Researcher Communications & Engagement Interns Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. The atmosphere at CRUK is great. Starting with over 30 other interns was a great experience as there was always a friendly face or a point of call if I needed to try and talk to someone in a different department. I’ve learnt a lot of transferable skills & gained a lot of confidence. Had a few minor issues, such as trying to figure out where to source information in such a large office but overall a wonderful place to work.

I’ve always felt valued by my colleagues at Cancer research. They are quick to give out praise for a job well done, whether the task was big or small. If work needs improving, they provide guidance in a positive manner, that makes you feel appreciated while still leading you in the right direction.

For the first half of my internship, we had weekly 1-1 meetings to ensure that I was achieving my personal development goals. On top of this, we had a week 1, midway and end of placement review. I struggled a little at the beginning to find the right balance between asking questions and working independently but as time went on, I found this balance and was able to get guidance when needed.

My business tended to vary. Near the beginning of my internship I needed to collect information from many sources and I spent a fair amount of time waiting for various people to get back to me. At other times I was very busy when I had intern fundraising projects on top of daily work. Overall though I mostly had a happy medium where I was not bored, neither swamped with work.

I was given quite a lot of responsibility. I set up the team calendar for the year as well as evaluating some of our funding schemes. I handed over this information to my manager to present back to the relevant groups. I also wrote a blog post which was checked by a member of my team. In general, I wasn’t completely running the show but did a lot of the legwork for my projects with members of the team checking over any final versions. This level of responsibility felt right for an internship.

I’ve really developed my communication and office skills working in CRUK. I’ve had 1-1 meetings to team workshops, talked to people throughout the organisation and externally. I was also taught Google Analytics, and a variety of other useful skills I hope to take forward into a marketing role. On top of this, my excel skills improved massively through a combination of input from staff and having the time to learn things online.

Worked within the science based side of cancer research UK office so generally the atmosphere was fairly quiet as people were working hard. On the whole however everyone was friendly to approach and though there were periods where it was a little dull, in general a really nice atmosphere in the office.

We had a dedicated intern manager who gave us an induction in our first week and has been really helpful throughout the internship. Also had CV writing workshops and plenty of opportunities such as mentoring.

I didn't undergo any form of formal training during my role. However, I had a mentor, my team manager & an intern manager who were all here to help with my personal development. I could also approach various people in the office for help, such as organising a 1-1 meeting to learn about pivot tables.

Our intern manager sent over jobs he thought would be suitable for interns and we had access to the internal job board. Only problem is that the jobs are still generally competitive/ not quite in the area I was looking to work in.

We had weekly intern drinks after work as well as a weekly board game club. We also ran intern fundraising. Timing wise it was difficult to get everyone together at once as many people either had long commutes or didn't work every day.

This internship is based in London so is quite expensive. Prices varied at bars but there were plenty of happy hour events happening.

Not applicable to me.

There was a running club, as well as interns setting up their own activities. On top of this as it is a charity, there is always some kind of fundraising you can get involved in.