Executive Communities’ second intake of interns has delivered a delightful duo who are supporting the organisation, while gaining valuable workplace experience.
When Executive Communities launched its paid internship programme last year, the aim was twofold: the organisation gained two crucial assistants while preparing for its Finance, HR, and IT Indabas, and in the process was able to fulfil its ESG objective by equipping two young people with workplace skills to support them in their career journeys.
This year, the organisation is delighted to renew the internship programme with the creation of two positions: a six-month content and marketing internship and a similar six-month operations and events marketing internship.
The aim is to provide real workplace experience, including onboarding, performance reviews, and participation in team-building activities, as well as, of course, the opportunity to be a part of an organisation that engages the top executives in South Africa.
Zandile Ndlovu: Content and marketing intern
Zandile Ndlovu, 22, started working as Executive Communities’ content and marketing intern at the beginning of June after responding to the internship announcement on LinkedIn. Zandile is a BA graduate with majors in marketing management and media, which she hopes has given her an excellent grounding for her internship.
So far, she is spending her days posting content for Executive Communities and its subsidiaries across social media sites as well as internally across the various communities’ and Indabas’ websites, while soaking up information like a sponge soaks up water.
She says the experience has been valuable in learning about her chosen field of work: “I’m learning how to publish content for communities that consist of professionals; I’m having to understand how to cater content for executive audiences. These audiences prefer engaging with messaging and content that is serious, and that contains information related to their field of work. I’m learning the dos and don’ts of content when it comes to a media writing style and professionalism in copy. I am also learning about the people who are behind many South African organisations, and about the journeys and experiences behind executives who help companies function.”
Zandile says the reality of working in a fast-paced organisation has been an adjustment for her. “It’s easy to believe that you are adaptable,” she says, “but living the reality of working in an environment where things are constantly moving is the true test. So far the tasks I’ve been given are not too difficult, but they require attention to detail and the dedication of time. And the tasks keep coming…”
However, Zandile says, Executive Communities could not have been more welcoming, even through what she calls “all the confusion and all the questions!”
Zandile knows that the biggest challenge for job-seekers in South Africa is getting a foot in the door. “Most places require you to have had one year’s worth of experience even for entry-level positions. Some organisations don’t respond, even if it is a rejection, so oftentimes you’re left in the air, not knowing whether companies will get back to you, and not knowing what went wrong in the application process.”
However, because her degree covered building and supporting marketing campaigns (how to maximise audience engagement) and market segmentation (how to best place products and services), she feels well prepared for the task ahead.
Ntando Nkabinde: Operations and event marketing intern
The operations and event marketing internship’s focus is somewhat different, providing opportunities to learn about the behind-the-scenes workings of events, and to be involved in real-time delivery on event days. With his qualification in biotechnology at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) majoring in chemistry and microbiology, 23-year-old Ntando Nkabinde might sound like a surprising choice, but there’s a reason he landed the intership.
Ntando matriculated during Covid, and developed a fascination with this invisible virus that had the power to bring the world to a halt. As part of his studies, and especially during his first internship at the Lion Match Company, he learned about quality assurance (QA), process management and data documentation, and realised he has a passion for data, business operations and processes, and coordination and communication.
“The food industry takes on a lot of biotech students because of the importance of testing for safe microbial counts, and being able to manage any outbreaks such as our recent listeriosis outbreak – documentation helps you keep track of which batches to recall and where the fault originated. I found that fascinating,” he says.
Ntando, who applied for this internship through the Harambee Youth Portal, says he “developed an interest in how organisations operate and how different systems and departments work together”.
Ntando says: “I was impressed by how much collaboration and communication happens behind the scenes to keep the whole system running at Executive Communities. Before I started my internship, I thought things such as events or Indabas worked more independently, but now I see there is collaboration from the start. I see how much happens behind the scenes and how connected every department is and how important teamwork is.”
Ntando conducted his interview from GLC Standard Bank, where he was helping CHRO South Africa manage the interviewing process for the upcoming CHRO Awards. His work will involve anything from physical site set-up to data capture and data handling – and that is where he really shines.
“Every industry has data they need to understand, fix and organise,” says Ntando. “I have always been invested in data and analytics. I see myself in a data analyst role in the future.”
At Executive Communities, for example, “I’ve seen the registrations for the various Awards and it fed into my desire to analyse that data. After all, people are just data, and data analysis is the art of being able to take the raw data and turn it into manageable tasks that are suddenly not so overwhelming.”
Ntando says his learning curve has also been steep since 1 June. “I learnt a lot – I am overwhelmed but happy. I am learning to absorb it all and am learning about all the various properties that make up Executive Communities.”
Ntando echoes Zandile’s sentiment that “one of the biggest challenges is getting an opportunity to gain experience as finding an entry-level position is very hard.” He was delighted to be given an opportunity at Executive Communities and has felt welcomed: “The whole team has been so supportive, always willing to lend a helping hand.”
Welcome, Zandile and Ntando! May your time at Executive Communities be fruitful, full of learnings, and everything you hoped it would be.