Category Archives: English

Account Assistant – Arnold KLP

Advertising, Marketing and PR, Employer Feedback, English, History,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

The primary responsibilities of this role included aiding the account handlers in research, creative briefing and client relations.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

The internship has greatly improved my employability and career development. Over the past six weeks I have been able to progress alongside projects, see them materialise and directly learn from them. It has given me a variety of transferable skills and has taught me that I am capable of immersing myself with a professional environment. I have learnt an exceptional amount about Arnold since being here; about the ethos, the people and the business and it has given me the confidence to pursue this avenue after I finish at University.

An extremely significant experience for me was being given the responsibility to liaise with clients directly and to write and deliver briefs for the creatives. For me this was a true indication that I was trusted and deemed responsible enough to move the projects forward. Essentially, this experience uprooted the stigma about interns for I felt much more integrated, trusted and part of the team, so I am incredibly thankful for that.

“It was a pleasure having Alice here, and she would be welcomed back should the opportunity arise” – Line Manager

Alice

Publicity and Editorial Intern – Rizzoli International Publications

English, Media, Publishing and Journalism,

Marketing Internship, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

With the publicity department I was required to compile press lists, communicate with external media organisations, promote publications, attend a book launch event and write press releases for future publications. With the editorial team I was given an insight into the publishing process, seeing how a book evolves and the necessary steps that take place. One of my tasks was to select 90 images from a collection of 300 of japanese artworks depicting cherry tree blossoms – these were were going to be put into an art book for the Smithsonian. I also proof-read and copy-edited the texts of some future books.

As an intern I was frequently given the chance to shadow departmental meetings and meetings with authors/photographers who came into the office to discuss their books.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I learned what it’s like to work within the culture of  a large company in a major city (New York) rather than with smaller local organisations around my home town. This gave me a more ‘professional’ insight into the field of publishing and helped me to decide if it was a career choice for me, both professionally and geographically.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I significantly lightened the workload of my colleagues by completing odd-jobs, proof-reading, uploading publicity clips, sending out books, etc.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

When I started the internship I was often left to myself, sometimes without being given any tasks to complete. This is somewhat typical of intern work / work experience, especially because of how busy my colleagues were in the office (something to be expected in the nature of a NYC office working environment). To overcome this I actively sought out tasks that I could complete by asking other staff if I could shadow them or if there was anything they could give me. I didn’t just sit there and wait. Originally I was only going to be a ‘publicity intern’, but after befriending some of the editors I used my initiative to offer help to the editorial department also and seem interested and engaged in what they were doing.

Student Communications Officer – University of Exeter

English, Media, Publishing and Journalism,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

My main responsibility as Student Communications Officer for CEMPS was to produce student newsletters for the Exeter and Penryn campuses. To create these, I needed to source news items, both via email and by interviewing staff, and construct them into a newsletter format. I was also responsible for regularly updating the CEMPS social media pages with news and opportunities for students.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

As an English student, I was able to familiarise myself with an entirely different side of campus, and feel that I have excelled in this environment. It has been a great experience for me, as I have been able to broaden my view of University life at Exeter, as well as test my ability to work in a variety of different environments.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I worked independently on the CEMPS student newsletters throughout my internship, which allowed my line manager to get on with other things. I also played a role in regularly updating the CEMPS Facebook and Twitter pages, which meant in turn that the College was able to maintain its social media presence.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

Occasionally I was unable to source enough information for the student newsletters; I overcame this issue by searching for news and opportunities not only on the University website, but further afield using websites such as Café Scientifique. As a result, I was able to make the newsletters interesting to read, and they always went out on time.

Peer Writing Advisor – College of Humanities, University of Exeter

Education, Teaching and Research, English, Modern Languages,

SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I, University of Exeter Internships

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

To advise fellow students on their academic writing style, structure etc. Also keeping the blog, Twitter and Facebook up to date as well as promoting the centre’s face to face interaction with students.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

My own writing style improved greatly thanks to Siân Harris’ excellent and thorough training, as well as by putting it into practice during appointments.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

The writing centre cannot function without the advisors! It is largely student-led in terms of day-to-day operation.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

Not really. Our training covered all situations which might have been difficult in my experience.

Peer Advisor – Humanities Undergraduate Writing Centre, University of Exeter

Education, Teaching and Research, English,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I held appointments once a week for humanities students to drop in and get essay feedback before it was submitted so that they could improve their writing style. This involved marketing the appointments, running the sessions, giving coherent feedback and also performing administrative tasks. I also set up the training plan for the new advisers to take over.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

Helping and reassuring new first years about what was expected of them.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

It alleviated the number of questions directed at academics as well as giving them a place to recommend students to for more general writing style queries.

Festival Assistant – Harrogate International Festivals

Administration, English, Hospitality and Event Management,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

In the office, I worked on ticket sales and other general admin: organising tickets and preparing for the next events. I also designed and arranged a programme book for our biggest festival. During the events themselves, my roles varied from looking after visiting authors in the green room to working on front of house where I made sure people had tickets and checked that everything was ready for the next talk.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I gained TRUE work experience – both in the office and out in the hectic environment of the events. I was viewed by my colleagues as a valuable, crucial team member. I particularly remember a time when we found out an interviewer wasn’t going to make it to an event a few minutes before, and so I suggested an alternative interviewer who I had spoken to previously, thus allowing the event to go on.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I did any jobs that came my way (and took initiative too), helping the festivals to thrive and consistently backing up my colleagues throughout.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

The main difficulties were with unhappy customers, who I often managed to calm down or assist in a professional, courteous manner. I am particularly proud of a customer who started out rudely but, by the end of the festival, recognised my good work and thanked me for returning her lost book to her.

Communications Executive – Staffordshire Alliance

Employer Feedback, English, Media, Publishing and Journalism,

Marketing Internship, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

During my internship, I managed the internal communications within the organisation and created a range of content, including the newsletter, promotional materials and case study documents. I was also heavily involved in working with the local community and stakeholders to provide them with updates, attending meetings and organising local information events. My role has been very versatile so it’s hard to list all of the areas I’ve been involved in, but other responsibilities have included writing press releases and arranging media visits, giving presentations and writing award submissions, as well as additional administrative duties.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I worked to organise several events whilst in my position and one of my biggest achievements was ensuring the success of these. For one internal event, I gave a presentation but also designed and created from scratch a collaborative game for the attendees to play, which was praised by some of the managers and saved the organisation the need of hiring an external facilitator to deliver this. I also assisted with the organisation of an engagement event with a local school and created activities for the students to take part in, as well as overseeing the logistical arrangements, and very was pleased with how the day turned out and the positive feedback we received from the school.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

The project was entering a very busy period when I first joined, so I provided valuable support to the Communications Manager and was able to focus on some of the internal communications processes that had not been given much attention previously and work to develop new initiatives. Additionally, due to staffing changes, I became responsible for the bulk of the communications duties for a short period, so provided much needed on-site support for all community, stakeholder and media issues for the organisation.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

Whilst I did not encounter any major problems whilst on my internship, I did at first find it difficult to fully immerse myself in the business and have the confidence to ask for information from people. However, at the end of my time there, I can definitely say I was fully involved with a lot of different departments and people across the project and gained a lot of confidence through being given significant responsibilities and working closely with a lot of the managers.

‘Victoria was excellent’ – Line Manager

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Publishing Intern – Endeavour Press

English, Media, Publishing and Journalism

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I spent a month working as an intern for Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading digital Publisher. My main duties were proof reading manuscripts and also reading and evaluating submissions with a view to accepting or declining submissions, and offering feedback to those that were accepted. My other responsibilities included contacting reviewers for new publications, writing countdown tweets for new publications, finding author contact details and titles of potential publications and selecting images for book covers.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I learned a lot about areas on the publishing industry outside of Editorial (the main one I had considered), which will enable me to think more specifically about what role I would like to go in to.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to successfully contact many people regarding several new titles, which will increase and the publicity of these titles, and hopefully the profit they bring in.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

I had some trouble initially with formatting countdown tweets, but after going through the process with Endeavour’s Marketing Assistant in person this was resolved.

Intern – Sancho’s Dress

Employer Feedback, English, Retail,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I was responsible for connecting with other kickstarter projects.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I learnt lots about Fashion retail which will be really helpful in my prospective career of fashion buying.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to contribute to a kickstarter project which helped with the workload of my colleagues.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

I encountered problems with communicating and networking with different groups of people but my employees assisted me and gave me advice and help and now I feel confident with networking.

“Georgina has helped us to expand our business including working on a kickstarter campaing in which we raised £12,000” – Kalkidan Legesse

Employability and Alumni Assistant – University of Exeter

English, Human Resources, Recruitment and Training,

Universtiy of Exeter Internships, UoE Internships, SCP, SBP, GBP, A2I

  • Writing newsletters and email campaigns to engage with students and alumni
  • Actively recruiting alumni to volunteer their time to support current students
  • Creating and maintaining positive relationships between the University and the alumni community
  • Organising events to showcase the achievements and career paths of alumni from the College of Humanities
  • Promoting events and initiatives through a range of media including emails, websites, posters, social media, plasma screens and word of mouth
  • Interviewing and profiling students for the College website
  • Publicising Exeter’s employability services to students and recent graduates.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

Working on comms and sending out targeted messages through various platforms.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

Providing thorough administrative support and being well-organised to keep things running smoothly.