Patient Involvement (Communications) Intern Review

I found my internship at Cancer Research UK to be very enjoyable. As I was preparing for my interview, I read reviews of the internship on RateMyPlacement.com and was impressed, but the actual internship was even better than I expected. Each day, even if I was working on a part of the project I wasn't fond of (which wasn't often), I felt like my work had purpose and meaning. This feeling comes from the general atmosphere at CRUK. We are all working toward a common goal - and every little thing we do is working towards beating cancer sooner. During my time here, CRUK was in the process of revamping their organisation to ensure that employee management was straightforward and impactful. It just shows that CRUK is constantly evolving to be the best organisation it can be. It seems like a really "young" organisation: passionate, energetic and eager to be better.

In previous internships I had, the label "intern" seemed very firm. I rarely felt that way in my team at CRUK. I was welcomed with open arms and members of my team offered me induction meetings so I could learn about their role and how they could help me in mine. My team was also very supportive of my work and offered encouragement and thanks throughout the stages of my project.

From my first day, my manager was super helpful and made sure I had everything I needed to feel well oriented in my role. We had progress reviews every couple of weeks where we would discuss the management relationship and how I was moving along in achieving my goals and objectives. Because I prefer working independently, it was really nice to see that managers are prepared to be flexible. As long as I articulated what I needed, my manager tried her best to accommodate me and this really helped make my time at CRUK as productive as possible. She was also really open to helping me. When she reviewed my work, it always felt like really constructive criticism.

My internship project was to create a toolkit using SharePoint software. I had to collect and format resources, write and edit content, design the website, organise workshops to test the toolkit content and organisation and attend meetings with team members to increase my knowledge about the previously fairly unknown topics I was writing about. So I was quite busy! However, I was never made to feel like I had to stay after hours or had to skip lunch to keep working. If I decided to work more than I was asked it was completely because of the expectations I had put on myself.

I really enjoyed having such a well-defined project because once I had an idea of what I was expected of me, I could work on my own and I never felt micromanaged. At the internship induction, we were told that our internship was really meant to help us grow – none of that fetching coffee and making copies cliché. I was happy to see that the internship scheme really held itself to that standard. I felt like my manager definitely let me take lead on the project, but I never felt like I was completely on my own. We had weekly catch-up meetings where I would explain what I had accomplished and we would discuss next steps, but other than that I could always pop by her desk to ask a question or get a new perspective.

This was my first time working for a large organisation and I was surprised to realise how much I was unfamiliar with. Just being in this environment helped me a lot - I grew a lot more confident in approaching coworkers and speaking up with my ideas. I feel like I have more of a sense of the routine of such a job. Then there was also the more project-specific work. Organising and running the workshops really taught me more about public speaking, time management, communication, office etiquette and how to handle criticism of my work. If I could summarise the skills I learned, I would say: teamwork and project management.

It was really fast-paced and energetic. People are friendly and you can tell that they enjoy their work. There wasn't a single instance I observed of someone "slacking off". People put full effort into their tasks and it's easy to see why because it's so rewarding to be working toward a goal this universal.

It was really well set up. I felt like the expectations for me were clear and I never felt lost. The volunteer manager set clear benchmarks so that the managers and interns could keep track of progress in terms of goals and objectives. In general, I feel like CRUK is a very organised place. Events run smoothly, and work gets done.

Throughout my internship, events took place where we could learn about LinkedIn or have our CV's reviewed by HR. There was also a half-day workshop about general interviewing, cover letter writing, and networking skills. CRUK definitely provided opportunities for personal development, it was just up to the interns to take advantage of them.

I would love to work for CRUK if I'm ever back in the country! The employees really seem to be treated well and it feels like a supportive organisation. For example, there are lots of awards available to commendable employees which I find is really good for morale and motivation. It feels like people here love what they do and I'd love to be a part of that.

During my internship I was also studying full time at university so my schedule was pretty packed and I didn't have much chance to socialise with other interns. The opportunity was definitely there though; one of the interns set up weekly drinks. It happened to fall on one of the days I didn't work so because of that too I didn't get a chance to get to know them too well. My team more than made up for it though! We had a couple of team lunches and in general our team's atmosphere was quite friendly and open.

Cost of living and socialising is very high - it was nice that the £4 subsidy covered lunch, but for me the area was too expensive to go out for drinks or to restaurants too often. I know a lot of interns took advantage of the travel subsidy (~£57 per week), but I lived close enough to walk to work.

Angel has a lot of nice bars and restaurants. I didn't really take advantage of the bars but I think I'll be a lifelong fan of Banana Tree (right across the street from the main Angel building entrance)! Also, the Angel Comedy Club has stand-up comedy events every day where you pay what you can by donation.

Yes - we had the opportunity to volunteer for events that CRUK organised or was a part of and a lot of interns also set out to create their own fundraising projects. Because I was so busy with my project, I generally only had time to volunteer for out of office events like cheering CRUK runners on at the Bear Grylls Survival Race.