Brad's Internships with Zing Insights and Norwich Business School

How have you found your experience? Was it what you expected? What did you enjoy the most?

I have thoroughly enjoyed my intern employment since graduating in July with a First Class Business and Management BSc (Hons). Going into my internship at Zing Insights I was mildly apprehensive because I had no previous experience of working within a clerical environment. However, it was reassuring to discover that many of the skills I had developed throughout my degree were directly transferable to an active business environment. I feel as though my heavy emphasis on a study of marketing at Norwich Business School was particularly resourceful to me and overall I feel as though I developed considerably in areas of professionalism and other commercial skills.

I enjoyed the chance to co-ordinate Zing’s contribution to the GoGoGorillas project - organising the logistics of visitor research and negotiating with Norfolk businesses to allow Zing to conduct research on their premises free of charge. Then I and another intern took responsibility for creating a robust data-set for our research by recruiting over 2,500 visitors to take part in our survey.

What do you feel you have gained from your internship? Have you developed new skills?

I feel that my internships have provided me with a degree of experience and confidence that I didn’t have before. I hope these developments in my CV and personality alike will support me in cultivating a professional career in marketing. My internship at Zing provided me with experience that is very relevant to the career I aspire to have. Developing and implementing a marketing strategy with marketing collateral was my primary task. This included involvement with direct and database marketing utilizing addressable media, sponsorship, personal selling and PR. Similarly, my Social Media Marketing internship allowed me to implement a marketing campaign through digital and print media as well as building on, developing and implementing Norwich Business School’s social media strategy.

Did your internship help you to put skills learned from your degree into practice?

My internship at the Norwich Business School allowed me to creatively apply the marketing communications principles that I had developed academically (through my Business and Management BSc and CIM Professional Diploma) in a practical environment. I had the opportunity to communicate with various stakeholders of the Norwich Business School over a variety of communications channels.

What are you going to be doing after your internship? Have you secured employment? Do you think your internship experience helped you to gain this employment? How?

I am currently studying the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Professional Diploma in Marketing. Alongside this I have been looking specifically for marketing roles within a higher education environment and have been conveniently offered a Graduate Social Media and Marketing Assistant role within Norwich Business School. This position is particularly attractive to me considering my passion for business education and the domain knowledge I have developed from being an active consumer of business education myself. I am sure that my immersed and enduring involvement with business education will be resourceful to me in my new role within Norwich Business School’s Local Support Office - my internship experience has certainly confirmed that the career path I have selected is the right one for me.