Default Internship In Microfinance/Online Journalism (Buenos Aires)

[chiggins1985]

Financial news web startup is looking for a qualified intern to help launch and promote our website. We are a bilingual news site that publishes news bits, interviews, opinion, events and other info on topics related to inclusive finance: microfinance, mobile money, microentrepreneurship, microcredit, microinsurance, rural finance, Islamic finance, impact investing, etc.

Requirements:
-Background in international finance, international relations, business, non-profits or related field
-Strong web promotion skills: link building, social networking, research (Google news)
-Good writing and PR skills
-Must be studying/living and working in Buenos Aires for at least 6 months
-Ability to work 3 - 5 hours a day M-F

This is an unpaid internship but may lead to future employment opportunities. Ideal for a student or new graduate trying to break in the non-profit sector, online journalism or international finance. We write excellent job recommendations. Send us your CV and cover letter to [email protected]

 

[Davidglen77]

Just a word of advice, there is a labor law that applies to interns here in Argentina called "LEY DE PASANTIAS". Interns here do not work for free, they are intitled to pay by law and you have to maintain ART (accident) insurance coverage for them. If you hire an intern, and they are not registered and they have an accident and/or go to a labor lawyer, you are guaranteed to have a lawsuit and will be liable for hefty penalties, settlement, and legal fees. It's not a lot of money and it will save you lots of headaches in the future. Labor laws in Argentina are NOT something to ignore. Best of luck with your new endeavor.

 

[scottlyon]

Nice site, good international feel to it, rings to NGO non-profit bells and certainly could be a go-er.

I'm not putting myself forward for an 'internship' as working for free isn't as much fun as playing for free, however here's a couple of free tips for you.

1) Step away from the Adobe DreamWeaver delivery system into something more akin to proper Content Management System. There are many Open Source (Free) platforms out there; Drupal, Joomla and WordPress being the best regarded at this time.

2) The aforementioned platforms have free widgets which integrate across many Social Media platforms - use them. Enable comments to attract return traffic and open up reflective practise at how effective any campaign/author is, be careful to use "nofollow" so as to not attract link spammers. All the platforms mentioned have inbuilt systems although alternatives like Disqus are very popular and don't require viewers to 'sign up'. Facebook and Twitter integration have similar commenting systems. Google News may also index you if you fit the correct parameters.

3) 'Building links' can certainly go against your ranking with search engines if you are not careful. Stay away from SEO gurus and questionable methods to increase your profile. Fluid, original, rich content and a steady integration across reputed sites linking back to you for said content is the way to build. Google and others will penalise you and depending upon the infraction could damage your domain name for a very long period of time.

3) Use your copy properly. Alt tags for well named images with descriptions, modern formatting for text and internal linking all increase how search engines rank your site. Good copy will keep readers happy and make any backlinks you get more appealing to indexing robots if it is all unique and relevant. Have a deign brief for your authors to follow - keep it consistent.

4) Stop using 'Flash'. HTML5 is now the standard and any efforts put into Flash just now are wasted. Adobe does have 'Edge' in beta which delivers a similar cosmetic appeal but is compliant with modern standards.

5) Don't use someone as both content provider and content manager - Bias will go against you and blur the lines between efficient use of skills and time spent. An intern is not someone you wish to pin your online success with. Have them write for you and have them follow guidelines. Learn from them but never hand them the keys to your reputation. They can walk away - you will find it more difficult.

Lastly whilst I am sure you are looking for Buenos Aires people to work alongside you in a personal manner within your venture other platforms such as Idealist.org might be more apt for gaining people who are knowledgeable about non-profits and the ideals of Social Justice within a global setting.

I'd also not dismiss Davidglen77's comments about staying on the right side of the law and outside the grey area of exploitation - particularly due to the content of your site.

Plenty of food for thought there.

Best of luck with it all - you've got a good idea, just polish it before setting it forth too far!