Volunteer Fundraising Intern Review

I have absolutely loved my time here at Cancer Research UK. I feel it has provided me with direction towards my ideal career path!

My team were all really appreciative of the work I did and ensured I was involved in internal meetings and events/meeting with supporters outside the office.

My team were all really supportive and provided me with a number of opportunities to give me a broad spectrum of how the department fits into the organisation. This truely helped me develop my project management skills, presentation skills and my ability to network. I was also given a mentor who helped manage my workload and proof-read my job applications.

The majority of my time was spent juggling two projects, so I was given a fair bit of responsibility. However, other opportunities came up within the team where they needed help, so I quickly learned to prioritise my to-do list. However, there were times where my workload eased off when I was waiting for emails back from supporters, but I took on another project devised my myself and three other interns which soon filled my time up,

As mentioned above I divided my time between two main projects, which both provided me with different opportunities to develop a variety of skills. I was independently emailing supporters and contacting local businesses, so had a fair bit of responsibility.

This internship was by far the best thing I could have done for my CV. The placement scheme places emphasis on developing their interns and providing them with opportunities to make them more employable. As they cannot guarantee a job with the company at the end of the internship, they ensure you have the opportunity to develop specific skills required for the field you would like to work in. There is also CV/Interview training mid-internship, which was incredibely helpful!

As I worked in a team where the majority work from home, the section I worked in was quiet at times. There was however, a positive vibe amongst the staff who were there.

Very well organised! We were sent a number of emails before we started about what to expect from our first week as interns and the inductions were brilliant in getting to know each other and the rest of the company. My team in particular were very organised and I always knew what was expected from me. Our intern supervisor was incredibely helpful and we could always approach him if we ever had a problem. The CV/Interview training as mentioned before was excellent and came at the perfect time as I had interviews the following week.

As stated before, because the company cannot guarantee everyone a job post-interning, they really make sure you get the most out of your time there. I was out of the office at least one day a week, meeting different supporters, so gained great experience of dealing with volunteers in a variety of settings. I also had to conduct a presentation to the rest of my team, which helped me practice my public speaking. Most weeks my mentor and I had a catch up about what I had been working on and if I wanted to try anything to improve certain skills.

They do not guarantee a job afterwards, but all of us interns are connected through a group on Linked'in, where we can keep in contact should any jobs come up within the organisation.

Our intern group was fairly sociable. We met up for a drink after work on average about once a week and always ate lunch together. As there were 40 of us, the group was quite segregated. We also held a number of fundraising events e.g. bake sale, pub quiz, which helped get to know each other on a more personal level.

London is obviously expensive compared to anywhere else, but we found a number of deals around the local area where lunches and post-work drinks were concerned. I lived with a relative just outside London throughout the 12 weeks, so my cost of living was low.

There were a fair few bars around Angel which we ventured out to.

Our group of interns organised our own social arrangements. Also, there a number of volunteering opportunities within the charity, so there is always something to go to!