Digital Intern Review

I feel that my internship was enjoyable and challenging. At times I was outside my comfort zone, which can be difficult, but it always made me feel so good for trying new things and I have started to gain more confidence within a working environment. I think this internship was enjoyable because of how relaxed it was. The department I worked on were so friendly and welcoming. The interns were given a lot of freedom to get involved in different activities, spend time within different departments on a variety of projects and be as far outside their comfort zone as they dared to be. If simply turning up to the internship is far enough outside your comfort zone, then you wouldn't be forced to take on too much. However, the team and my manager did provide so much advice on what to get involved in to help get the most out of the internship as possible. I always felt free to decide exactly how I spent my time and there was so many opportunities to learn and gain confidence which was great!

The team was so welcoming and I always felt like everyday I was invited to get involved in different things within the department. During the first two weeks we had 30 minute induction meetings with different members of the department to help us understand everyone's roles which was so helpful! Everyone was happy to sit down with us and explain what they did. I was always included in meetings and invited to participate in volunteering activities. When I did small presentations during the weekly team update meetings, everyone was interested in what I had to say and I felt like my project had importance. When we left my manager arranged a team lunch for me and another intern on my department.

On several occasions, my manager mentioned a name of someone who could help on a specific task and when I contacted them they were always forthcoming and keen to give up their time and support my work. I would just email them and ask if I could set up a meeting. I can't remember anyone ever saying no and the meetings were always so helpful, even though I was usually quite nervous and wasn't sure how to lead them. My department colleagues would always try and give as much advice and guidance as possible, even when I didn't give them much to go on! My manager was absolutely wonderful! Interns have weekly reviews with their managers to discuss progress and every time my manager would give me so much amazing advice on how to get more involved and what I could be doing that I hadn't done yet.

Interns were given a lot of freedom to get involved in different things so you could be as busy as you wanted. But, I think if you are trying to get the most out of the opportunity then you would definitely be a nice amount of busy everyday. I would never be stuck for things to do. Especially towards the end as we were wrapping up our projects it was really fun and exciting because I scheduled a final meeting and presentation and I was trying to complete our final fundraiser at the same time! I found that the most enjoyable days that also felt busy included a variety of desk tasks as well as things away from your desk, such as 1-2-1 meetings or user testing sessions etc. Days where you move around a lot and speak to different people always flew by!

I feel that I was given a lot of responsibility in the context of my own project, since I was running it myself! However, my project did not effect the overall running of the department. It was an additional project that I could develop whilst learning. I liked that it was a sort of unpressured responsibility, especially since this was my first work experience within my main field of interest, so it was nice to just explore how the organisation works and learn how digital projects are run without feeling too much real stress. I feel that with this as a foundation I will be able to take on more responsibility in my next work experience role.

I have gained an excellent insight into the running of a digital team, which is great for me because I am very interested in this career field. I also had to opportunity to have an induction with the social media team, which is more specifically what I am interested in. If there was any one department of specific interest you were free to gain experience working with them. I will definitely take back organisational skills and presentation skills (this something I aimed to develop during my time here). I have also learn a lot about an office work environment, including the importance of a bit of email banter to lighten the mood of a hard Monday morning!

The office was very relaxed and never too loud - there was always a good level of background noise to work to. Everyone was very focused on their work and worked very well as a team. The department was divided into smaller teams and as far as I knew these teams sat on desks next to or near each other. This meant they could work on their projects without disrupting other teams. Everyone was usually in a great mood! It was commonplace for people to bring in sweets, cakes, or maybe treats from their holidays and put them in 'the usual spot' (middle cabinet) for everyone to enjoy. There was also a lot of light heartedness over email which helped keep people smiling even if work was stressful at times. What struck me most whilst working there was that everyone seemed to enjoy what they did so much and no one ever complained. It was actually a very refreshing work atmosphere to be in and it has made me excited to finish university and get a job!

The internship was very well organised! When we arrived we were greeted at the reception of the office building by our manager, shown where are department was and where are desks would be. We were given a welcome pack and a department introduction pack. Then we were provided log in details for the computer. We were taken around by our manager to say hello to each member of the department and from members of other departments. Throughout the first two weeks we had 30 minute induction meetings with the different members so we got to chat to them about their role and they asked us about what we did (such as what we study at university etc.) We used the outlook email system and so it was easy to schedule and accept meetings and keep track of what meetings and arrangements we had each day. We had review meetings with our manager and got lots of advice on how to get involved. We also felt part of the intern community, making a Facebook group and meeting for lunch times. On the second day we had a whole day which we spent as a group of interns. We were given presentations from different departments and were given the opportunity to ask questions. That evening we went for interns drinks. As we got more into the internship, we learnt how to more plans for future weeks and how to develop a plan for our projects. Everyone made sure that we knew we could ask anyone for help at anytime. It was very efficient and helpful!

The organisation provided lots of opportunities to get involved in training. I trained in a few different things during my time at this internship. My manager didn't make any training sessions compulsory, it really was about what you wanted to get out of the experience as an individual and therefore one interns training experience can be completely different to another. You are free to schedule meetings with anyone in the whole organisation and they would happily meet and talk about what they do. In terms of personal development, my manager was amazing! Each day my manager would provide positive encouragement for getting involved and helped me find contacts who could support my project. Each time we had a review meeting we would go over what I had done so far and discuss what I could achieve by the end. There was always ways to develop different areas of skill, all I had to do was express a desire to learn something and they would make it happen!

I am very interested to see if there are any positions in social media at CRUK when I finish my degree. I would also be keen to apply for any roles in the digital department, where I have been working. I am specifically interested in social media so this would be ideal. I have gained enough insight into the organisation to know that I would be happy working here long term. Several of the employees we met with in the first two weeks said that they started as interns and my manager started as an intern herself and is now managing interns! My friend who was an intern on my department as well was offered a job whilst we were there because she was a graduate and took it. I think the company are keen to employ their interns if there is an available opportunity as long as you have worked to the best of your ability during your internship. I also think they would provide amazing support and training to new employees.

I became good friends with the other intern on my department and as a group of interns everyone got on well and socialised in and outside of work. I think there was opportunity to be as involved as you wanted. It was a very good social scene because it was such a big group of interns and people were always organising events - whether it was for fundraising or just for fun! You could always find interns in the canteen at lunch time. Towards the end of the internship there was a lot of social fundraising events to get involved in like a karaoke night and a pizza and bingo night and a pub quiz. Everyone was so supportive of each other fundraisers and everyone was always very friendly.

I lived at home and the organisation covered the cost of my travel and lunch expenses. Socialising was sometimes quite expensive but the intern fundraisers towards the end were always a great price! This internship was in London so it wasn't always easy in terms of socialising costs, but you could always socialise at lunch times in the building or outside the building which didn't cost anything!

I can't say I managed to have proper night out during my internship but I can imagine it was pretty good considering it was London! Although I also imagine it would have been expensive!

Yes - there was many interns events for general socialising and for fundraising. We also got to take part in volunteering and user testing experience which sometimes took place outside the office building.