One of the first tasks we asked our interns to do was to write a profile blog to introduce themselves and share their message for employers. Meet Paul…

Hello, my name is Paul, I am 22 and a current Access Generation intern who has recently graduated from De Montfort University with an upper-second class in BA Accounting and Economics. 

My ambitions for the future is to make use of my degree and the work experience I have had to launch the start of a career journey that will give me a chance to have a positive impact on the world. I am keen to have a career in the technology sector as it is one of the fastest-growing sectors. I believe that a career in tech would give me the best chance of having a strong impact on the world. 

Through this internship I hope to make an impactful contribution and positively influence the way companies recruit graduates and young people. I hope that employers will give young people a fair opportunity.  I am excited to start my six-week journey with Access Generation as their mission aligns with the personal struggles that I am going through at the moment; the immense challenge of getting a job with limited experience. 

Access Generation share a similar viewpoint to me about the graduate recruitment processes that companies use, being that there is an immense number of factors that cause challenges and difficulties for graduates. I am looking forward to identifying what the shortcomings of the recruitment processes are. I hope to get a clear understanding for company’s, as well as for myself, as to what some of the issues are. 

Interning with Access Generation is going to give me the opportunity to communicate with the employer side of the recruitment process and give much-needed feedback to companies about the difficulty that graduates and young people face when it comes to getting their first job.

I am excited to speak with companies and gain an understanding of their recruitment processes and give some guidance to those companies that have a lack of opportunity for young people to make changes. I am hoping that by the end of the internship I will have had an impact on the way are least one company recruits (so that they give better opportunities to young people). 

Through this internship, I hope to gain some personal competencies such as improving communication, which I will develop by running interviews with employers. I am also hoping to help grow the awareness of Access Generation through contributing to marketing and business development to draw more attention to issues such as the lack of opportunities or lack of awareness of the opportunities for young people.

My message for employers

Little or no experience does not mean that someone is less suitable or qualified for a role. An entry-level job is not an entry-level job if it requires one year of relevant experience.

Related articles

Top tips for working with interns

Did you know…?

Universities typically have an employability team who work to match students with employment opportunities including internships. An internship is often a short paid work experience and a chance for the student and employer to ‘try before they buy’. Internships are often part or fully funded.

Josh has joined us via De Montfort University’s Graduate Champion scheme which is a 6-week fully funded internship. Find out more about DMU Champions here: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/business-services/access-our-students-and-graduates/recruiting-our-students-and-graduates/funded-internships/information-for-organisations.aspx