Assessment and Eligibility Intern Review

My internship in the Adult Social Care department of Shropshire Council gave me a huge insight into what it is like to work in a large organisation. I was given lots of responsibility and felt challenged by the projects I worked on.

My colleagues welcomed me into the team from the start and were a great support throughout the time I was on the internship.

I met with my manager numerous times throughout the internship to discuss the projects I was working on and to ask for their advice and guidance. I also got great support from the graduate manager and buddy system that was set up where colleagues from the Shropshire Council Graduate Scheme arranged to meet up to discuss how we were doing on the internship and to help us out with any questions/concerns we had.

The projects I were set gave me just enough work to fill the three months I was on the internship. I was given additional work to do on top of these projects which meant I got a better breadth of experience and knowledge of the department.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility during my placement to organise events/workshops and set up meetings that led to writing a review report. I didn't feel as though I was given too much responsibility, however, as there were times when experience was important in the work I was doing and on those ocassions I had the support of other managers.

I really feel that this internship had stood me in great stead for future employment. I have greatly improved my communication, organisation and time management skills whilst working for Shropshire Council. I have also had a lot of exposure to senior management and felt listened to when I made suggestions.

There was always a positive attitude in the office I worked in even though many of the staff were very busy most of the time.

This was the first year of the internship running so there were a few things that could have been better. However, overall it was very well organised.

We received great training around presentation skills after doing a presentation about our projects to some of the senior managers. We also did some training around career development which was very useful.

Shropshire Council has a Future Leaders/Graduate Programme that is 4 6 month placements within a variety of departments. I managed to secure a place on this graduate programme and a number of the other interns have secured full time roles or have had their internships extended.

Altogether there were 13 interns and a number of graduates who arranged socials. This was really good as some interns, incuding myself, had moved to the area for work and so didn't know many people locally. Most lunch times all the interns ate together in the canteen which was a good way of getting to know each other and discussing the projects we were working on.

I was fortunate in that my rent was quite a good rate - someone on the graduate scheme offered for me to rent out her spare room at a cheap rate for the three months. Shrewsbury is a lovely town with lots of bars/clubs/pubs for socialising. You are also only a ten minute drive to the nearest countryside walks for those who prefer the outdoors.

Shrewsbury is okay when it comes to nightlife. There are a variety of bars and clubs that I went to and had a laugh on numerous nights out over the three months.

Some of my colleagues joined a local gym and went to exercise classes whilst they were on the internship, I got involved in a local church which meant I made more friends outside of work.