Meetings & Events Intern Review

Working closely with the teams/ departments on the calendar of events. Organising and setting up events such as employee and customer networking parties, Charity events, exhibitions and conferences, on-site and off-site local and international meetings for employees ranging from 20 - 300 attendees. Arranging and liaising with venue managers for site-visits to hotels and possible event venues while arranging with the team on available dates. doing regular stock taking of the merchandise cupboard and ordering more merchandise when needed. Packing and shipping merchandise for the sales team when needed at events. Managing the shared email inbox by sorting the emails that are meant for each member on the team and replying to emails when you can while on top of catching up on emails in your own inbox about events and queries.

Organization and time management skills, creating a timeline to ensure all the planning and organisation are done withing a timely manner and keeping on top of any needed paperwork, merchandise or ordering any extra food, drinks, cars for exhibitions tec. Communication skills, networking and interacting with employees and customers at events helps to build relationships and makes it easier to interact in future events. Budgeting and negotiation skills, keeping to a budget and knowing when to negotiate for better rates in order to keep within a budget. Tracking expenses and invoices helps in keeping within the budget and knowing other areas that more money can be spent on.

I was given a good amount of responsibility not just as an intern but as a team member. It started off with smaller and easier events to organise and weekly 1-1 meetings with my manager and soon turned into organising an event from scratch and hosting an event on my own to bigger events with more employees and customers involved. I was also entrusted to take charge of the banner and merchandise stock taking and shipping.

The right amount of support was provided not only from my line manager but other teams as well while working with them on the events. Everyone was more than willing to help and provide assistance and knowledge on the events especially the marketing and communications team when we needed support on marketing material and any speeches. The teams who had attended events previously or ignited an event from scratch also provided their knowledge and experiences on previous events and would discuss with us on how to improve future events during the planning process.

The company has a 'Our doors are always open' culture where employees can feel free to knock on the door of a higher up and have a conversation with them. This makes the company feel open and free to interact with everyone from different teams and departments. Everyone in the company is friendly and willing to help each other out. There are also different on campus events that creates positive environment such as a bakery, ice cream van and different celebrations such as International Womens Day, Social Mobility Day, Christmas market etc.

I had a really great and memorable experience overall, learning so many new things and meeting so many new people. It has also helped me develop on my transferrable skills such as communication, planning, time management, and adaptability but also working on new skills such as budgeting, negotiation and understanding client's requirements. It was also great to be part of the culture that celebrates and accepts individuality, race, gender, disabilities etc, knowing that you are not excluded.

Yes

Understand the company and present your best self. Know the role, research the team, interact with employees on LinkedIn.