Public Affairs & Campaigns Internship Review

I was so surprised at how much I actually enjoyed my time at Cancer Research, it became one of those jobs where you looked forward to arriving each morning and getting on with your tasks. I found myself challenged and my abilities not only strengthened but broadened. The only thing that I struggled with was the two hour commute each morning and evening, but this was my own challenge and not the fault of CRUK!

My team where genuinely so welcoming, by the end of my time there I felt like I'd been there for years. They helped me settle in really quickly and I even got a card and a mini office brunch party on my birthday! Any work I did was greatly appreciated and the feedback I received was really helpful. They really helped me settle into an office environment and were happy to talk to me about their career paths and offer me advice. The weekly team meetings were a chance to feedback what I'd been doing and learn what everyone else was up to. I was never treated as 'just the intern' but my opinions and input were valued.

I had weekly meetings with my manager, as well as weekly meetings with the whole team, during these one on one sessions I was able to openly discuss my projects and ask for advice/feedback. I also used them as an opportunity to update my manager on progress. She invited me to tell her if there were particular things I wanted to do and she was brilliant at helping me achieve the goals I had set myself. At any point between weekly meetings my manager encouraged me to just ask her if I needed a 5 minute chat, I was able to easily ask her a question and she was always keen to help!

My to-do list was constantly full, but I was never overworked, I had plenty of quality tasks to do. Unlike other placements I was not just left doing the jobs everyone else was avoiding but I was working on projects were interesting and kept me really engaged. It was quite satisfying finishing a task and crossing it off before moving onto the next thing. I think I only ran out of things completely once during the 12 weeks and I just asked my manager and I was given plenty more to do.

A lot! My manager had a few days annual leave and left me looking after a really important project, during this time I was able to really act independently to keep things going whilst she was away so that she returned without a mass of emails. The rest of the time I was given a lot of design responsibility for print that would be shown to MPs and the Public meaning what I produced had to be of high quality.

I have learned things about spreadsheets that I never thought possible. Basic knowledge of Excel is definitely a must, you use it so much that it was useful to have some idea of what I was doing to start with, this wasn't a bad thing, what I've learned is definitely transferable into further roles! Time management and to-do list making is another thing I've learned loads about and I will be using these skills in my next year of university for definite.

Fun! Everyone obviously worked hard on their tasks but we regularly had staff brunch picnics and got to have a break. They were really laid back about having a quick chat to break up the date, It was nice sometimes to discuss what was going on in the news as it was relevant for the work we were doing.

Very well, the interview process was really professional, felt as if I was applying for a full time job. They also had CV workshops and mentor schemes available for us to get involved with. As a group of interns we were also encouraged to get involved in a fundraising project which helped me meet loads of new people whilst also raising money for the charity.

We were offered mentors, for guidance outside of our team. Also we had a CV and Interview/Application skills day where we could talk through our CV with a HR advisor after a day of learning how to improve it.

If they offered me a job I would certainly consider it, shame i'm only going into my 2nd year at uni otherwise I would have applied for the position that opened up in my team.

Yes, we frequently had after work drinks and even a team away day - canal boat ride and scavenger hunt! The interns also did a lot of meet ups, many of which I wanted to attend but due to my commute was unable to.

CRUK were great with expenses, they covered a weekly pass into work as well as £4 for food each day. The £4 doesn't go far unless you eat in the CRUK Taste café, which is actually really nice. I did have to maintain a weekend job which often left me tired during the week.

We were included in a lot of departmental emails which gave us opportunities to volunteer outside of our teams and around the country at race for life events etc.