If you were a brand of cereal, what would you be and why?

Although retail jobs have long been a go-to for students, the explosion of social media has led to the creation of a new type of student job: the ‘Brand Ambassador’.

While Dublin has the most opportunities for this line of work, it is a role that is fast becoming common across the country as marketing, events and promotion companies - many of which have several brands under their umbrellas - increasingly employ brand ambassadors.

Whereas students might once have been tied to commuting home to keep a job in their local pub or hotel, there is now some choice to stay near to the collegial home, the new economy offering new freedom in the evergreen seasonal work of advertising.

As brand ambassador they will be expected to represent the corporate identity of the employer or their product.

Every day is a day where something can be marketed, celebrated or promoted. Whether it is Halloween, a concert, Christmas, or just a regular Thursday, BAs tend to have a role to play.

Unlike the responsibilities associated with waiter or bartender, there is some ambiguity surrounding the role of brand ambassador.

This can be a double-edged sword; you often won’t know who or what you’ll be working for or on until they tell you.

There is no routine, rhythm or rota to the variety of jobs but of paramount importance is that the brand looks good; a catch-all term for doing whatever needs to be done.

Sometimes this means being invisible; the eyes that notice the room slipping from its perfect facade, the hands removing bottles, filling empty glasses, hanging up branded posters, even holding balloons and walking in a parade, heavily involved but invisible.

It might sometimes seem glamorous - students are invited to events not normally accessible to them, access is granted but not in the way they might like.

More often than not, the work is up-front-and-centre, trying to catch the eyes and attention of some innocent bystander, just trying to enjoy their day.

Like those working in the traditional retail sector, you are expected to be unfailingly pleasant, laugh at the jokes, play with the babies, do everything within your power to make the brand look good.

The more challenging aspects of the job are where, adorned in a branded t-shirt, you attempt to steal a few minutes of someone’s day, to ask passersby to sign-up to whatever it is you are promoting.

Although most BAs would fall into the age bracket of being an unwilling member of the too-sensitive ‘Snowflake’ generation, it feels an unfair label here, as rejection is rife.

A successful number of signs-ups, generally means double that of rejections; people who flatly ignore your existence, or who smile and nod but don’t engage.

Although it’s easy to get disheartened at people’s total disdain for your presence, with the guts of a 5-6 hour shift remaining, there is no choice but to shake it off, pick yourself up and start again.

This is also where the personal reward is evident; satisfying to feel like you’ve worked hard, to then be successful. Every sign-up counts, every little helps.

The best jobs are when you get to give out complimentary goods or samples, making people’s day that little bit better.

In a job where the expectation is for you to be ‘on-form’; all smiling, happy, always overly positive, it is refreshing to witness the small moments of humanity; Parents encouraging children to ‘ask the nice lady’ for whatever it is, elderly people shuffling by, eager for conversation, those who are genuinely interested in the product.

Consumers are encouraged to smile, snap pictures, upload them to social media. In the age of screen time it’s not enough that you just sample or buy the product, you have to let all your virtual friends and followers know that you are using this product, or that you’ve tried it.

Given the nature of the work, the interviews are not just individual question and answer sessions, but tests to see your suitability for the job.

Candidates are required to be impressive on paper, creative, good communicators, confident, and display an ability to work in a team within 5 -10 minutes, answering on the spot questions like;

If you were a brand of cereal, what would you be and why?

If you could choose celebrity parents, who would you choose and why?

Who would you invite, living or dead, to a dinner party?

Like any interview, punctuality is emphasised and candidates are often early for interviews. I wondered during mine whether this was part of the competition, seeking out the practised conversationalists from the natural extroverts; who would chat beforehand?

We all exchanged stories of similar work for other companies, wondered if the rumours of employees being ‘blacklisted’ for lack of loyalty to one company were true, (unsure), if firms took your photo, your height, weight, judged you on your looks (not true).

Notwithstanding the irregularity of the work, and the feeling that the pressure is a little higher here compared to jobs at home - knowing there is an army of students waiting to take your place, the job is both enjoyable and beneficial for students; hours can be assigned based on what suits the student, the money is good, the work itself teaches valuable soft skills.