Caroline's Social Media Marketing Internship with the Norwich Business School -- First Week

How I Felt Leading up to the Internship

Initially I didn’t get the post and I was gutted, as I really wanted to get an opportunity to work full time in social media, but I just continued in my old job as a barmaid. I was just about to apply for another internship, my fingers poised at the keyboard to bang out a covering letter for my CV, when I saw my phone flashing. I had a missed call from Norwich Business School and a voice message telling me that the person chosen for the internship could no longer do it. I had been first reserve for the job and instead of readvertising the post, they wanted to give it to me.

So, obviously, I was completely ecstatic and excited! I had wanted this opportunity for ages and felt like I was finally getting a chance to gain some vocational experience. I didn’t really feel nervous at all because, from my interview, I knew the Business School staff would be nice, relaxed and welcoming people.  I was just extremely happy and wanted to start as soon as possible.

My First Day

My first day went really quickly. I was welcomed into the office and given a tour of the building. Everyone was lovely and friendly and I felt really comfortable being there.

I was then taken to the library to get my campus card and IT access form. I had to prove my identity because they reused my student photo for my new campus card and the IT assistant didn’t believe it was me!

After that, I was taken to meet UEA’s Digital Marketing Team in an office that I never knew existed and in a building that I never would have had the opportunity to go in as a student. I was given a lot to read about social media sites and I spent my afternoon reading the Marketing Team’s social media notes and a folder written by the previous Business School intern about their social media marketing strategy.

My week

On my second day, I had a meeting with Louise from the Business School office. She gave me tasks to do and explained the role of everyone in the office. She works closely with me and monitors what I do, to make sure I’m doing it right and to make sure I’m feeling happy with every task I am given to complete.

I am generally given tasks via email, on top of having a list of things to do daily.

My daily jobs are:

• update and schedule relevant content on Twitter and Facebook
• look for relevant content from emails, events happening in the Business School, UEA and Norwich as a whole. Also find business related stories on news sites and business sites
• manage new members on LinkedIn

As the week has gone on I’m amazed at the new skills I have learnt!

I’ve learnt how to…

• use a social media management tool: We use something called “Hootsuite” which means we can manage three twitter accounts at once, filter our twitter feed and schedule tweets.
• schedule Facebook posts
• use Outlook effectively
• use an office telephone system
• find information through events lists

On top of this, my colleagues email me various jobs to do. I have been asked to update an Excel events list, draft wording for congregation party invites and proofread the Norwich Business School Year Book as extra tasks. My work doesn’t just revolve around social media, which I like; I feel that I’m getting a good all round office experience, having a multitude of tasks to keep me busy.

Has my week been what I expected and what have I enjoyed?

I expected that I would find it very hard transitioning from being a barmaid to working in an office, especially having a 9-5 day rather than working shifts.

This was not the case at all. The day goes really quickly in an office and I always have something to do, which I really like! I expected I would take a while to find my feet but I’ve been given clear objectives and good initial training, so I’ve found it easier to get involved in my work than I thought I would.

I was also given the opportunity to go on a course by a local company called Yodelay, who teach businesses how to maximise their online presence. It was hosted in a pub in Norwich and I went with the previous Norwich Business School Social Media Marketing Intern. I really enjoyed meeting her and learning about her experiences of my current role. It was also fun to be able to go out and meet people in the local business world, something I would never have done before, and to go and learn about a new skill (Search Engine Optimisation), pertinent to my job. 

The next few weeks…

I think the next few weeks will be full of varied tasks and I’m feeling motivated and ready to take them on. I enjoy the fact that I am given a wide range of things to do and Louise, who I work closely with, has said she’ll make sure I am given a variety of jobs so I will always have new things to learn.

I have Liferay training this week, which is a content management system that UEA uses. I also have a team lunch in our school’s café, which I’m looking forward to!

My overall view of my internship so far

Some of the media portrays internships in a bad light but I am extremely happy that I have been taken on as an intern. The people I have worked with, thus far, at Norwich Business School believe that interns can offer their team fresh perspectives, especially when it comes to the role of social media within the marketing of the school. I am encouraged to give new ideas and suggestions if I have them, which has already made me feel like a valued and important member of the team.  I’m looking forward to the coming weeks and hope it isn’t over too quickly!

Alice's Project Management Internship with UEA's Student Enterprise & Employability Development Team

It is my last day as Project Development Intern for the Student Enterprise and Employability Development (SEED) Team. So I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to. My initial task was to put together some hand outs to help explain what exactly it is that the SEED team has to offer students. 
 
The process of reading up on SEED so as to be informed enough to write information on what SEED can provide students, then sending this over to marketing to be formatted for print was very satisfying. It allowed me to simultaneously get my head around what the team does and create something physical that would promote it.

After this introductory task, I began to coordinate the How to Build Your Business Programme which was run by two local entrepreneurs. This would be my main responsibility during the internship. The programme was an introductory course on how to start your own business, aimed at students with an enterprise idea. I oversaw each individual workshop, providing information and materials for the students and collecting attendance information and feedback from both the students and also from Erika and Robert who ran the course. It was fun hearing all the students’ ideas and Robert and Erika’s many tales. The course was the first of this kind to be tried at UEA so at the close of the programme I put together a report containing student feedback and ideas on how it could be improved for the following academic year.

One of the highlights of my internship was assisting the careers events team by accompanying twenty five students on a trip to Whitehall. This was a brilliant insight into the hard work that the events team do and gave me the opportunity to enjoy a guided tour of Whitehall!

I am very grateful to all those I worked with during my internship for allowing me to be involved in a diverse range of projects. I was trusted to work independently and creatively and was surrounded by brilliant colleagues who were happy to answer any questions I had. My time working with the SEED team has supported me in developing a range of skills which I can now transfer into a new role.

Laura's Event and Marketing Internship with UEA's Internship & Mentoring Team

My time working with the Internship and Mentoring team has come to an end, and I can happily say that my experience was extremely positive; from the range of tasks I assisted with to the people that I met, I feel that throughout the internship I was continually learning whilst being challenged but always supported.

I was involved in the organisation of a brand new style of Recruitment Event for current students. This was a day that consisted of a workshop, networking and interviews for those applying for internships. The new style of the event gave me the chance to have a very hands on role when it came to organising and making arrangements for all the guests and setting up the venue.

The day of the event required me to work in a very professional manner as I was meeting and speaking with employers from various companies. I also had to speak to the students who were attending to encourage and answer any questions they may have. Not only did this teach me to network myself but also helped me to build up my confidence in approaching people and to advise and solve any issues that occurred there and then.

Following the event, my role shifted to more of a marketing position. Evaluating the event, reflecting on what went well and what didn’t was just as important as the organising for it, as this will affect any future planning for the team.  Also within my Marketing responsibilities was updating social media sites with promotions of current internship opportunities on offer. Not only is this a current and modern trend that is useful to have today, I have developed my promotion skills too.

Finally, I have begun to set up a blog for the Undergraduate Internship Programme; a useful space for those students who are interested in taking part in the programme to read about current and previous Intern’s experiences to find out more.

My internship has been extremely helpful to me in making those first steps after university. I didn’t know what to do following my degree but I feel my role working with the internship team has been thought-provoking in that it has enabled me to realise certain things I enjoy doing and areas I would like to pursue further.

Emily's Marketing Internship with UEA's Research and Enterprise Services -- Week 7

It has been a busy week editing some copy writing for the Pure project website and developing the “How to Get Started page”. I had a Pure Marketing catch up meeting with the Assistant Director of the Research and Enterprise Services department and presented the changes I have made to the “How to Get Started Page”.

We mutually agreed that we no longer need a Hand Guide Book for Pure as one of the best features of the software is that it is easy to use.

However, a help sheet for Administration staff would be of more use. We discussed what needed to be included on the web in terms of invitations to 1:1 sessions and workshops. I have arranged a meeting with the Marketing Manager which I am really looking forward to, as it will allow me to share my ideas, narrow them down, and help to focus them towards the internal audience. I would definitely recommend working at the UEA as there are lots of opportunities to develop and progress within your chosen career.