing something which you have started benefit others.

My entrepreneurial endeavours started earlier than that. At the age of 17, I became the Founder & Chairman of the English Secondary Students’ Association (ESSA) – www.studentvoice.co.uk – the first national student run organisation empowering secondary school students, giving them a voice in education. At the time I didn’t realise I was being ‘entrepreneurial’ – I had spotted a need and decided to do something about it.  After my experiences of launching ESSA/Studentvoice, I realised that doing my own thing was far better than working for someone else. I got a real kick out of seeing my idea turn into a fully fledged organisation working with thousands of students across the country and employing full-time staff and there has been no turning back ever since!

How did you initially fund your business and what was the process like? Did you get any local government support through funding schemes?

I self-funded it using some savings and calling in favours. I kept costs to an absolute minimum; worked from home, and spent very little money to date. My main expenses were monthly hosting costs and travel into central London for meetings and so I definitely mastered the art of being frugal! I didn’t get any grants for Enternships (although I did get a grant from UnLtd – the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs when launching my first venture – ESSA).

Bit of an interview question, but, What challenges did you face on your journey in setting up Enternships and HOW did you overcome these challenges?

The main issue I faced was that I didn’t have a technical co-founder when I launched and thus the development work was all outsourced. This brought a number of challenges with it and delays to launching the site. It did however force me to focus on finding a talented developer and I’m pleased to say Mike Laming joined the team full-time in February this year who subsequently helped to redevelop the Enternships.com portal.

The other challenge we faced (and is an ongoing issue) is with SEO. As “enternships” is a made up word it’s not what users naturally search for. The vision long-term is for it to become a word in its own right however for the time being we need to invest in firstly developing awareness of our site and ensuring that our site becomes optimised against searches for ‘internships’.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow Enternships as a commercial business?

The most important thing has been networking and developing partnerships with organisations who share our vision and want to see Enternships succeed eg with business bodies, university enterprise societies etc. Everything I have achieved to date (with practically no money) has been due to the goodwill and support of the people around me.

How is Social Media / Networking changing your business and business as a whole?

Right now all our customers have come through recommendations. I haven’t spent any money on marketing the site per se and we focus on using social media such as Twitter and Facebook to spread the word. We have also been fortunate to have received some great coverage in the media from publications across the globe both in print, online, TV and radio and this has resulted in over 3000 businesses already registering on our site and offering ‘enternships’. It is essential that businesses embrace free social media marketing tools in order to stay competitive and as a source of new business.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today in this tough economic market?

Firstly I think it’s important to realise that being an entrepreneur is a long and hard journey with numerous ups and downs. The key thing is to stick at it. The recession provides lots of opportunities to spot broken business models and new ways of tackling existing problems. Tenacity is a virtue and if you have conviction in your idea and belief in yourself just keep at it. It is also important to have a think about what success really means to you – people have different aims and objectives in life and you shouldn’t measure your success against other people but against where you were when you started, where you are now and where you hope to be. Success doesn’t happen overnight and the entrepreneurs who can weather the downturn are the ones who will emerge the strongest in the long-run. Ultimately some of the best businesses have historically been started in an economic downturn so just go for it!

The other two bits of advice are around the importance of being ‘remarkable’ and developing a strong network around you. Marketing guru Seth Godin talks about the need to be ‘remark-able’ – ie for people to talk about you. I have tried to do this by creating a new word – an ‘enternship’ – which on the surface may appear to be a typo but hopefully acts as a starting point for a conversation. I feel that it also helps attract interest in the media as you’re trying to do something slightly different. Given how much ‘noise’ there is out there think about how you will stand out from the crowd – whether that be through a superior product offering or through the marketing/branding of your product/service.

Finally on the point of networking. I started developing my network from the age of 17 and work hard to nurture it. Networking isn’t just about accumulating masses of business cards and LinkedIn contacts but about adding value to those around you. Whenever I meet someone I think about who I can introduce them to which could lead to mutual benefit. This not only helps the two people but also helps keep your network active. This has become second nature to me and in turn has led to numerous opportunities coming my way and people helping me with Enternships. Whilst to many ‘networking’ may seem a dirty word, in reality, developing and maintaining a network is very important and definitely pays dividends in business!

What would be the first thing you would do, with all the knowledge and experience you now have, if you were starting a start-up today?

Find a technical co-founder from the outset. I have struggled enormously with numerous technical issuesand trying to balance the product development with business development on your own is extremely tricky (especially if you don’t have a technical background yourself). I would definitely have spent time to find someone to work with me from the start to focus on developing the platform and share the load!

Read the original article here.

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Interview Advice for Interns Posted on Friday 18 February 2011 at 09:43AM by trevorginn

I have recently been interviewing for a key position in my start up company.  The experience not only brought on terrible flashbacks of milkround interviews, but also made me think about impressed, or failed to impress me about different candidates. Here are my thoughts.

Make a good impression

Turn up to the interview on time and take care over your personal appearance.  Most startups won’t have any kind of dress code, but to play safe and be smart.  In the interview maintain eye contact and think about your body language.  It does not take a psychologist to understand that slouching or folding your arms does not make a interviewee look relaxed and confident.

Be super keen

It is very important in an interview to display an interest in the position and the company.  Show that you are impressed with the company and its services and demonstrate that you have done your homework about what they do (see preparation below).  Give the impression that this is a position you really, really want.

Prepare

Prepare answers to usual interview questions e.g. why do you want this job, where do you see yourself in 5 years time.  It is also vital to research the company and build up a picture of their business.  Think about:

• What are their main products and/or services
• What is the history of the firm and who are the main people
• What are the major challenges they face?  Many start ups will not yet be profitable and will have a far from proven business model.

With this information think up some searching questions for the interviewer.  Asking informed questions will make you looked switched on and interested.

Be likeable

Personal chemistry is extremely important in an interview, especially in a startup situation where teams are small.  Show that you are likeable, easy to manage and would fit in.  Be enthusiastic about the role and the company, and appear motivated about how you can contribute to its success.

Never be negative about people or past experiences.  In his book, 59 seconds, Richard Wiseman explains that negative statements tend to make people think less of the person making the comment.  Appear positive and self confident.  Don’t ramble.

Follow up

A quick follow up email thanking the interviewer for their time is a nice touch and gives an opportunity to restate your suitability for the job.

Trevor Ginn is founder of the online baby and nursery shop Hello Baby and internet marketing agency vendlab.  You can follow his antics on his blog or at @trevorginn

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Guest blog by Barry Crawford: Interview Preparation Made Easy Posted on Wednesday 14 July 2010 at 09:24AM by rajeebdey

Today we hear from Barry Crawford of Clearview IT Recruitment Services. Alongside his day job at Clearview ITRS, Barry founded The Graduate Development Community (GDC) in August 2009 aimed at bridging the gap between Academia and industry within the software development industry.

With the summer now upon us no doubt many of you will be job hunting. Here's some great advice from Barry on preparing for interviews... Interview Preparation Made Easy It’s difficult to know exactly the right way to prepare for an interview. I am a recruiter working in the software development industry. I have successfully coached many graduates and developers to new jobs and preparation is essential to succeed in any interview. The question is what should you prepare and how much? Read the website? Check the latest news articles? Speak to people who currently work there? Download accounts for the last 5 years? It’s hard to know what information and how much to prepare on, and essentially how to use that preparation to demonstrate your enthusiasm for the company. I am going to offer my opinion and some thoughts on this subject. Recently I had a meeting with several technical members of a top London Consultancy. Each have been involved in interviewing graduates so I was keen to know what they look for and what makes Grads stand out to them. What was quite interesting about our conversation was that it started to help me deconstruct something that I have long thought about - how can you measure how bright someone is? Most companies recruiting Graduates are looking for a ‘bright’ candidate. …but what is ‘bright’? What does it mean? It is an ambiguous word that I have found hard to measure. In the past I have relied on my gut instinct when speaking to someone to decide if I feel they are bright enough for a job. Speaking to the consultancy helped me to start breaking this trait down into measurable qualities. They spoke a lot about good questioning skills, candidates that could ask the right questions, listen to the answers and were able to process the information. I believe the raw skill here is in being inquisitive. Some people are naturally inquisitive – they naturally know how to ask the right questions, but many people simply aren’t sure what they should be asking. I believe simply by being honestly interested in the opportunity it’s possible to demonstrate these skills in an interview, whether it comes naturally to you or not, which brings us back to the preparation necessary for an interview. Very early in my career, when I used to prepare for interviews I’d rack my brain trying to think of a question to ask at the end. I would think I don’t want to ask anything obvious because they will think I should know that already. Preparing for an interview you should not be thinking “What will make me look good” or I’ll learn the website inside out – that will show my enthusiasm”. You should be asking yourself questions that you really care about. The fact is that you may actually get a job at this company…  If you get this job it will make a difference on the rest of your career and life. Hopefully you will be looking to stay with this company for at least a few years, you may even want to stay with them for the rest of your career. If you get the job it will occupy most of your time, these people will become your friends. When you start thinking about the opportunity in this way the preparation becomes far more focused around “what do you want to know” instead of “what could you tell them to show you’ve prepared”. If you really think about it you should already have an honest interest in them and the questions will be obvious. These are good starting points:

1. What will I be doing Monday to Friday? What is a typical day?
2. What are they really like to work for?
3. What is the industry like?
4. Who are their competitors?
5. What makes this company better than them?
6. What is progression like in the company? – What will I be doing in 3 months, 6 months, 2 years or 5 years? What have previous grads gone on to do?
7. What is the team like? Is it a big team? Are they young/old? Social? Will I fit in?

A lot of the answers to your questions you will find on the internet from reading their website, industry news, google, blogs from other members that have worked at the company etc. but you should be left with a long list of questions that you can ask at the interview. Interviews will be a lot easier as they become more of a fact-finding meeting. The strategy is to start developing an ‘honest’ interest in your career. Don’t think “I just want to get a job”, think “I want to get the right job for me”. Remember interviews are a two-way exercise and it is important to treat them as such. When you get further through the process to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th round interviews, a lot of your initial questions will have been answered but this is an opportunity to meet and question even more people within the organization to get an even better feel for what the company will be like to work for.

1. How did they get into the organization? As a Grad or with experience?
2. How quickly have they progressed through the ranks?
3. What is their personal perspective on where the company is going over the next 2-5 years?
4. What are they looking for in their next recruit?

If you use this strategy properly, not only will it enable you to make the right choice in your career but it also carries many other benefits:

1. It will ensure you come across as bright because of your ability to ask the right questions and be interested in the answers.
2. It will ensure you come across as enthusiastic because of the effort you have already put into finding out about the company.
3. It will help with interview nerves as you should be excited about going in to an interview to find more out about the job instead of trying as hard as possible about making a good impression.
4. It will help build rapport with everyone you interview with as it will enable them to speak about themselves and their company – effectively selling it back to you.

I am not advocating that you do no other preparation than this, merely that you take an ‘honest’ interest in every opportunity and use that as a starting point. Good luck to you all!

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Fail Fast, Fail Cheap, and Move On Posted on Wednesday 29 April 2009 at 22:46PM by halle

In a world where we are judged by measurable returns and "ROI" is the success metric, we often forget that it's okay to fail.  In fact, failing a few times may even be your ticket to future success.  It keeps you humble, and hopefully teaches you a bunch of what not to dos.

This old Silicon Valley adage ("fail fast, fail cheap, and move on" can-- and should-- be applied to your internship hunt.  In this economy, it will undoubtedly take longer to find that perfect placement.  And since there are more candidates than opportunities, there will be more rejections and disappointments.

So how do you make sure you learn from failures?  If you don't get that internship you wanted, don't be afraid to ask 'why'.  What's there to lose?  Most likely they'll respond by telling you they were overwhelmed with qualified candidates.  So probe deeper.  What did the selected candidate do to stand out? A killer resume? Particular skills/experience? A stellar interview?  Take this rejection as an opportunity to improve your next job.

A wise mentor once told me: The only barrier to failing fast and failing cheap is your ego. You must be willing to fail, fail, and fail again if you are going to win in today's competitive marketplace. Remember, even if you're falling flat on your face, at least you're still moving forward.

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