Internal Communications (Policy & Information) Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship at Cancer Research UK. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to gain experience - it's a great scheme! I had so much fun whilst also gaining invaluable experience.

Everyone at the organisation was extremely friendly and I felt valued and respected throughout my internship.

From my first day I was given support from a number of people. I had a manager who I had weekly 1-2-1 meetings with, as well as a 2 week, 6 week and end of placement review. On the first day my manager encouraged me to share the skills I wanted to get out of the internship and throughout my placement my manager helped me to achieve and develop these skills. My manager also provided me with daily guidance whilst simultaneously allowing me to get on with my work independently without feeling suffocated. I also had a mentor who I met up with 4 times throughout my internship. I went through things with my mentor which I might not have time to talk to my manager about and this was extremely beneficial. I was able to go through applications and practice interviews with my mentor as well as develop skills in our sessions. CRUK's Volunteer Placement Executive was also available to talk to at anytime and regularly kept in touch with me throughout my internship. The Volunteering department also held a CV and interview workshop day to help increase my chance of successfully securing employment after our internship.

Some days I was extremely busy, but there were other days which were slightly slower where I had time to reflect on the work I had done and what needed to be done in the future.

On my first day I was given 5 projects. One of these was a big project which I led and managed from beginning to end and the other 4 were smaller which I assisted with alongside my main project.

My internship was extremely beneficial. Previous to this I didn't have any experience in the field I wanted to go into, now I feel like I have a good chance of getting a job in the field I'm interested in.

Everyone at the CRUK office was so friendly - If I ever wanted to talk to someone I didn't know about their job role, everyone was always more than happy to meet with me.

The internship was extremely well organised - from beginning to end it was very structured and not at all confusing.

I was given a personal training and development pack on my first day to make sure I got out the skills I wanted from the internship. I then worked on this with both my manager and my mentor. The Volunteering Placement Executive also regularly checked in with me to make sure I was achieving the skills I wanted to.

I've made some great contacts over my placement and I'd really like to interview for a job if a suitable one comes available.

Yes - there was a great social scene. We regularly went for after-work drinks, we also organised intern fundraising, went to the theatre and volunteered at CRUK events together.

I lived at home and commuted (travel and lunch expenses are paid for to a certain extent) so that part was free! Socialising could have been fairly expensive as the office was based in central London, but there were plenty of local places which did deals and offers nearby.

There were some really great bars - I wish I had a chance to explore the nightlife more!

Yes plenty - there were different clubs as well as events that you could get involved with if you wanted to.