Are digital internships the longer term for graduates?
After months of lockdown, no graduation show, and no ceremony, School of Communication Arts alumni Ellie Daghlian and Elisa Czerwenka discovered they had stepped into a strange new world.
Amid news of agencies laying off and studios unable to hire, the two decided to do something to establish themselves in the creative industry. That's why they launched The Creative Rally as a virtual tour through agencies around the world to achieve remote placement on all continents within two weeks. In the end, the couple achieved their goal after working for nine different companies for a day, including Advantage Namibia, Penguin Watch Antarctica, Saatchi & Saatchi Japan and Gray London.
"We were close to quitting SCA, and we got to the point where we usually started talking about internships, but a lot of people said they liked our book but didn't take someone until 2021," says Czerwenka. their decision to set up the program. “We talked and asked what we can do to get a job, but also stand out and learn while we are in lockdown and don't know what's next. It felt like it was completely out of our control and we wanted to get some control back. "
It was great to see a landscape with panties from all over the world and really high quality panties
Furthermore, according to Daghlian, the two wanted to explore working with agencies outside the UK and get to know different cultures – even if it was done through Zoom. To land each of their one-day internships, the duo called on social media. This meant a lot of time on LinkedIn, researching people in various agencies around the world and getting the word out on Twitter. And although Daghlian and Czerwenka entered the process with no particular expectations, they say the response has been extremely encouraging.
According to them, not only were agencies interested in participating in the Creative Rally, but they were also happy to connect the couple with others who might be able to help. And while the duo only had one day with each company, they got real-life information to work on – with some of their ideas possibly being used in actual campaigns later. "It was great to see a landscape with panties from all over the world and really high-quality panties," says Czerwenka.