Internships with Schmooze

We're looking for students (18+) who are out going & positive and looking to gain invaluable work experience relevant to their studies.

Current Projects Available

• Event assistants
• Social Media / Marketing /PR
• Market research

Our Interns work on a 6-8 week project relevant to their tertiary studies a few hours each week in a very flexible arrangement. We design the project to suit the study / work experience needs and at the end of the project the intern writes a short report (see below) of their experience.

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You must be a tertiary student, and the project will be designed to relate directly with your studies.

To apply, please send your resume, plus a one page cover letter saying what sort of project you'd like to work on and when you'd be available to Director, Phillip Jones which would then be followed by an interview.

Intern Report- Bronwyn Galloway, Australian National University

When I first met Phillip and learnt about Schmooze I was looking for an opportunity to gain confidence in business networking situations. One of the things that became evident through my years studying International Business at ANU is that contacts play a big part in business.

Knowing how to earn new contacts and how to maintain old ones would certainly be something I would have to learn to do later on in my career.

Before Schmooze, my strategy when entering a room at a corporate function would have been to grab a drink and head for the food table. There I would try and start a conversation that followed the lines of “wow aren’t these mini quiches amazing!” and hope for the best.

One of the great perks about being an intern at Schmooze is that you get to go to the workshops and monthly Schmoozes, as well as events hosted by the wonderful Schmooze members. This meant that I not only learnt about the networking do’s and don’ts by listening in on Phillips workshops, I also got the chance to put those lessons into practice.

At the beginning I was quite content just being Phillip’s shadow, watching him effortlessly approach a group and slide into the conversation like he had been there all along. Meanwhile I would be standing there breaking into a cold sweat- I was just a student, what did I have in common with these high profile Canberra businessmen and women?

But Phillip helped me realize that yes I am a student, but I also just came back from a summer at Harvard University, that I hope to work in marketing and strategy in American multi-national companies and that I was there to gain experience in business networking. By defining who I was and my purpose at these events, I eventually found it a lot easier and yes, even comfortable, joining in and starting conversations.

 While working with Schmooze I also learnt the importance of social media and online marketing. I love reading the Schmooze updates on Twitter and Facebook and now think that every business should have its own social media strategy. It was interesting doing some of my own market research for the Schmooze@Campus program and finding out how much our target market relied on email and Facebook for information on upcoming events.

The launch of the Schmooze@Campus program was great success and I was able to sit in on the workshops and pick up some really useful tips on resume writing and selection criteria. After seeing the results of the hard work the Schmooze team and interns put into first Schmooze@Campus workshop, I am confident that 2012 will be a great year for Schmooze's new branch.

Phillip and the team at Schmooze Canberra also taught me about the importance of personal branding as part of my networking toolkit. Everything from my business cards, online profiles and website need to be consistent with what I say to people and what I know.

Finally, they also helped me realize that once I figure out what I want to get out of my professional career, opportunities to work towards my goals will pop up everywhere.

In all, my time at Schmooze was definitely more than just an excuse to update my corporate wardrobe. Thanks to Schmooze I now am now designing my personal website, my business cards are on the way, I have a new corporate wardrobe (and you thought I was kidding!) and new found networking abilities.

I thank Phillip and the whole team at Schmooze Canberra for helping me increase my confidence and gain the skills and knowledge to put me at an advantage over other graduates when I enter the workforce next year.

Chloe Richardson, university of canberra

Every January I concoct a fresh batch of New Year’s Resolutions for myself. Each one is as predictable as the next. You know, the typical ‘I will get to the gym more often’ or ‘I will stop my online shopping habit’. But 2011 was different. With one year of uni under my belt, I was determined that this year was going to be the year. I was going to march out into the Canberra job market and get some real-life work experience.

I was already familiar with Schmooze from various University of Canberra events, so after perusing the website, and trying to convince myself that I really could don some form of pink frock, I sent Phillip an email. After all; what was there to lose?
After a whirlwind introduction into the Schmooze family, I began to get a feel of what this company was all about. Turns out it was an exciting mix of networking, friendship, support, learning, business and fabulousness. With a martini or two thrown in for good measure.

Aside from developing my professional skills in the areas of promotions, events management, networking, communications materials and market research, I developed some important personal skills too. I became more confident, more articulate and more secure in the fact that this was the industry I wanted to be in.

During the 9 months of my Schmooze internship I worked on a specific project; to extend the Schmooze community to include University and TAFE students. The rationale was that tertiary education does not teach ‘soft skills’ such as networking, resume writing, interviewing techniques or the selection criteria process.

These are the fundamental, necessary skills that can transition you from a student, into a full-time worker.

To bring the goal of a ‘student Schmooze’ to life, my partner and I conducted market research on 3 educational institutions in Canberra. We walked around campus, pleading with complete stranger to ‘complete my survey?! Please?!’ After a clear demand for the program was established, we set about finding locations, deciding on program content and selecting a workable format.

So. The research was there, we knew that people wanted this kind of program. But how to bring it to life? How to bring a program such as this to the forefront of a busy student with insomnia? Ah. Facebook. The inexpensive, marketing and promotions tool that was guaranteed to reach out target audience. As our Facebook friends increased, so did our program registrations. We were promoting to lecturers, tutors and even on the back of bathroom doors! (Just because these kinds of technologies exist there is no reason to ignore old-school marketing!) Our session was extremely effective. We have helped 2 students gain internships and 3 have secured a job interview!

This on-the-ground, real-life, experience has been invaluable for developing my professional capital. The mentoring, contacts and support that I have received has helped me transition from an unsure intern into a confident employee who is now working in the marketing/communications industry. (And someone so dedicated she can now actually keep her resolutions!)

So, if you are looking for an internship that provides you with experience, support and a ‘personal touch’ then Schmooze is definitely the way to go. You’ll soon be part of the family!  

Tabitha Wilson, university of canberra

This year I commenced my first ever internship with Schmooze and what a great experience it has been! I met Phillip after he spoke at an Industry Briefing at the University of Canberra and was intrigued by Schmooze and wanted to learn more. I approached Phillip about undertaking an internship and was welcomed with open arms.

Right from the start Phillip made every effort to ensure that I got the most out of my time with Schmooze. Regular contact with Phillip made certain that all the interns were on the same page about the projects  they were working on and were all benefitting from their internship. 

I really enjoyed working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and with different experiences. Some of the interns have recently graduated or are nearing graduation, whereas I have only completed one year of uni. I was able to share ideas and discuss experiences with all of the interns as well as with the Schmooze staff.

This internship has reaffirmed my belief that E-Communication is a very important part of business. Majority of the communication between myself, the other Schmooze interns and with Phillip has been via email. This has taught me the importance of well structured emails, checking emails regularly and ensuring you work independently to complete tasks to meet team deadlines. That said Phillip was only ever an email or a phone call away and was always happy to arrange a face to face meeting.

I am hoping to become an Event Manager and was able to gain valuable experience assisting at the Monthly Schmooze’s as well as helping to organise and assist with the development and running of the Schmooze@Campus program. Phillip taught me valuable networking skills which will be extremely beneficial in the events field.  I learnt these skills through the Schmooze@Campus sessions and by practical experience at Schmooze events and as a guest at Schmooze members events. 

The most important thing I learnt about networking and attending events is that you need to have a purpose for being there, whether it is to socialise, make industry contacts or perhaps even scout for a job, having a purpose helps you to engage with people. Since employing this line of thought I have found it much easier to interact with people at networking functions, particularly when I don’t know many other guests.

I want to thank Phillip and the team at Schmooze for helping me to build not only my personal confidence but my confidence in a business setting. I now recognise that I am not only a student who will one day be working in the events and public relations sector but that I am already in that field and that the experience I gain whilst I’m at uni will be invaluable.

I look forward to continuing to attend Schmooze events into the future and would encourage all uni students and young professionals to take advantage of the programs that Schmooze offers as they are highly beneficial.  

Vasili Skountzos, university of canberra graduate

Who says spending too much time on Facebook is bad? This is how I found out about Schmooze and the internships they offer. Being a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Media Arts and Production I wanted to expand on my professional skills further in hope to find a job, because let’s be honest all recent graduates are waiting to begin their for their first job and earn the big $$.

Completing my Internship at Schmooze was an invaluable experience. The skills, techniques and people I met were beyond my expectations. I began my internship in early May where I began my journey and ended with my first fulltime job.
My overall project as an intern was to bring Schmooze to uni students with a program called “Schmooze @ Campus”.

I was assigned this project with anther intern Chloe Richardson. We both had to find out if there was a need for this type of program and would students be interested. Schmooze @ Campus is a series of events that give students from all disciplines the opportunity to make industry contacts and to learn fundamental skills for their future ie how to write a resume and networking skills are a few.

To find out whether this type of program was needed we had to hear from the students. Chloe and I walked around 3 campus’s being those annoying people asking students to fill out our survey. The feedback we got from these surveys was quite surprising with almost everyone taking an interest.

To make this project grow into a series of events we needed to market it in an interesting way to capture student’s attention. We approached various groups and societies on these campuses to get them on broad and help get the message out. We also went and talked about the program in lectures and tutorials and put up posters around the campuses.

Our most successful way to get in touch with students was through facebook, where every student spends there time while studying. We kept these strategies going for months to make sure we wouldn’t be forgotten.

We have already had two events with the number of students growing every time. I see this project becoming vastly popular next year and becoming the new trendy social way for students to learn those soft core skills for their futures.

I thank Phillip for this opportunity and believing in me and making me always strive for the best. I also encourage others if ever there is an opportunity to become an intern at Schmooze to take it, you may not know who you’ll meet, where you will end up and where it will take you.