College Ambassador Challenge Offers Students Real-World Experience for A Competitive Employment Landscape

A group of male and female college students. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Summer vacation is right around the corner, allowing college students around the nation to trade textbooks and exams for valuable internship experience in various professional environments. While the thought of spending summer months in an office may not be as appealing as lazy days to some, internship experience is becoming a more highly valued resume asset to potential employers as the job market becomes more competitive.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 80 percent of employers reviewing the resumes of potential college hires are seeking evidence of leadership skills while 75 percent of employers are looking for hires with problem-solving skills. Students need to make a concerted effort to stand out from their peers and equip themselves with as many tools as possible to land a job. To be successful, they are going to need to land internships where they actually earn real world experience rather than running errands and making coffee.

Sound difficult? Never fear: Ford Motor Company has a solution. We have teamed up with Lauren Berger, the nation’s internship guru and founder of Intern Queen Inc., for the 2013 Ford College Ambassador Challenge. The Ford Challenge strives to give real-life experience to students so they can better compete in an increasingly competitive job market.

Our College Ambassador Challenge is dedicated to creating a substantial, hands-on marketing experience for students that will augment their resumes and help them stand apart once they graduate and enter the competitive job market. Recruiters at companies like Ford Motor Company are looking for college graduates who have a certain set of skills and internships are the best source for gaining these assets. Lauren Berger is proof that showing initiative and leadership skills pays off after graduation.

Lauren, our guru, held fifteen internships during her collegiate career. The result? She is now one of the country’s most sought-after speakers and authors due to her entrepreneurial success. Through our partnership, we aim to give experience specific to future employers’ needs.

We have created three challenges for five teams, with up to four members each, at universities across the country – University of Illinois, University of Pittsburgh, University of Minnesota, University of Michigan and University of Louisville – to empower them with tools for success through three interactive, social media-based exercises.

The team with the highest total composite score will win cash and the opportunity to drive one of Ford’s popular vehicles like the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Escape and CMax for a month in the summer. The winning team will also receive an all-expense paid trip to Ford’s marketing offices in Chicago where they will have the opportunity to present their resume and creative ideas with Ford’s Management team.

A team of dedicated students from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities just completed the speaking engagement portion of the challenge last week on Thursday.

The winning team will be chosen on April 29, 2013. For more information on Ford’s College Ambassador Challenge, visit InternQueen.com. For more information on the challenges, watch this video.

David Mason
Marketing Development manager
Ford Motor Company