This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I thoroughly enjoyed my placement with MEDLIFE. It gave me a lot of opportunity to develop my skills as a writer and hone in on other aspects of journalism such as interviewing and photography. It also gave me an opportunity to greatly improve my Spanish and gave me invaluable experience in the field of non profit work.
I felt hugely valued by everyone I worked with. As it is quite a small organisation I was able to get to know everyone from my fellow interns to the CEO. MEDLIFE is also excellent at encouraging strong relationships between colleagues with many team building activities and organised one- on- one meet ups.
I felt that there was the perfect level of support/ guidance and creative freedom. Both my supervisor and my boss were always keen to input suggestions and advice into my work and proof read my articles but equally I was able to experiment on my own with my style of writing and the topics I chose to explore.
There were some days when I was in the office and I didn't have a great deal to do as I didn't have enough material to work with. However, as I learned more about how the internship worked, it became clear that if I didn't have anything to write about I could easily organise my own field visits to find new topics.
As it is quite a small organisation and my department was quite small, I got a lot of opportunity to go out into the field and lead my own projects, researching and writing about what I wanted. However, it was also nice to know that there were many people I could turn to to check my work or if I was unsure what I was supposed to be doing.
Every aspect of this placement has been incredibly helpful and has taught me a huge amount. I learned not only about journalism and developing my skills as a writer and researcher but also a great deal about the field of global health and non- profit work, something that did not interest me in the past but now is very important to me.
The Company
There was a really good balance between professionalism and fun. Going out in the field definitely required a higher level of professionalism and awareness as I was spending time visiting patients in hospitals and in their homes and visiting very poor communities that were often suffering. The atmosphere in the office was a lot more light hearted and fun but still required an element of professionalism to ensure the work was getting done.
As it is an NGO, there were elements of the organisation of the company that were frustrating. I often ended up working much longer days than I was contracted to work or being persuaded to work weekend shifts to help with projects such as building staircases or moving materials for a house. However, as I got on very well with my colleagues I generally didn't mind too much about these organisational hiccups as it was something I expected from working for a small, non- profit.
Hugely. I was able to took part in an incredibly useful week long training course run by the CEO which focused on teaching us about running an NGO, global health issues and sustainability in Peru. This also encouraged us to do more wider reading around the issues MEDLIFE deals with and inspired some of the articles I wrote for the blog. I also felt personally invested in within my department where I received a lot of help and support with all the work I did.
International Travel
Company Parties/Events
If I were not still at university I could see myself being persuaded to stay on here. Many of the staff now working at the company started as interns so it is definitely an option. The only draw back for me would be making the decision to move long term to Peru.
The Culture
Very much, all the interns lived together in a house and so it was very easy to organise days and nights out. Furthermore, there are Peruvian interns who also work at the company meaning there is more opportunity to improve Spanish and have more cultural experiences.
Living was free as the house and utilities were all paid for by MEDLIFE. The general cost of living and socialising was also quite low as it is cheaper in Peru. I spent most money on traveling and going on trips during my time off.
Really good, lots of opportunities to go out and many different types of night. Living in Lima meant there were events and parties almost every weekend and there were also many different clubs with both traditional salsa style Peruvian music and more american nights.
Yes but I was quite busy most of the time and so didn't really feel the need to. I did salsa classes and had friends who taught English to earn some money but I felt there would have been more to do if I felt I needed other activities. I just wasn't really looking for it.
Details
International
October 2016