Event Development (Volunteer Fundraising) Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship with CRUK! I've learnt a lot, and had a great time doing it. I think what's made it is the people; my team were so friendly and supportive, and the 47 other interns were all likeminded lovely people!

My team were extremely friendly, they answered my - sometimes stupid - questions and made me feel completely at ease! They were always really grateful when I helped them with something, whether it be large or small. My line manager also ensured to always give me his, and the rest of the teams feedback, in our placement reviews which made me feel that my work and efforts were valued.

Prior to starting any project my manager would arrange a meeting in which we would break down how I needed to approach it and what to do should there be any issues. This was a huge help and equipped me with confidence to start tackling things. After this I worked fairly independently - though he was always there should I have any problems or questions - which allowed me to develop confidence in following my own logic and decisions.

This varied a lot. During the first half of my placements I was waiting for several things to happen before I could start new projects, so was at some points looking for something to do. However, once I'd gained access to Siebel and permissions had gone through on a few things, I then had plenty to be doing. It never felt like too much however, as it was primarily research based, I was able to dedicate as much time as I could find/ was possible on every area.

Most of the work I was doing was research based (venues, challenges etc.) so whilst it held some importance for making future decisions it did not hold much responsibility. There was one occasion, on first starting the placement, that I was in organising around 40 volunteers at a collection at Kings Cross Station - for that one day I felt fairly responsible!

I think the skills I've developed will be essential both for finishing my degree and for future jobs. I've learnt a lot about what working styles suit me, and how to trust my own opinion. I also think just getting the internship in the first place has built my confidence in my own abilities, which I think has made me more excited about the prospect of putting myself out their for grad schemes or other such opportunities.

The atmosphere in the Angel office is fantastic. Whilst there are over 900 people working there it feels like everyone knows one another. There is a real sense that we're all striving towards the same goal (to beat cancer sooner!) and so everyone has time to help other teams or individuals out with their projects and problems.

The organisation was great. It all started with an induction day at which there were speakers from across departments, giving you a feel for what working for CRUK was like. There was also an organised CV workshop, about halfway through the placement, that was really useful and accessible! Towards the end there was a 'goodbye' style event, where interns gave speeches about the projects they had been working on all Summer. Between these bigger events Rachael (the lovely person in charge of interns) would email reminders to ensure you had regular review meetings with your manager - so it all felt very structured which was great!

During the induction day we reviewed a personal development pack where we outlined what areas we would like to develop during the next 12 weeks. I had a mentor during my time with CRUK who then helped me to try and tackle some of these key areas. This was fantastic - she helped me to break things down and - especially with time management - I think I made huge improvements. She also put me in touch with a few people in different departments (marketing and innovation) which was really great - I got their honest opinions on what they did and it helped me to narrow down my future options.

Cancer Research UK is such a friendly charity that I think it would be a fantastic place to work. They offer a two year graduate scheme, which is broken down in to four six month placements. I'm interested in applying for this when I graduate from university.

There was another 47 interns at CRUK so there was lots of opportunities to socialise! Especially towards the last 6 weeks everyone was organising fundraising events (from pub quizzes to drinks on the roof to pizza & bingo night) which were great fun.

Fortunately I had free accommodation at a relatives - otherwise, being from the north, I would definitely not have been able to take on this internship. Angel is right in the heart of London so accommodation is super expensive! Socialising was also very expensive, however we found a few more affordable places (2 for 1 cocktails at Barrio North are fab!).

With everyone needing to catch trains home we never found out that much about the nightlife. However with Angel being so central I'm sure there are lots of great places close by.

There were lots of opportunities to volunteer on events - which was a great way of seeing work come in to fruition! I helped with the Orbit abseil, the London Pride Fun Run, Kings Cross Collection, Totteridge Brunch and the British Airways Fun day - all of which I really enjoyed! Aside from volunteering there was just the socialising opportunities previously mentioned.