I will go down with this internship

**So it has come to that time of year where most of us in second or third year are either sitting back leisurely … or panicking. “Why?” – I hear the Fresher readers asking. The answer is simply this: the future. **

By now we all know whether those internships or graduate schemes, which took weeks of time, blood, sweat and tears, were successful. Whether the hours we put in re-drafting that cover letter was worth it, and whether that assessment centre was really as bad as it seemed. Now it is all very well if this has all gone well, but what about those of us who were unsuccessful or simply didn’t fancy what the big names like PWC or Ernst and Young had to offer?

We are all currently residing in a labour market so saturated with potential employees that success with the elite companies is hard to come by with on average 120 applicants to any 1 banking position; but is it really all over if this isn’t where you end up going?

{{ quote Although it is hard to deny that a big name on a CV does not help, working in a huge corporation arguably gives you little to no true freedom to grow as an employee }}

While the advertising and publicity at Warwick would suggest that the only employers out there are the Big Four, not only are they not the only option for students, but I would argue that they are far from being the best option; especially for second years looking to boost employability.

Although it’s hard to deny that a big name on a CV doesn’t help, working in a huge corporation arguably gives you little to no true freedom to grow as an employee. This is something which can only really be done in a smaller company.

As much as there is a stigma attached to small or medium enterprises [SME’S], with many students wrongly assuming that CV building is about getting as many names on there as possible, this is far from the truth. Speak to any recruiter and they will tell you that developed skills are far more important, and these skills are often developed far more when students or new graduates are given independence; independence which is near impossible in a large corporation where for the first few years of any grad-scheme there is a rigid programme of what must be achieved.

I am personally highly sceptical of auditing firms and banks so have ignored every marketing campaign thrown at me. Instead I have looked to smaller recruiting companies who only work with SME’s, and not only are the applications shorter but I am actually told whether my application has been successful or not. There are other options out there, and while SME’s are not the only one they provide a great alternative.