Policy Development Intern Review

My internship was a great experience, and I really enjoyed the chance to learn more about the organisation, and develop my skills in my career path. There were also loads of events and activities organised for the intern cohort, such as intern fundraising challenges and socials, which helped us get to know eachother and have a more sociable experience.

I was really welcomed into the organisation, and felt like a full member of the team from day 1. There were regular team activities and an away day which I was invited to, and were good ways of getting to know everyone else. I also felt like they valued the work I was doing and trusted me to do a good job.

My manager was really active in making sure I had everything I needed, and was really aware of my needs. She asked me how I liked to be managed, and I felt like I had the right balance of support and autonomy. She also supported my development and made sure I had opportunities to develop my skills.

My workload was mostly the right balance of busy/having enough time to complete everything, but was a little inconsistent. Some days I had too much work, and others I didn’t feel like I had enough to do. On the whole, I had the right amount of work to complete over my 12 week internship.

I had responsibility to complete my work freely and without constant supervision, but the projects I was completing were already laid out so I didn’t have much autonomy to determine their overall direction. I felt like I could challenge the way things were done if I saw something that could be improved.

The internship was in the area I want to follow as a career. I felt like the organisation and my manager were very aware of the skills I wanted to develop, and I was supported to do this. There was a good mix of on and off the job training, and I definitely think that this internship will help my future job applications and performance.

Sometimes it was quite quiet, but the atmosphere was never uncomfortable or boring. For me, it was the right balance between being quiet so I could focus and sociable to be enjoyable and get to know colleagues. There were also a lot of team and department after work events in the local area.

Very well organised - the volunteering team and my team were both prepared for my start and there were projects and trainings already set up for me. There were inductions for the whole intern cohort, and individual team inductions, which were suitable for the projects I have been doing. There was no wasted time at the beginning of the placement.

Our training and development was prioritised throughout the internship, both for the internship cohort as a whole and for me in my individual team. There were trainings in general skills such as presentations and CV writing, and I had skill development sessions with members of my team. I learned so much in my 12 week placement.

I will definitely be applying for the CRUK grad scheme, and hope to use some of what I have learned during the internship to improve my application. In the longer term, CRUK are one of the largest charities in the UK, and are very well respected, so would be a good place to work. If any internal vacancies arose during the internship, they were emailed to us so we could apply to them if we wanted.

Yes definitely. We went for drinks every week and also had lunch together most days. There was a social committee who did a great job of organising activities (including a trip to the Shard!). We could also get involved with intern fundraising if we wanted to meet more people and get some different experience.

Islington is an expensive area, so going out was quite pricey. There is a good range of pubs to choose from with some different prices, but there aren’t many options in the lower price range. Islington is well connected so we could travel to other areas of London if we wanted more choices.

There are loads of pubs and bars in the area, and it’s a really good area to go out in after work. But it is quite expensive, so the cost of going out adds up pretty quickly. If you wanted to go somewhere cheaper, then the area is well connected so you could easily go somewhere different.

There were activities with the other interns as well as social activities with the team. We had a team building afternoon with other interns, which was good to get to know people. There were also chances to get involved with intern fundraising and regular social events. The organisation has a weekly email with information about things to get involved with. There were also chances to volunteer at events.