Eisteddfod Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship, I was well looked after and felt very welcome from day one. I was given tasks to do immediately which is great as I hate being bored, I never felt I couldn't ask any questions although naturally I was quite nervous at first! There were times when I was under pressure as the event was looming which suited me fine, but I think it also helped keep me on track when I knew there was an important deadline on it's way. I've never eaten as many cakes and biscuits as when I started here, the Macmillan stone is real.

I felt that my colleagues were really appreciative of what I had done. I always had little thank you emails and my team were more than happy to tell everyone I met my university results and that I had a gotten myself a job. Although not strictly true, I was often told that they couldn't have done it without me, which even if not true is always nice.

My managers changed about two/three weeks into my internship. Elin who 'inducted' me was brilliant, she made me feel really welcome, made sure I had plenty to do and I was never afraid to ask her for help. David who overtook Elin after she left was also great, he kept a quiet eye on what I was getting up to and let me get on with my tasks. I had regular meetings to discuss what I was doing and my progress, but he let me get on with it which I quite liked.

I was as busy as I made myself. I was given quite an intricate starter pack which detailed the tasks which I would need to complete throughout my internship, I added to this as ideas became for detailed and more tasks materialised. I really liked this because it meant I could get started straight away. I was able to divide my tasks between my 3 days a week and work at my own pace. This was valuable, as at times I was too slow in completing a task or I kept putting one off which is a life lesson in itself and pushed me to be more self motivated and improve my time management!

I was given quite a large responsibility over the event. I think that this was beneficial in many ways as I had more decisions over the activities that took place there and materials we bought etc. In the end the event was like it was my own and people were coming to me to ask questions about it. I was quite hesitant to make decisions for it on my own towards the beginning and even towards the event made sure I double checked things were okay with my supervisor. However, if I helped to plan it again I would be much more confident with it.

I applied for a job whilst I was completing the internship, I feel that this definately boosted my ability to get a job and the skills are transferable. No matter how small the elements I was organising here, the principle to organise something larger is the same and will come in handy in my next role.

In honesty the office was a bit beige and rigid. Unlike other charities I have volunteered for there were no images on the walls of the people you were helping or colour or radio. So at times when you couldn't concentrate the quietness made it worse. I also noticed an inconsistency between the UK office which had a 'creative space' which encouraged creativity but not in the office I was in. In terms of the people they were great, really helpful and fun.

My application was very supportive of what I wanted to get out of the internship and the interview was simple enough (although I had no idea what the Eisteddfod was). As I have mentioned when I attended the internship I was given tasks to get stuck in to straight away and an induction day to get to know the organisation.

I was offered a mentor and regularly asked what I would like to improve on etc. My supervisor often asked how I was getting on with the internship so I was well supported.

If the location was not so far away from my home I would happily apply for a job here.

The majoity of interns were located in London so this is not relevant to me.

I was lucky to receive my expenses back so it didnt cost me anything to travel to the internship. However, It can be a long time not to earn very much money!

N/A

There were some goodbye events but I lived too far away to get involved.