Hi all.
Hope you’re enjoying reading the exciting University of Bradford blogs. I know I am hooked on reading about all the experiences, priceless hints and tips on placements, jobs, and, a lot more importantly, all of the schemes and help the University has to offer (it’s a lot more than I thought)
So, this time I’d like to tell you all about the Bradford Summer Experience scheme, which Adnan has mentioned.
I didn’t want to waste my summer doing nothing but paid work. I needed to get some real business experience. I worked with a local charity in Leeds, ‘Leeds Children’s Charity’ as a ‘Marketing Assistant’. I’ve always been interested in all aspects of business like marketing, HR and accounting. I submitted my CV, then had a telephone interview which was followed by a formal interview. I had helped to prepare for the different stages of interview, from the University’s Pre-Placement Workshops.
Apart from being on a constant high (intake of celebratory cakes and sweets definitely didn’t help) I started to become worried. I was worried for the following reasons:
A) I had not only one placement, but two. How would I fit one in without altering the timings of the other?!
B) I had to consider compromising in some way, which was easy to do – I had two placements, i couldn’t turn any of them down, who would do such a thing?!
And of course C) As with any other job, there was one thing I needed to update, I needed a new wardrobe! (More money spent justified, right?)
After I had sorted out my starting dates, I quickly got on board with my new ‘role’ as a marketing assistant. I was very open-minded about what to expect, I knew that gaining experience in a field other than Accounting would be amazing for self development, networking and expanding my field of scope.
A little bit more about my internship:
It was based around a project: ‘Charity of The Year’. This project took over 4 weeks to complete, it involved cold-calling organisations, meeting potential sponsors for the charity (Radisson Blu) and I also got the chance to be an assessor for students who were applying for a role in marketing with the charity. This was an eye-opening experience, to assess students completing an exercise “there are 10 people in a cave, choose to save 7”. I built upon this experience lately – through the University (and close contacts), I was offered the chance to assess second year students in a ‘mock assessment centre’ for a core module.
I guess one of the most notable achievements of mine was securing generous donations from clients through cold-calling organisations. I gained a lot of knowledge about charities, developed a great phone manner and made contacts and met people from PwC, Radisson Blu Hotel, Charles Stanley and of course the Chairman of the Charity and the lovely trustees.
A really exciting part of the experience was visiting Silverdale – the location of the purpose built holiday centre which was in a peaceful village of outstanding natural beauty on the Lancashire coast near Morecambe, where the children visit. The views were nothing less than breathtaking, here take a look:
I’d really recommend trying to secure an internship through the Bradford Summer Experience. I’ve built a mini-portfolio of my full experience – and keep it with me forever. I definitely found the scheme both beneficial and enjoyable.
The objectives of the scheme were definitely met, at the end of my internship, amongst other points, i felt that all of the following particularly applied to me:
- I appreciated and understood the structure of the charity and the service it provided to young children and society as a whole
- worked efficiently as a team member
- developed interpersonal, practical and technical skills, and
- developed confidence and self development
Anyway, that’s my Summer Experience quickly summed up. Now to start another week of work. I’ll update you all soon.
Off I go, Ciao!
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