Social Media Internships
It’s different than other social media internships
If you want to spend your time cutting and pasting Facebook ads in a cubicle, by all means, take a social media internship at some agency.
If you want to see how social media really works at the world’s greatest brands, you’ll want to talk to us at SocialMedia.org. Every day we work with the heads of social media at the greatest brands in the world – McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, Home Depot, and 180 more. You’ll meet them, work with them, and learn what they do.
Here’s the deal:
You’ll do a ton of work. You will be exhausted. Not all of it will be exciting. But, everything you do will be meaningful. You will sit next to the CEO and senior executives. We will teach you everything. When you pick up the phone, it just might be Seth Godin or the head of marketing or social media for GM, Coke, or Dell. You will become a rock star with badass contacts.
Here is your chance to learn how social media really works in business, from major company leaders with smart teams and big budgets. You’ll get deep with blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and word of mouth marketing. We work with the biggest brands and help them learn how to use these new tools. This is a rare opportunity for you to make contacts and gain valuable real-world experience.
So what should you expect? From start to finish, you’ll be completely responsible for the projects you undertake. You’ll have significant independence and responsibility. You’ll have solid, documented accomplishments to add to your resume. When you complete the internship, you’ll be a bona fide word of mouth marketing and social media supergenius.
How to get this internship:
We need people who love this stuff. Candidates must be smart, dedicated, and absolutely must be the type of people who know how to look at a problem, determine exactly what needs to be done, and make it happen. We need great people with skills in writing, sales, marketing, PR, event planning, and more.
The fine print: THIS IS AN UNPAID, FULL-TIME INTERNSHIP. You must be in our Chicago or Austin office at least 32 hours/week, but we can be flexible on schedule. Current students or recent graduates only. We do not need any designers, web, or IT people.
Show us what you’ve done and how you can do it for us. Show us that you’re someone we’d enjoy working with, someone with a great personality backed up by real skill. Send us a great cover letter, resume, and samples of your writing. Contact preston@socialmedia.org to apply. The subject of your email should read: “SocialMedia.org Internship, Your Name”
About SocialMedia.org:
SocialMedia.org is the community for heads of social media at more than 180 of the world’s greatest brands, including Procter & Gamble, Dell, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Home Depot, and many others (see www.socialmedia.org/members). We’re a small company who works with amazing people doing fantastic things in social media.
Businesses everywhere are beginning to realize that honest, ethical customer love is the most powerful kind of marketing. They are learning to listen, to obsess over customer experience, to treat people like people, to value values, to respect the environment, to be part of the community — to be nice.
We teach them how to do it.
We believe that this is good for society — and that it’s a profitable business strategy. Companies that get their customers for free through the power of word of mouth have a fundamental competitive advantage over those that use expensive marketing to chase fleeing customers. Smart companies reinvest those savings in service, support, and innovation — putting them even further ahead.
SocialMedia.org is a dream job if you are interested in word of mouth, social media, and the future of marketing. You won’t be just reading about the visionaries. You’ll be working with them to make the future more ethical and effective. Stop talking about this stuff — do something about it.
Check out our sites to learn more: socialmedia.org, gaspedal.com, damniwish.com.
Read our stuff. Send us a resume. Make a difference.
Recommendations from former interns
“Interning with GasPedal and working with SocialMedia.org was such a cool experience. SocialMedia.org is such an interesting community, and having access to the insight it provides about how big brands use social media is something you won’t be able to find anywhere else. During my time here I even got to attend one of their BlogWell conferences in Austin, which was definitely one of the best perks of the few months I spent with the company. The office is full of fun, intelligent people constantly working to make their brand the best it can be!”
– Alyssa Maneri, University of Texas
“My time as an intern at GasPedal has been amazing. I have been able to contribute to projects throughout the company that allow me to see a direct result from my work, instead of just filing papers or doing busywork like so many interns do at other companies. I am able to send links and pictures to my family and friends to brag about all of the cool things I am doing each day at work. GasPedal is such a unique company that it gave me the opportunity to see a whole different side of the marketing world. From being a part of weekly team meetings to writing blog posts for the website, I never felt like “just an intern” at GasPedal. The skills that I have learned from the work I have done and from interacting with my coworkers are invaluable.”
– Taryn Nickow, DePaul University
“My internship with GasPedal has been a very fun and rewarding learning experience. The work environment established is an open and professional forum perfectly suitable for gaining vaulable knowledge. GasPedal gave me the opportunity and responsibility to work on projects on my own and the employees were always there to offer their sound advice. My tasks ranged anywhere from making posters and luggage tags to posting Craiglists ads and hiring freelance photographers and videographers. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here at GasPedal and would highly recommend this internship to any student interested in growing as individual and enjoying every step of the process.”
– Megan Trongale, Loyola University
“I had an awesome internship experience at GasPedal. I especially liked being able to work side-by-side with Evelyn on the book publishing project. It made me feel like I was a part of the team. Also, I loved being given the chance to write drafts for Andy’s blog, and how Cale always gave me advice on how to improve my writing. I also really appreciated how whenever I was given a certain project, you would explain to me how I could use in the future for my resume or job interview.”
– Lindsey Fairless, University of Texas
“I had a great time working at GasPedal both this summer and this fall. The work environment was great; everyone was very welcoming and easy to get along with. I really appreciate being given the opportunity to work on so many different aspects of what it is that GasPedal does. It was a true learning experience in every aspect from lead generation to event planning to blogging. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to contribute substantially to the Big List, and I also learned a lot from watching you go through the rebranding of the Social Media Business Council. I also appreciated the opportunity to sit in on all of your meetings to see how those were conducted and how everything at GasPedal was accomplished. Overall, a great semester and experience!”
– Samantha Reed, University of Texas
“Thanks again for the opportunity to work here. I couldn’t of asked for a better office to intern in. Every single person was so nice and helpful over these last three months – and you guys did some pretty awesome stuff here as well. I’m really proud to say I was part of the GasPedal team.”
– Jonathan Hecht, Northwestern University
“My time at GasPedal was great. While other internships make people good at getting coffee and organizing Excel spreadsheets, GasPedal makes sure that you leave with real, marketable skills. I was assigned to the editorial department where I wrote an article a day for one of the company’s blogs — I wasn’t stuffed in a back room (actually, my office WAS in the back) and forgotten about until somebody remembered that I existed; I was a valued member of the team and was asked to participate in company meetings, was able to voice an opinion that mattered and saw my efforts have a direct effect on the way the company operated. I’ll always remember my time in Chicago as a great summer and am looking forward to the opportunities afforded to me because I worked with the people at GasPedal.”
– Max Campbell, McGill University
“The three months I have spent with GasPedal have been more than just a summer internship. I felt that from the first day of work that I truly became a part of something special. As much as GasPedal had an impact on me, I was also given the opportunity to have a real impact on GasPedal. I know that GasPedal has taught me numerous skills that will become valuable knowledge in my future endeavors. Every employee here was amazing to work with and I loved coming to work every day.”
– Amber Pochron, Indiana University
“GasPedal is a unique experience to learn the basics of word of mouth marketing and the latest trends in corporate blogging. There is an opportunity for interaction with the top social media executives at the largest companies in the world. Interns can listen in on conference calls and conversations between Fortune 500 social media executives. Staff is very nice, helpful, and willing to teach interns everything they know. See what it’s like to build a business from the ground up, and have the opportunity to do work that really matters to the company — it’s much more than filing and getting coffee.”
– Annie Hauser, University of Missouri
“There are many reasons why I can say accepting this internship at GasPedal has been the right decision. For one thing, I came at an integral, formative moment in the company, so I witnessed firsthand the many different ways a company is born. I doubt that, short of starting my own company, I’ll ever see anything like it again. For another, GasPedal is the best place possible to learn, understand, and immerse oneself in word of mouth and social media marketing–after all, our CEO literally (and I mean literally) wrote the book on word of mouth marketing. The internship was a perfect combination of experience and education which I doubt I could have gotten anywhere else. Finally, with GasPedal’s SocialMedia.org I found myself right in the heart of the corporate blogging movement. I listened to high-level executives discussing urgent issues, sharing learning experiences, and creating guidelines that will be tomorrow’s case studies. I can’t wait to see where GasPedal goes next, because I’m sure I will find more reasons why accepting a position at GasPedal is the right decision for me.”
– Evette Tan, Illinois Institute of Technology (now on the SocialMedia.org Community Outreach Team)
“My internship at GasPedal this summer has taught me more than I could have ever imagined. This experience has opened my mind to the world of business and has made me excited to explore marketing further. I am leaving here with a deep interest in word of mouth marketing, however that cannot remotely sum up my summer at GasPedal. The welcoming, positive atmosphere has provided me with the perfect environment to learn more about my career goals and prepare me for my freshman year of college. It has been a pleasure to work with every single member of the staff and I couldn’t have asked for better co-workers to make my internship so memorable.”
– Ariel Olswanger, Connecticut College
“GasPedal’s internship was a great experience. After being involved in many internships where I sat around and learned nothing, GasPedal offered many opportunities to learn and be involved in major projects. If you are interested in a fun place to work and learn, I would definitely suggest interning at GasPedal.”
– Kendall Rawls, Florida State University
“My internship at GasPedal was truly an enjoyable and great experience. I was involved in everything that was going on and learned first hand about the various aspects of running a business. Every day I went in, I knew I would gain new real-life experiences that not only gave me a better grasp on the business world, but also gave me an idea of what I will want to pursue in the future. I am fortunate to have had an opportunity to intern at GasPedal and would highly recommend it to others.”
– Daina Ziaugra, Fordham University
“I got more real-life experience than I could have ever imagined. From day one, I was a member of GasPedal’s strategic planning team, creating campaigns and developing the network.”
– Bryan Koslow, Hofstra University
“This was a great first-internship experience. Thanks for giving me interesting projects and allowing me to work with such a diverse team of people. It’s quite amazing to see how much goes on behind the scenes of such a young company and I was honored to be a part of it this past summer.”
– Diana Chan, Carnegie Mellon
“I wanted hands-on knowledge about the Internet business. My summer at GasPedal was a full-immersion crash course that taught me more than I ever expected.”
– Dan Haimoff, Fordham University
“People. They’re GasPedal’s most valuable asset. It is a place made up of real and genuine people with an environment that is personal, embracing, and familial with a real commitment to teamwork. GasPedal is packed with team-oriented achievers with a culture that is down to earth, yet they possess unparalleled energy, creativity and focus. You can expect to work with and learn from inspiring and dedicated people who will share their knowledge and insights with you. Their positive reinforcements, as well as their constructive criticisms, are remarkably valuable in enabling you to perform your tasks to meet the exceptional standards. You will be proactively involved and will be a significant player in this team’s success. In the GasPedal team, you are a vital member. That’s satisfying.”
– Tom Sy, Fordham University
“My internship at GasPedal has been a great learning experience. Not only was I able to put to good use the writing and editing skills I already had, but I had the chance to expand on them and learn a whole new set of skills. I felt like an integral part of the team and that what I did mattered. It was great being able to see the results of my efforts, and I feel like I really accomplished something here.”
– Shana Smith, Kent State University
“What started out as a three-month internship has turned out to be a major step in my career path. The internship at GasPedal was so hands-on, dynamic, and fun that I didn’t hesitate in accepting a full-time offer at the semester’s end. The experience has been truly unique — I’ve done something new each day, and I’m still learning. I wasn’t afraid of being thrown right into the action, and that is exactly what happened from day one.”
– Rachel Barrett, Columbia University
