Marketing Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Macmillan. They are an amazing charity to work for, and full of welcoming and hard-working members of staff. I enjoyed the varied tasks I was set, contributing to larger products, and working across various teams as well as socialising with my colleagues and other interns.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues. I was included in lots of aspects of their work, and they were all happy to spend time assisting me and explaining their job roles, giving me an insight into future career options. I was also included/invited to social activities with them outside of work, and even given a celebratory send off, which I'm very grateful for. I couldn't have worked with nicer people!

I feel the Macmillan internship scheme provided me with a huge amount of support across my internship, from my line manager, buddy, internship and placements manager and the opportunity to have a mentor. I received regular one-to-one's with my line manager to ensure I was clear with my work, I was getting enough out of the internship and was not feeling demoralised or bored at any stage.

How busy I was ranged depending on the day, but quite often I would be working on 4 projects on the go. This would involve staying on top of each aspect, and being flexible and responsive to each projects development stage. At no point did I feel overworked, or like I wasn't given enough interesting work to do. I feel the balance was very good.

I was given a large amount of responsibility over my projects, starting with guidance and then being able to act as the primary liaison in many contexts. When holding responsibility, I was surrounded by supportive staff I could ask if there was anything I was unsure of, and to check I was on track, but I was very much given the freedom to make decisions and take control.

The marketing specific skills I developed, such as communications, design and copy writing, will be directly transferable to the future career I would like, and have given me both experience and confidence in using them. Additionally, the project management and team skills I developed are a huge asset to my final year project, and I'm sure will help me succeed this year.

Commitment. I feel everyone working at Macmillan is really committed to the cause, but also to the job they are doing, because all together it really helps those affected by cancer. Everyone seems to really enjoy their role, and get on well as a team which adds to the amiable atmosphere created. It was an office, where you would be supported in any situation, and feel you could ask for help from anyone and they would do their best to assist you.

I feel the internship was set up really well. All interns were invited to an induction day, meeting other interns and being told how to make the most out of their internship, as well as getting a true understanding for the charity. Additionally, there was plenty of guidance along the way, with the opportunity for mentoring and skills training sessions offered. The internship was also flexible on working hours, and supportive with expenses making it accessible to a range of individuals from different areas.

Macmillan is very invested in interns. As a charity, they understand the role of volunteers well, and gave us the many opportunity to gain skills whilst we were there. There was also opportunity to gain experience in other departments to get a real understanding of the range of roles available later on in our careers. At the induction day, we spoke to and met with members of staff who had previously been interns themselves, showing how the opportunity to work for them in the future was possible, and how invested they were in us as interns. I also had a mentor, who was happy to give advice on career prospects, read through my CV and help me gain a true insight into the charitable sector, which was brilliant.

Macmillan is a large organisation, where there are constantly opportunities for employment. I feel having been an intern would put me in great stead for a role there, and has given me a great range of skills. Other interns have gone on to work within Macmillan, and I constantly check upcoming vacancies as I would love to return. As an organisation, they do not offer graduate schemes so it means applying straight for a particular position, however, I feel that this is more suited to me and something I would like to do anyway.

There was opportunities for interns as a group to socialise and meet outside of work, however, as there was flexibility with working hours, and people came from a range of areas this was more difficult. It would be beneficial for more structured events to take place for future cohorts. Having said this, I did socialize with the colleagues on my time, and was invited to many activities with them, for which I was grateful. I took advantage of these offers, and as a result build much stronger relationships with my team.

Although based in London, I commuted in from home (Basingstoke) with my expenses paid for by Macmillan, so there were no living costs entailed. However, socialising in London is more expensive than other areas of the country, but I don't feel it was a detriment to me.

As I returned home in the evening, I did not particularly experience the nightlife.

Macmillan has many opportunities, having a netball team, softball team, meditation, yoga, circuits, choir, Spanish lessons and art clubs to name a few. These were easy to get involved with, and everyone was welcoming. If the internship was longer, I would have got more involved!