By MaryAnne Aiyeola.
As a current Marketing and Management student studying at Loughborough University, I’m always looking for my next learning opportunity. That’s when I came across 10,000 Black Interns – a programme promoted by the university’s African and Caribbean Society who are always looking to highlight important opportunities for fellow Black students.
What is 10,000 Black Interns? This unique opportunity seeks to offer 2,000 Internships each year for the next 5 years partnering with over 24 different sectors. Guiding individuals to interview with 700+ companies with successful candidates securing Internships that provide valuable experience preparing them for future success in their career choices. This programme has been designed to aid people of colour like myself by providing opportunities to individuals who might otherwise face barriers to entry, as well as redefining the status quo and improving Afro-Caribbean representation in the workplace. As well as this, it helps organisations find new talent and gain different perspectives and voices that may potentially benefit the company by increasing diversity of thought.
My initial response was to immediately apply and encourage others to do the same. I knew this would be a valuable experience that would look impressive on my CV and place me further along my path towards my future career in marketing.
With the pre-interview training session held by 10,000 Black Interns, they equipped me with the right skills to put my best foot forward in all my interviews. After interviewing with a few companies, I was lucky enough to have interviewed with David Haylor, the CEO over at IAC. I knew IAC was a perfect fit because not only did it align with the values that I stand for, but it had a great buzz of energy and character. Some of the team over at IAC are Loughborough alumni too, so it had to be fate! With that being said, the interview was successful, and I was offered an internship within the marketing department at IAC.
Becoming the first ever intern at IAC is an incredible achievement and I cannot wait to see what this summer has in store for me! I hope that this achievement encourages others from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds to look out for opportunities like 10,000 Black Interns to achieve their dreams. I would strongly urge other companies to get involved and help tackle the issue of underrepresentation and look for talent outside of traditional methods. This can be done by heading over to the 10KBI website: https://www.10000blackinterns.com/offer-an-internship
I would like to extend my gratitude to 10,000 Black Interns for the support as well as the team over at IAC for the warm welcome.