UPDATE 2013-04-15: I’m very pleased to announce that Kerry has joined PHOTO.GP as our latest Intern!
In addition to being a long-time MotoGP fan, she is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian and French, and has years of experience working with the Jorge Lorenzo Offical Fan Club. She will be helping with our Facebook and Google+ content, and perhaps a few other surprises coming up soon.
I’d like to thank everyone who inquired about the position. I’m frankly overwhelmed by the interest and by how many talented people wanted to be involved here at PHOTO.GP. I’m just sorry I can’t take on a huge staff with all of you! Thanks again for responding to my call, and I wish you all luck in finding new opportunities in the future.
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From Wikipedia:
“…an internship consists of an exchange of services for experience between the student and an organization. Students can also use an internship to determine if they have an interest in a particular career, create a network of contacts, or gain school credit. Some interns find permanent, paid employment with the organizations with which they interned. This can be a significant benefit to the employer as experienced interns often need little or no training when they begin regular employment. Unlike a trainee program, however, employment at the completion of an internship is not guaranteed.“
What’s the deal?
With the above definition of an Intern in mind, I’m looking for someone to trade help with managing my PHOTO.GP Facebook and Google+ content for experience gained from seeing how my photography business works. I do not intend this to be an unpaid internship, but it’s not a well-paid one, either. I don’t do motorcycle racing photography to get rich. I do it because I love photography and I love motorcycle racing and it’s a dream come true to be able to work in MotoGP. I’m looking for someone who shares those passions, is interested to see what it’s like to work in this world, and who will enjoy helping me bring my photography to thousands of fans.
The main activity is simply posting photographs from the archive at www.photo.gp to the PHOTO.GP Facebook and Google+ pages. We will work out a schedule that suits my needs and your availability. It’s very flexible and can be done from anywhere in the world. There is no age limit, young or old. I use Dropbox to make the chosen images available, and the intern will become a PHOTO.GP admin both on Facebook and Google+.
We will also be working together to pick the content to add, and for this reason, familiarity with MotoGP and WSBK is required. I know that many of you who saw me mention this opportunity on Twitter or Facebook have that knowledge. If you are also known to me personally or through social media and I have some sense of your deportment and personality, that is a plus. But it’s not necessary. I’m willing to be convinced (by a compelling, professional email and follow up phone or Skype chat) to give someone a chance about whom I currently have no awareness whatsoever.
Now that you know what you, if chosen, will be doing, let me state up front what you won’t be doing: You will not be issued a credential or find yourself photographing sports events with me or on my behalf. You will not be sitting in the media center or wandering around the paddock with me or on my behalf. For the time being, at least, this opportunity is only about keeping the PHOTO.GP presence on Facebook and Google+ current.
Why is this opportunity happening?
When I was in college I did an internship with a PR firm and it was a fantastic experience. It paid the minimum wage, but I learned a lot, met some amazing people, and had a great time basically volunteering my services in exchange for the knowledge and connections.
I’m now in a position to offer someone else a similar opportunity. I expect it to be fun for both of us, to reduce my workload a bit, and to give someone some experience with how a small business works.
What you bring to the role.
Good command of English is required. Sometimes I write the remarks that accompany an image, but sometimes you will and I want to know that I don’t need to proofread each and every post. Good Spanish, and or Italian, automatically moves you to the top of the list of consideration. In fact, a native Spanish or Italian speaker with decent English… whoa. My heart is racing at the very thought.
As stated above, familiarity with MotoGP and WSBK is necessary. My last assistant was earnest but didn’t know Rossi from Petrucci, and thus didn’t understand how a casual remark above a given photo might unleash a fanboy vs hater flame war.
Familiarity with Facebook and Google+ is also desired, at the very least the ability to attach a photo from your computer, type a grammatically correct statement into the text box, and align the mouse over the Post box before clicking. Beyond that basic level of competence, even better would be keeping a keen eye on the news in order to judge when a photo of a given rider might particularly catch the interest of those who follow what we’re doing.
Compensation
I’ve already had offers to take on this role for free. However, I like to be paid for my work, and I like to pay something, even if it isn’t much, to those who help me. So up front I’ll say that while this isn’t a high-paying gig by any means, I don’t expect you to work for free even if you’re willing to do so.
In addition to some pittance per hour being part of the arrangement, there is also the opportunity to take compensation in trade. I assume many, if not most, who are interested in this role like my photography well enough, so I can offer prints of my work in lieu of or in addition to a wage depending on the situation. As you may know, I am working with certain MotoGP riders on signed editions and custom signed prints, so another possible compensation is a print signed to you by one of the riders, or even a print among the limited editions available from PHOTO.GP. These considerations are all in addition to (now harking back on the above Wikipedia content) whatever value you may place on gaining an insider’s view of how PHOTO.GP works.
How to Apply
Please send an email to this address: intern at photo.gp Explain briefly why you’re interested and how you fit into the What you bring to the role section above. No need to attach a resumé unless you want to. The deadline for applications is end of day Saturday, April 13th, PST.
I will acknowledge receipt of each inquiry so that you know I received yours. But I expect a fair number of emails and will not reply again to each one explaining why I didn’t pick you. If you don’t hear from me by end of day Sunday, April 14th, sorry, but you weren’t selected.
Thanks for your interest, and I look forward to hearing from you!
Scott
