Trusts and Major Giving Intern Review

My manager was very supportive - from the offset, she made sure I knew what my end goals were for the project I was working on, and exactly how I would be able to achieve them. Our twice-weekly meetings also meant that I was able to update her on my work and receive feedback on how I was doing. She also made it very clear that I only needed to ask if I needed any help in anything.

I usually always had things to do - the only times when I didn't have that much to do was either when I was waiting back on others to provide information needed to complete my projects, or at the end of my internship when I was more wrapping up my work and thus didn't have lots to do.

Doing my internship here was extremely helpful in developing my skills to work in the charity sector. My internship was focused on fundraising, and so from it I learnt so much about how to write grant proposals and how you go about major donor fundraising. In general, my communication skills and confidence in my ability to do jobs like this in the future really improved.

It was a big office, so it was slightly intimidating on the first day. But from day one everyone on my team were very welcoming and supportive, and all were willing to help me with anything I needed. There was never any tension between people, instead everyone got along and just genuinely seemed to enjoy the work that they did.

In our first week, all interns had an induction day where personal development was really emphasised. All interns received a 'personal development pack' where you could write down what skills you wanted to develop during your time here, and how you would go about this. Interns are encouraged to talk about this with their manager, who can help them achieve their goals, and can also apply for a mentor during their time here. Cancer Research seem to really care about your own development.

Cancer Research seems like a really great place to work. I would have loved to apply for a role here had I not been offered a job elsewhere. But they really emphasise applying for roles during your internship, as you will have access to the internal recruitment pages. And everyone here is willing to help you with application writing and interview skills, as well as point out any vacancies they think you should apply for.

Definitely! All the interns meet in the first week at the induction day, and are from then on encouraged to socialise with each other. So I always had other interns to each lunch with, or just grab a coffee with at some point during the day. There were drinks after work every Thursday as well, and interns also organise other social events together - for example, we all went to Wimbledon.

Not exactly cheap, but not too bad either. You will get a lunch and travel allowance which really helps to keep the costs of your internship down. I would not have been able to afford to live in the area, so I just travelled from home, and stuck to the cheaper pubs/bars/restaurants in the area.

You will always be emailed about opportunities to get involved with other activities outside of your role. Some of these will be intern organised (i.e. our intern fundraising team), but some will be general charity-wide (i.e. volunteering at Wireless, or joining the running club, etc). The weekly emails sent out to everyone in the building was a good way to look out for more opportunities of things to get involved in.