Marketing Internship Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship at Cancer Research UK. From the start, the structure and organisation for interns was clear and concise, ensuring all interns settled into their roles. My internship was 12 weeks long, and I really feel I have learnt and developed many key skills. Cancer research UK is a lovely environment to work in, with lots of friendly employees. The work I was given throughout my internship was good, however at times I felt I wasn't being challenged and that would be my only critique. Other than that, I have gained a vast amount of experience, which I will take with me through my final year at university and into my career.

I worked within a small team at Cancer Research UK and had a good relationship with my colleagues. My team were all friendly and made sure I felt settled and comfortable. During my internship I was particularly lucky as I got the opportunities to work within different teams, gaining a rounder experience. This meant that I developed many different relationships. I was given at times a lot of responsibility which proved to me that they did value my opinion and trusted me with that responsibility.

The internship was tightly structured, in that you had frequent reviews with your line managers. Every 3 weeks these occurred, after these meetings you were required to pass on all feedback from both you and your manager to the overall supervisor, so that they can keep a strong understanding on both your developments and issues. This meant that you had strong support from both sides. However I did feel like often, as you are not given much responsibility in the job role that the meetings were not as successful and I didn't have much to report on or feedback.

At the start of my internship I was very busy, as everything was new. So it meant I gained lots of skills, with knowing how to use outlook emails, to negotiation and persuasion on the phone. However, this did reduce and near to the end of my internship I was not as busy. It was random, some days I was extremely busy, with lots of different tasks but other times I was less busy.

I was given a lot of experience during my internship as I project managed an event, which was really exciting and rewarding. This experience, allowed me to understand the full detail of what goes into the planning and execution of events and seeing them unfold. This was a fantastic experience, of which I will not forget.

I am studying International Relations and I did a internship in Marketing. However, the skills I haven't learnt will go a long way beyond my degree. As, it has opened up a new love for Marketing, something I know which to do after my degree. I am very grateful for this experience, and opening my eyes into the world of Marketing.

The general atmosphere in the office at Cancer Research UK was extremely lively and friendly. Everyday there is something going on. It is a great place to work as you really feel apart of a team and family. The internal communication team send out weekly newsletters informing you all the action for the week ahead, with many inspirational talks. I have attended a few of these and found them really fulfilling and encouraging, as they reinforce why you're doing your job and why you want to work as hard as you can for the charity, The general feel is that everyone wants to beat cancer sooner, and you really see the drive and motivation in each employee. This is a key reason why I would return and would love to work for the charity.

The placement was seamlessly organised, as I have previously mentioned. The structure allows interns to settle in immediately by encouraging you to get involved in many activities and to socialised with the other interns. The structure is very clear from get go, with a review every three weeks to go through with your manager how well you're working and what you would like to change. This is really good as it helps you to feel slightly in control of your internship, as you can plan with your manager to join other teams for the day or not - showing the flexibility in the internship.

At the start of the internship, you are asked to write down 12 skills you would like to develop throughout the 12 weeks. Every 3 weeks, during your review you and your manager look back at these development and see what you need to work on - highlighting the company's firm interested in your development. However, I did ask my manager various times, If I could attend any marketing training courses and was not allowed to do this, which I feel is a missed opportunity and would have really furthered my skills and knowledge of the job.

Future jobs with Cancer Research UK are very appealing for me. In particular the Graduate Scheme. I have worked alongside a graduate and can really see the benefits of getting on this scheme. It is heavily packed with lots of opportunity for you to learn and progress within the company. If I was not able to get on the scheme I would still like to work for the charity, particularly in my team as I love the campaign and what they are driving to achieve.

During my internships, there was many social events going on. As interns we arranged weekly drinks down the local pub, to get to know each other and to mingle. Within my team we have fortnightly drinks too, to catch up on everything and gain a strong working relationships. The set up for the internship also organised drinks every so often so that the supervisor could catch up with us. Many events occurred throughout my internship, as I worked in central London there was a lot going on, it was perfect.

I didn't really look at the cost of living in the area of my Internship. however as it was London it was on the more expensive size. But in terms of socialising, as most of the internships were still students we didn't pick particularly expensive places to socialise, so therefore I didnt really think it was expensive to social. However it could be if you wanted it to but there was no obligation for this.

I didn't go out during my internship, so therefore I am not sure what the night life was like in the area of Cancer Research. This was mainly because I was commuting each day to get into work so I couldn't leave London too late. However, I do believe some of the local interns went out and had a really good time. It is in Angel, so central London, so it is really fun.

There are frequently emails sent out to all employees at Cancer Research informing you of all the opportunities you're welcome to get involved in. These can be anything from scavenger hunts to working at exclusive events. It is a really good opportunity to get involved in as much outside work socials and activities so that you are networking at all times.