Why Should Non Profit participate in Internship Fairs

I came across the term " Internship Fair " in the year 2018 while I was working on a Cancer Screening Project in Delhi -NCR. As a Project Manager at that point of time I was looking to enhance the number of volunteers and interns in the organization and has limited time to invest in this work as simultaneously I was also planning and monitoring the progress of day to day activities.

As I and another person from my team largely responsible for Digital Marketing Solutions brainstormed on finalizing the Job Description of the volunteers and Interns in the organization which is also a prerequisite to participate in any Internship Fair, we realized that a lot of day to activities could be take care by a group of volunteers and Interns. We also realized that it is just not about allocating the work to the selected volunteers and interns. As employers we should create enough opportunities for their learning and development. Thus we created a matrix on a excel sheet and aligned activities with the learning and leadership opportunities for young students participating from different colleges. On paper it looks like a strong plan but we were unsure of the exact outcome of the process

As we participated in the first internship fair at SRCC College we were pleasantly surprised by precision through which the entire Internship Fair was conducted. I have always believed that there is no substitute for one to one conversations especially when you are evaluating a candidates expectation, time commitment, aspirations and future goals. The Internship Fair just provided that opportunity in a space of 3 hours and information pre circulated by the students before the Internship Fair made the process more fruitful. A representative from the college also helped us in understanding the process and facilitated the interaction professionally

One apprehension that remained was the number of candidates visiting our stall and showing interest in the kind of Internship / Volunteering opportunities we were offering. We were surprised to see more than 200 applicants from different colleges of Delhi University participated in the Interaction and carried their resumes and profile along with them. The fact that certain participant's also carried a list of question made the discussion more interactive and engaging for us and this is what made a huge difference

After receiving a heap of applications and documenting the interactions prepared specifically for thus event it was time to do the follow up in a systematic manner. Our back office team helped us in creating a google sheet which included all the details of the candidates along the brief of what was discussed during the fair. To take this conversation forward we organized volunteer meets which was organized in the office to ensure that participants also get an opportunity of understanding the organization better. Although we had communicated that we can accommodate only two to three interns but there was enough space to include more volunteers provided they were willing to commit more hours.

This entire journey of understanding how an Internship Fair works and systems which we can develop made the experience worthwhile with a lot of learnings. I feel we planned with a logical flow and the reaped exemplary results for us. The strategy of participating in 5 to 6 Internship Fairs firstly helped us to get a regular source of interns for a period of 3 months. Secondly we got applications from a number of students who were interested in extending voluntary support to us and we got volunteers who committed their time for more than a year. Last but not the least it gives an opportunity to speak to a diverse group of people who were interested in making a difference to our cause. In addition to the number of Interns/ Volunteers recruited it also created a non threatening space for discussion and Introspection.

From 2018 till date I have been part of approximately 15 Internship fairs and have different organizations. I think almost every Internship Fair was fruitful and a great outreach activity. This year I also participated in a Virtual Internship and it was good experiment to begin with . I think a lot of thought needs to be put in the manner in which such fairs can be conducted. There is a need for both Non Profits, College Societies, Office bearers of the collage to come together and make it happen. It is an activity worth investing your time in. Overall I feel Internship Fairs are a great idea for Volunteer / Internship outreach as well as marketing and communication and it should be in the calendar of all Non Profits across India.