How many times have you seen the following “Social Media Intern” position listed? (posted via Craigslist, July 7, 2010)
Do you eat, sleep, and breathe social media? We are an established prestige skin care company looking to build our Social Media presence and establish an active community to connect with our customers! We are looking for an intern with a passion for social media, and the background to know how these efforts are translated into sales.
The Position:
As our social media intern you will be monitoring and updating our social media channels on a regular basis and developing new social media promotion strategies. You will be responsible for establishing an effective plan which maximizes engagement of our online audiences. You will be in charge of creating reports and articles showing social media promotion strategies and projected returns. Additionally our social media intern will assist in the development and maintenance of our social media marketing calendar.Key Qualifications:
• Expert knowledge of the social media industry including channels such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Myspace, Delicious, Digg, WordPress, Blogger, etc.
• Passion for using social media channels as a means to communicate with online audiences and deep understanding of what motivates people to engage with brands through various social media platforms
• Self motivated and able to work independently
• Superb creative writing, communication and grammatical skills
• Ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple projects simultaneouslyThis is a 3 month unpaid part time internship position.
In addition to your resume please include a writing sample- take this opportunity and show us your creativity!Resumes without a writing sample will not be considered.
It took me 5 seconds to find this – searching just one job site. This tells me there is an influx of these positions. So what’s wrong with it? In my opinion, everything! Here are 5 from that post alone:
1. “Expert knowledge of the social media industry.”
Expert – really? First, the “expert” term in the social media industry has been overused and abused. There are very few people who are true “social” experts! And second, those who are truly experts,
A. Rarely say they are an “expert” AND
B. Would never work for free.
2. “….and deep understanding of what motivates people to engage with brands….”
How many Interns have this quality? (Note to Company: A deep understanding + motivating factors of engagement + brands = Senior Position.)
3. “Key Qualifications” (Number 1-5)
Those are some lofty qualifications for an Intern – an Intern you are not paying.
4. Report To (No one?)
Who is the report to? Who will this person be working with? There is no mention of this. If this is a “stand-alone” position, shame on you! Good, unpaid internships at least provide the intern with the chance to learn, explore and make mistakes. So now your Intern is not making any money and also not learning anything.
5. “In addition to your resume please include a writing sample- take this opportunity and show us your creativity!”
Okay, so what type of Intern are you actually looking for? A “creative” one or a “social-media expert” one? Yes, most social-media “experts” are highly creative. But if that’s what you’re looking for, then wouldn’t you say, “In addition to your resume please include the links to your social media networks?”
If companies want to be in the social space, congrats to you! Kudos for seeing the value. However, please stop miscontruing this position a back-burner “gig.” Treat it as you would any other form of Marketing. And if you are the Intern currently in this position, I’m guessing you are sitting here reading this, nodding your head and (screaming) internally, “Are you There God? It’s Me, the Intern.”
