By Hannah Fleishman. Hannah is an intern at MITX. She is a rising senior at Emerson College and grew up in Italy, Germany, and Egypt. Hannah is passionate about traveling, writing, marketing, and smiling..

A few months ago I was scouring the Web for a paid summer internship - the four leaf clover of student work experience. I came across a job post on Craigslist that read “Paid Social Media Intern," a diamond in the rough. I opened the link and learned that an unnamed (classic Craigslist) firm was looking for someone to keep its Twitter and Facebook accounts updated and relevant. The schedule was flexible with a minimum of 10 hours a week, all from home, for 20$/hr. Was I being tricked by the big bad Internet? Could I really get paid $200 a week for doing something I had never been trained to do? Something I do for fun? Oh, the perks of being a millennial. Before coming across this job post I did not have social media listed as a skill on my resume; I assumed that was expected of me, having been born in the '90s. But we all know what happens when you assume.

Since the Craigslist post I have been asking myself, is social media a skill? Sometimes I think yes: Emerson College recently added a social media course to the marketing curriculum, services such as Klout rank your social media influence, BostonTweet guest speaks on the topic because he is just that good. Clearly it is something to be practiced and perfected, like any sport or instrument.

This guest post is by Sana Bakshi.  Sana is currently a sophomore at Emerson College and serial intern. Her passions include social media, marketing and business. She prefers to keep her thoughts under 140 characters. Follow Sana on twitter @sanabakshi.

It’s that time of year again! No, not the end of the academic semester, finals week, or even spring. It’s the time of year when every student, professor, or adult is asking college students, “So, what are you doing this summer?” Lately, my answer has been the dreaded: “I’m waiting to hear back about internships.” But the more I think about this question (and my answer), the more I realize the importance of a good summer internship. Any employer can rattle off the good qualities of an intern, but if you ask a student what the qualities of a good internship are, things get a little bit fuzzier.

As spring, hopefully, approaches the Boston area, many companies are feeling excited about hiring newly minted graduates to help them create the next generation of superstar employees. It can often be challenging to find young talent – especially when our market space is changing so quickly. How do you find someone with the right skills, or even just the right raw materials to get up to speed quickly?

Dianne Durkin, President of Loyalty Factor, led an engaging panel this morning on the generational differences in communication and work style that affect employees in offices across the globe. The speakers included Mary Truslow, Recruiting Manager, Creative Services & Marketing Division, Hollister; Kate Forrestall, Manager, Global Recruitment, TripAdvisor; Healy Jones, Vice President of Marketing, OfficeDrop; and Dan Lyons, SVP HR, Allen & Gerritsen. The presenters shared personal stories and insights, and audience participation was encouraged. Special thanks to Hollister for hosting this great event!

The goal of this event was to determine the specific characteristics of each generation in order to develop methods to promote healthy and effective communication at work. Each of the four generations making up today’s workforce can be characterized by a set of values stemming from family belief systems, and the defining events of the time period.

The Generations: Quick Facts

As social marketing matures, marketers will have to be mindful of generation gaps. But, thanks to awesome groups like TNGG (The Next Great Generation), we are learning how to be mindful of multigenerational preferences in our marketing.

But we also need to address how multigenerational workforces are affecting our organizations – how teams work together, how managers motivate different generations, and how the recruitment process needs to consider the different preferences of each generation.