Marketing and Communications Intern Review

I enjoyed my placement immensely. The office, although large, has a very friendly atmosphere and everyone is extremely welcoming. I made some great friends with other interns and team members, and belly laughed at least once every day. I felt that the jobs I was given were not just tasks made up to fill time, but instead were jobs that needed to be completed to help further the team's progress.

My manager and my team went above and beyond to welcome me to the office, and frequently expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the work I was doing. I never felt undervalued, or like I was being used to delegate unwanted tasks. Obviously there were times where my tasks for the day included a few fairly tedious ad-hoc jobs, but this certainly wasn't a frequent occurrence, and my manager always made sure I wasn't too bored with the jobs she had given me and had plenty more interesting jobs to complete afterwards.

As aforementioned, my manager was very friendly and approachable throughout my internship. I felt very lucky to have been placed with such a lovely team, who were so willing to help and guide me through tasks I didn't understand. My manager often came over to my desk to check that I had things to do, and that I understood what was required of me. She also scheduled regular 1 to 1 meetings, which took place each week, to see how I was getting on and if I was enjoying the internship. She always seemed to be genuinely concerned about how I was feeling and coping, which was very reassuring.

This varied from week - to - week. There were times where I had a long list of jobs that needed finishing, or a long-term project that was approaching its deadline, and I felt completely rushed off my feet to finish (this wasn't necessarily a bad thing - I quite enjoyed keeping busy and completely numerous tasks). However there were also days where I had only one or two tasks to complete, both of which could have been completed in an hour if working at an efficient pace. Again, this wasn't always a bad things because it is nice to have more relaxed days, but I occasionally felt a bit bored and like I was trying to kill time.

My manager was away for a week and a half near the start of my internship, and we had just embarked on a new project. She left me with primarily sole responsibility for numerous aspects of this project, and I was responsible for liaising with many senior managers in her place. Upon her return, my work was implemented into shops nationally and will remain in place for (hopefully) years to come. I felt very pleased to have been granted so much responsibility, and it really helped me feel that my work was making a difference to the face of Cancer Research UK (if only in a small way!).

Although it sounds trivial, my internship helped me to forward basic day-to-day skills, such as taking notes, working to a deadline, meeting new people in a professional environment, and editing down my work to fit a certain word count. It may not sound like much, but these skills will be utilised for years to come throughout my professional life, and have come in very useful, especially in the final year of my degree (quick note taking in lectures is a LIFE SAVER!), and I am very grateful for the opportunity to develop these skills at Cancer Research UK.

The general atmosphere was very friendly and welcoming. There always seemed to be a buzz of activity around the office, and most people seemed to know each other and would often stop for a chat. My team were lovely and were always happy to have a cup of tea and a chat in work breaks, which made the day a lot more pleasant and helped time pass quickly. I was very lucky to be placed in a team that was quite central in the office and there always seemed to be something going on nearby.

There was a whole volunteering team, which as well as managing shop volunteers around the country, also were responsible for the interns. We received regular emails from our primary contact, [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] in the Volunteering Team, who checked in to make sure we were all ok, and often wanted us to send her a document of notes about how our placement was going. We were regularly asked for feedback so that they could improve the placement for future intakes, and it felt that interns were a fairly core part of the Cancer Research.

There was a mentor scheme that ran throughout the internship. Interns were able to apply for a mentor at the start of the internship, and we had regular meetings with our mentors who answered any questions we had about their jobs or their department (my mentor, for example, was a marketing executive), and also aided us in our personal development. It felt that the company was investing large amounts of time and resources into the interns to help our developments and skill progression.

There were numerous occasions where I was made aware of vacancies that I could apply for, and my manager even offered the option of me staying on within the team. All of these vacancies looked very appealing and were definitely something that I would have considered pursuing, however I unfortunately still had a year of university to complete, so I was unable to take any action with these vacancies. However if I had already been a graduate, I definitely would have pursued these vacancies.

Yes there was an extremely active social scene amongst fellow interns. We all got to know each other quite well through team building exercises at the start of our internship, and from then, there were numerous social events (such as pub quizzes, bingo nights, film nights, meals out, and drinks) which was often advertised around a group mailing list on email that all of the interns were a part of. Also, groups of interns frequently had lunch together and participated in fundraising events throughout the internship.

Cancer Research UK's head office is in Islington, which is North London, bordering on Central London. As to be expected with this area, the prices were relatively expensive. Cancer Research UK covered travel and lunch expenses, however our daily allowance for food was only £4, so this did not extend to after work socialising. The prices weren't so horrific that you could never go out and socialise, but it did make socialising regularly (eg once a week) quite difficult. As a result, I only went out to socialise a few times.

As the internship was 9-5 each day, and I lived an hour's commute away from the office, going out for the night wasn't really an option for me. I would've have liked to try it, as I heard good things about the nightlife but did not experience it first hand. There were some very nice pubs and bars nearby which were great for after work drinks - they had a very nice atmosphere and were very relaxing and enjoyable at the end of a long day at the office. Would definitely recommend checking our nearby venues if you are starting an internship at CRUK.

Yes, there were tons of fundraising activities that were running regularly. Our intake of interns participated in an event that Cancer Research UK were running, called the DNA Trail. Before this event, we all got into teams and had to raise as much money as possible. There were lots of opportunities to be a part of cake sales, sweet sales, pub quizzes, and nights out. As well as this, there were other fundraising events that were not solely for interns, such as the Stand Up To Cancer 'three peaks' abseiling challenge.