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The only drawback of your resume is that it lacks one item, namely work experience. Because you: a) have just graduated from university; b) it will happen to you in the near foreseeable future. As a result, at most companies they tell you: a) why don't you practice... on someone else; b) gain experience, but not at our expense. And to get a job as a secretary for one hundred and fifty hryvnias, it was not at all necessary to study for five or six years in ... (insert what is written or will be written in your diploma).
Familiar situation? I can reassure you: you are not alone. Millions of students freshly hatched from universities around the world face the problem of finding their first job in their specialty (working as a waiter doesn't count). Indeed, where can you supplement dry theory with practical experience? Our today's publication is about how to solve it with the help of the international student association AIESEC.
TOGETHER IT'S MORE FUN...
Step, sing along, and so on. You might say it's better to look for work separately. Allow me to disagree. Work can also be sought through joint efforts. For example, thanks to the student association AIESEC, more than 150,000 young people have had the chance to work abroad and share their knowledge and others' experiences. Every year, internships for students from around the world are held at more than five thousand enterprises. They participate in seminars, help conduct master classes or organize event broadcasts, gaining valuable experience.
AIESEC (pronounced "ay-sek", has nothing to do with ISIC student cards) – L'Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commercial; translated from French, it means the International Association of Students and Young Professionals in Economics and Management. For over 50 years, AIESEC has been a supplier of talented students for enterprises, government, and non-profit organizations. AIESEC has outgrown its full name, which is now used only as an abbreviation. Its activities cover not only economics and management but almost all types of activities: accounting, information technology, finance, education, economics, management, marketing, human resource management (although priorities still remain with economic specialties).
The goal of AIESEC is peace and the realization of humanity's potential, international understanding and cooperation, and the role of "Aisekers" (as its members call themselves) is to contribute to the development of their countries through international student cooperation. The association's activities are aimed at helping students and university graduates worldwide develop their personal skills, gain knowledge and work experience through participation in international internship programs, conferences, and seminars.
AIESEC was founded in 1948 by students from seven European countries, and today it is the largest international non-profit, non-commercial, and non-political organization, with over 60,000 students from 800 universities in 84 countries. AIESEC is the third largest public organization after the Red Cross and UNESCO, an associate member of the UN.
LEARN, INTERN!
Now let's move from the general to the specific – what exactly do Aisekers do? Their main activity is finding internship placements for up to 18 months within the International Student Exchange Program. In other words, a "natural exchange" of vacancies. It works simply: local committees in all countries look for places for interns and accept applications from candidates wishing to intern abroad. Information about vacancies flows into a single database and is put on public display, and if the company's requirements and the candidate's capabilities match, the "deal is done".
Let me remind you that an internship is work to gain experience. Interns do not receive a salary, but are given pocket money sufficient for basic living expenses and housing (around $250-300). AIESEC helps with paperwork and provides moral support to students throughout the internship. Thus, inviting interns is beneficial for employers too: besides significant savings on salaries, they get additional brainpower, as new, fresh, and creative ideas often come from young people.
Any young professional or final-year student, not necessarily an Aiseker, can participate in the internship program. There is no need to write applications or pay membership fees. Strangely enough, many Aisekers themselves do not think about going on an internship abroad – they help others do it for free.
AIESEC interns are selected based on their academic level in the chosen field, foreign language proficiency, and willingness to work in that area. The competition is quite high, and the selection process takes place in several stages. The first is filling out a questionnaire and a preliminary interview with the program coordinator.
The questionnaire consists of four parts. The first part indicates the type of internship (management traineeship – ITEP, development traineeship – YDEP, or technical traineeship – PDP); the second – personal data of the applicant; the third – education, work experience, knowledge, and skills; and finally, the last part indicates the desired period and duration of work, as well as what the applicant wants to learn during the internship, in which field of knowledge and region of the world.
At the preliminary interview, be prepared to answer questions about Ukraine (for example, about the prospects for business development in our country). After all, the intern will have to represent Ukraine in the eyes of the public of a country that may know nothing about our existence.
Those who successfully pass the first stage of the competition face a more serious test: an interview in English conducted by representatives of AIESEC partner companies (most often Arthur Anderson and Procter & Gamble), university professors, and the AIESEC members themselves. The data of those who pass all three parts of the selection round are entered into the general Insight database. And now candidates can only hope and wait... Finding a trainee for a company takes from 2 to 15 weeks, while finding a workplace for an internship can take much longer: from several weeks to several years.
CAREER DAYS
Do you know what it means to organize a training seminar that will be attended by more than a thousand people? Not everyone would take that on, but 18-20-year-old AIESECers not only take it on, but successfully manage it. The track record of AIESECers includes, in addition to organizing internships, conducting various conferences, seminars, and trainings. One of the latest projects initiated by AIESECers is the "Career Day" in Kyiv, an annual training seminar open to everyone, useful both for students who are just about to start job hunting and for employers who select the best of the best students to work at their enterprises.
The latest Career Day (which took place in December) featured such "bigwigs" of modern business as Procter & Gamble, Arthur Anderson, Danon, BMS Consulting, Ukrjob.net. At their booths, one could not only get detailed information about the company's activities but also fill out a job application form (contrary to popular belief, many companies prefer to hire employees straight from college, without work experience, so they can be "molded" according to the company's requirements). In the assembly hall, lectures on employment (how to behave at an interview, write a resume, job hunting via the Internet), ethics of relations in a Western company, and other equally important issues were held almost every half hour.
AIESEC IN UKRAINE
AIESEC in Ukraine began its work six years ago – in 1995. AIESEC in Ukraine has 9 local branches: in Berdyansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Ternopil, and Cherkasy. The work of all local committees is coordinated by about 200 people. The National Committee – the central representative office of the organization – is located in Kyiv.
So – join in and benefit from international student cooperation, and remember that together it is easier and more fun to achieve goals!