Emily's Marketing Internship with Anglian Chemicals -- Week 8

Week 8: 21/5/12-25/5/12

"It’s done. Finished. My first website banner is up live on the web, and I am really pleased with it. Most of my week has been working with the Web designers and laying out the artwork. I have been checking through any little details of the new web pages including text, images and layout. Unfortunately the catalogue was not started while I was there because of the time constraints, however I have offered to continue with the work on a freelance basis after I have gone, as it will be good experience and I can add it to my portfolio. 

What has been really rewarding during this two month internship is that I was allowed the freedom of managing my own projects, which has been brilliant as I was able to give myself a deadline to complete the website before I left, and walk away with a completed project to show in interviews."

Sarah's Marketing Internship with the UEA Graduate Internship Programme -- Week 8

Week 8: 14/5/12 - 18/5/12

I started this week by designing a poster to be displayed in the School of Computing Sciences, listing the technology opportunities that 2012 graduates are eligible to apply for. It was interesting to think about how best to promote web development opportunities, which is something I know little about, to technology graduates.This internship is certainly giving me scope to apply my writing and marketing skills to situations outside my degree area.

This week also saw the publication of the article I wrote about the Graduate Internship Programme for Leap Magazine. It's been really rewarding to have seen the whole process through, from initial idea, through various drafts, and into publication. It's also given me an insight into the way large organisations work, and the procedures and permissions that surround any potential press. You can view the final article here: http://issuu.com/leapmagazine/docs/leap-magazine-may/8?mode=window

Work on the new posters has been continuing this week. We've finalised the A3 version, having settled on a photograph and slogan we're happy with. We're in the final stages of work on the A4 poster, after having identified another potential photograph. We're also just about ready with the updated leaflet. Things are finally coming together, and attention is now turning to the production of a small folded card to be distributed at graduation events.

Next week I'll be into the last third of my internship, so I'm beginning to think about what else I can do to promote and further increase graduate awareness and engagement with the programme.

Revisited: Alina Sandu

Between 2010 and 2011, Alina Sandu undertook two Graphic Design internships. Here she reflects on her experience and talks about her current career path.  


"When I graduated from NUCA with an MA in design in 2010, I knew getting a job would be difficult. I thought I was prepared for it, but 5 months later, I still had my part time job in retail and was getting more and more disillusioned at all the blank search results pages I got when looking for job postings.

My first graphic design internship came at the right time and greatly improved my perception of my position. I was no longer an unemployed graduate, I was a graphic designer working in the industry that I had trained for. I started introducing myself as such and, to my complete surprise, received some freelance work.

My second internship followed almost immediately after the first one and was for online publishing company White Digital Media. While there, I was surrounded by an incredible team of designers who were happy to answer all my questions and show me how they worked.

By the time my 3 months there finished, I felt like I was part of the team and they offered me a job. I decided to take the risk and focus all my energy into self-employment instead. It was the right decision to make and these days I try to inspire others to take the same leap of faith. I publish an online magazine that collects advice and inspiration for those thinking of starting their own business - Leap Magazine - which is available for free at http://www.leapmagazine.co.uk/."

Emily's Marketing Internship with Anglian Chemicals -- Week 7

Week 7: 14/5/12-18/5/12

"I have been putting together the different design layouts of the website banner to decide on a final idea. It’s also been a learning curve for me being a team of one. This the first design for web I have worked on in a professional capacity. I had to research sites on the Internet to see if the work is in the correct format. I have sent some of the work to the web designers, and it looks like it will not be able to be done until next week. I have asked if we can also change the font, and preview it before we go ahead with it, to see if its aesthetically pleasing and to check its readability.

As that will be my last week, it would be great to see the results before I go. However, having had experience working in the design industry, things can never be done instantly and I always expect hiccups along the way so fingers crossed. I will also be doing some Photoshop training next week with a colleague as there is still more work to be done after I have left."

Jamie's Marketing Internship with Sportsinjuryclinic.net

UEA Graduate Jamie Bardwell started his online marketing internship with Return2Fitness (Sportsinjuryclinic.net) on 8 May. Here's what he says about his first few weeks:

"My Internship with http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/ is going extremely well. I've only been there a few weeks, however I feel I have learnt a great deal so far and it's great to combine my academic background with a forward thinking business with lots of commercial success.

While I have been given specific areas to focus on, my internship role is allowing me a great degree of freedom to pursue avenues of personal interest whilst receiving lots of valuable experience along the way.

My colleagues are extremely friendly and helpful, and are more than happy to offer support and advice when it's needed. There is no pressure to feel like I have to understand all aspects of the business fully at such an early stage, as they are introducing me to various business areas gradually. They encourage me to ask questions, no matter how stupid they may seem.

They have also kindly agreed to send me to London for a days training. This is something which I'm looking forward to as the training is focused on a subject that is really interesting to me."


If you'd like to find out more about Jamie and his work, you can visit his consumer psychology website: http://www.jmbconsumerpsychology.co.uk/

Revisited: Wissam Albukhanajer

Wissam Albukhanajer undertook a 12 week internship with Oilennium back in 2010. Two years on, he reflects on the experience and talks about his current career path.


"I started my twelve-week internship in May 2010 with Oilennium Ltd (http://www.oilennium.com/) company in Loddon, Norfolk through the UEA Evolve project to support recent graduates. Oilennium is unique in the world of providing high quality online eLearning training courses. It deals with the international Oil and Gas Industry and Energy Sector and provides high quality eLearning courses. 

My internship involved working closely with the IT department providing the team with an additional experience in developing a robust I.T. system and developing the business plan that supported the rapid expansion of the company. This internship has enhanced my skills largely. In addition to the technical skills developed during the internship, further skills have been developed such as team work, working under high pressure and meeting time constraints. My self-confidence has been enhanced throughout my work with the team. The team is very friendly and fun, they encouraged me to effectively provide suggestions and provide my inputs for I.T. core development. The team at Oilennium welcomed me warmly and I feel like it is my home to date. 

During the first two weeks of my internship, I could effectively provide my inputs to the team and was quickly involved with real world projects. Therefore, immediately after the internship had finished, the company offered me a job in the position: IT Research & Development Analyst in July 2010. At the same time, I secured another part-time job with UEA IT Support as Weekend IT Helpdesk Advisor. 

After few months, I applied for PhD to continue my studies and I successfully secured a fully funded PhD studentship with one of the top UK Universities which is the University of Surrey where I am currently pursuing a PhD starting from January 2011. The PhD studentship is funded by EPSRC as well as the Artificial Intelligence Company known as Intellas UK. I chose to relocate from Norwich to Surrey to undertake this PhD studentship. 

The above mentioned rapid yet brave steps in my life have not been done without encouragement from tutors, colleagues and friends. As a typical graduate, I was hesitating when I first applied for this internship, thought I do not have enough skills. However, this is not true. During the interview for this internship, I quickly realised there are many ‘can do’ skills which were spotted effectively by the Oilennium team. 

Therefore, my humble advice to recent graduates is to believe in yourself, do not under-estimate yourself and go forward with confidence and tell the world about your skills. The years you spent studying at the University what ever course you did has accumulated and built as much essential knowledge and skills as you can't imagine!"

Sarah's Marketing Internship with the UEA Graduate Internship Programme -- Week 7

Week 7: 7/5/12 - 11/5/12

This week I've been finalising the draft for Leap Magazine I started last week, and making sure we have permission to include quotations from various interns and their hosts. I've also created a second draft of the new leaflet, which has been approved, so now there are just the photographs to sort out. 

As usual, I've been posting new opportunities as they arise, and making sure they're promoted on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Towards the end of the week, I also composed some targeted emails to help promote specific opportunities to the graduates most likely to be interested in them. Hopefully this will help to increase graduate engagement with the programme, and result in some happy, well-matched new interns very soon!

Continuing our internal promotion, I designed a new slide for the digital campus screens, featuring an intern's quote and our contact details. As graduation is rapidly approaching, this is our chance to tell final-year students about the programme and the opportunities it can offer them.  

Emily's Marketing Internship with Anglian Chemicals -- Week 6

Week 6: 7/5/12 - 11/5/12

"I finished creating the presentation this week and the feedback was really positive. I have also started editing cleaning wall charts that were originally created in Quark software and I will be saving to Adobe In design; this will allow anyone in the future who needs to update further information to use latest software.

I have been given the task of updating all the information with new colours, font and logos as part of the Rebrand of Anglian Chemicals.  I am aware that I only have 2 weeks left of the Marketing Internship now, so that’s also a good time to prioritise what I can achieve in the time I have left."

Sarah's Marketing Internship with the UEA Graduate Internship Programme -- Week 6

Week 6: 30/4/12 - 4/5/12

This week I've had several very different tasks to work on. At the beginning of the week, I started drafting an article for Leap Magazine about how taking on an intern can help a small business to develop. I hadn't spent much time thinking about internships from a business perspective before, so this was an interesting activity.

Continuing from last week, I've been helping to identify images and messages for the new posters. We've seen the first mock-ups, so now it's a matter of refining and deciding which combinations work best. I'm also working on improving the current leaflet, and have created some initial mock-ups that can be used as a starting point for further discussion and development.

Also this week, and as usual, I've been updating our social networking pages with details of new internships. We've had lots of fabulous opportunities to tell potential applicants about, so it's always a fun and rewarding thing to do!

Emily's Marketing Internship with Anglian Chemicals -- Week 5

Week 5: 30/4/12 - 4/5/12

"It's been a creative week here starting with preparing the graphics for the website, and then completely changing direction and creating a presentation for the Sales Department, keeping within the new style branding guidelines. I am having plenty of practice dealing with tight deadlines with the bank holidays limiting my time working on different projects. This internship is involving a lot more photography than I expected and has led me into starting a 4-week Photography course at Norwich Arts Centre, which starts next week, which I am excited about: http://norwichartscentre.co.uk/go-manual-digital-slr-introduction-june2012/.  

Whilst I worked as a Graphic Designer, I did a previous course at the Arts Centre, Website Design with Dreamweaver Introduction, which I would really recommend. During our Photography sessions this week we have been using lights, stands, tripods and experimenting with different lighting with the reflector, as we wanted to bring out the colours of the bright chemicals that I will be using in the presentation and perhaps the website banner."

8 reasons to apply for an internship!

So you're a recent graduate, and you're looking for a job. You've got a fabulous degree, but you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job. Sound familiar? Then maybe you should consider applying for a graduate internship! It's easy to see temporary work as a distraction from your dream career, but it might be the thing that helps you land the perfect job!

Just in case you need more convincing, here are eight good reasons to apply for an internship!

1. Gain experience -- internships offered through the UEA Graduate Internship Programme offer you relevant graduate-level experience in a real-world environment.

2. Break into your chosen career -- Internships offer you the chance to develop your skills in preparation for your ideal career, and the opportunity to participate in real working projects that will develop your expertise and enhance your CV. You might gain industry-specific experience that could give you the edge over other candidates.

3. Gain a work-based reference -- The perfect complement to your academic reference. Prove to employers that you can put your transferable skills into action.

4. Perfect chance to "test the waters" --  You won't know exactly what a particular career is like until you try it. An internship gives you the chance to test out a potential industry or sector before committing to a career in that field. It could also broaden your horizons, introducing you to potential careers you hadn't considered.

5. Money! --  Interns on the Graduate Internship Programme are paid weekly at £6.08 per hour, so you can earn while you boost your career.

6. Gain confidence -- An internship is a challenge that will test your potential. While working as an intern, you'll learn about the job you're doing, which should leave you feeling confident in your ability. This will help when you apply for jobs in the future.

7. Networking -- While working as an intern, you'll probably meet a variety of people who work in that sector. This gives you the chance to network, find out about upcoming job opportunities, and get your name known, all of which could be of great benefit in the future.

8. Part-time or flexible opportunities -- Some internships will fit around your existing commitments, so there's no reason not to apply! You might also be able to study alongside, so you can really boost your potential!

An internship really can help to make you more attractive to employers, so take the opportunity to apply! Visit www.uea.ac.uk/internships to register and find out about the internships available to you. Don't delay -- open the door to your future today! 

Sarah's Marketing Internship with the UEA Graduate Internship Programme -- Week 5

Week 5: 23/4/12 - 27/4/12

Another busy week! This week I've been helping to re-draft the Graduate page of the Internship Programme website, and I've started to think about how our current leaflet could be improved. I've been in contact with a couple of past interns, who have agreed to be the subject of "revisited" features on our blog. This should offer an interesting insight into what former interns have gone on to do, and how an internship can help your future career prospects. I've also been helping to identify photographs and messages for our new posters, something which we'll be continuing next week.

I've also attended three events this week. On Tuesday, we set up a stand in the Student Union, both to raise awareness, and so that prospective applicants could come and talk to us about the programme. On Wednesday, I attended an American Studies Alumni Networking Event, where four really interesting speakers talked about their career paths and gave advice to current students in the School. Several of the students were interested in the prospect of an internship, so hopefully this will help to give the programme a small boost. Finally, on Friday, we attended Computing Your Future, a mini jobs fair organised by the School of Computing Sciences. Hopefully all of this activity will be helping to spread the word about the programme, and will translate into applications and successfully placed interns!

Emily's Marketing Internship with Anglian Chemicals -- Week 4

Week 4: 23/4/12 - 27/4/12

"This week I have continued to take yet more photographs of first aid products. I have been liaising with the Purchasing Co-Ordinator at Anglian Chemicals and the website designers at Ambrow to establish what exactly we want to redesign on the website, and how much it will cost. I will be contributing to the creation of some of the Graphic Design for the website and working with Ambrow, to successfully achieve the changes that are needed. I am looking forward to the work, as there is a chance for creativity and graphics experience."