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
The overall experience was enjoyable, all the members of staff are friendly and approachable, which really helps. When working in such a large charity, there must be things that you don't know, and the friendly environment encourages you to ask questions and challenge yourself. Also, there are many workshops and activities to engage, which is definitely what an intern needs - fun and things to learn at the same time.
They treat me as one of their colleagues rather than an intern, which means they will include me in meetings and discussions, and this makes me feel valued. They always accept new ideas and thoughts. Although sometimes it what I said sounded a bit stupid and non-sense, none of the colleagues would laugh at you, they always explain things in patient and made sure you understand everything at the end.
I had formal meetings every month with my manager to have an update of the project progress and in general as a personal support, also, all the interns have to complete a review for the HR at the start, mid way through and at the end of the placement. Also, we can always just ask our manager and colleagues out for a coffee when you have a question anytime, and they are always more than happy to do so.
The project itself is manageable at the same time gives you space to challenge yourself, however, since I have my own university studies to take care of, it is sometimes too busy and stresses me out a bit. In these cases, all I had to do is to ask for a few days off to complete my tests or assignments for my study, and return to work after that. Working from home is also an option.
I was given a project to do, which means I had full responsibilities for my own project. However, that does not mean they just leave me along facing the work. My manager was always there and I can ask questions at any time, but she always gave her answers in the form of a question, and made me think what the next step should be.
There are several workshops during the intern which includes CV workshop, interview prep and LinkedIn sessions, which are skills that would benefit my future career and studies. Also, there are several online sessions to complete during the internship (such as Microsoft), and on day to day basis there are chances to practices that and advances the skills as the project progressed.
The Company
friendly, chill and fun but at the same time everyone is doing the work.
I'd say it's well organised. The amount of work is set that it ends perfectly by the end of the 12th week, and there are things you could learn during the time, which was included in the period. My manager gave me a brief plan of the whole project at the start, and as I understand the what I was doing more, the plan was filled accordingly and followed (she asked me to do so, which was helpful).
There were several workshops and online sessions to improve the skills needed for my future career, and the project made me advance my skills on certain software I could use. Time management and organisation skills were the ones I saw the most improvement, since I am a full time student.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Working from home
Travel loan
I really enjoyed the working atmosphere and the aims of the charity, however, an officer is not a job I am looking for.
The Culture
There were a lot of fund raising events going on during the internship, which was fun and we managed to raise a lot at the end (seemed like we are the ones fundraise the most out of all years). Also we had social rep organising drinking and dinner after work, which gave us good opportunities to know and became friends with each other.
Typical London cost, but CRUK gave us travel and lunch expenses which was helpful.
I usually return to uni library after intern, so this is the wrong question to ask although I know there are some good pubs around the area.
there are several fundraising events and socials going on after work, which was organised by interns ourselves, however, I also have uni societies and study, it was a shame that I didn't join many of them.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
March 2018