Category Archives: Human Resources, Recruitment and Training

Student Case Study: APIsfirst

people sitting on chair in front of computer monitor

Student Name: Pranav Annapureddy

Pathway Programme: Pathways to International Trade

Internship Role: International Business Development Analyst

Internship Employer: APIsfirst

Please briefly outline the project/tasks/responsibilities you worked on during your Professional Pathways internship

During my internship, I was responsible for producing a piece of research for an API consulting business. This research investigated trends in hiring practices across API consulting businesses, as well the wider IT industry. This research was presented through a report and a presentation.

How do you think this experience will impact on your employability as you enter the job market as a recent graduate?

This programme has added to my offerings as a job candidate, and I have been able to draw on examples from it during interviews.

Given the Professional Pathways internship is 35 hours in total, what advice would you give to other students to ensure they gain as much as possible from the experience?
I found that the best way to learn from my internship was to ask questions.
What advice would you give to a student who has to complete an internship via remote or hybrid working? Do you have any hints or tips on how to make the most of a remote/hybrid working internship?
To ensure my remote internship ran smoothly, I stayed in close communication with my colleagues, especially my line manager.
Why would you recommend the Professional Pathways programme to other students?
The Professional Pathways programme is a great way to gain an understanding of various industries, through the week-long training programme. The internship is valuable work experience, which develops transferrable skills.

Employer Case Study:  White Willow Partners Limited

Name of Organisation: White Willow Partners Limited

Description of Organisation: A bespoke HR consultancy focusing on the individual needs of every customer. White Willow provide a service which is designed around you and your business requirements. There is no “one fit” when it comes to HR so our services are tailored exclusively to you. They help recruit, develop and retain the right people for business’

Name of Employer: Carrie White

Job Title: Company Director

Internship Scheme used: Student Business Partnerships (SBPs) | Career Zone | University of Exeter

Feedback:

“We’re operating in a hybrid world where we don’t always need to go into the office, our intern worked well in that he was completely remote, we connected through technology, and he was able to get up to speed quickly with the work we set him. We were keen for him to support us on a new product we had recently launched, creating the infrastructure sitting behind the Leadership Development Programme to enable us to deliver a fully accredited programme which leads to a professional qualification. He developed new processes which support our route to accreditation, and which will now be used to support our quality assurance reviews annually.

We also asked our intern to support us with development of new training materials that would be used to develop summer interns for one of our clients. He successfully designed/delivered three modules complete with facilitation materials and resources for us to share with our client’s interns. We also got him involved in developing our organisational presence in the Southwest working with our marketing manager, he was able to identify new contacts and supported on business development through the creation of new marketing materials which will be used in new business pitches.

I would recommend this scheme and have already signed up to use it again.”

Saudi British Joint Business Council- Employer Case Study

Name of Organisation: Saudi British Joint Business Council

Description of Organisation: We are an independent and private sector-led body, which aims to develop and enhance business relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Through both its British and Saudi members and its Secretariat in London and Riyadh, the council offers a range of services and provides access to high-level governmental and private sector networks in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

Name of Employer: Chris Innes-Hopkins

Job Title: UK Executive Director

Internship Scheme used:  A2I, SBP

Employer subsidies (A2I) – Employment Services – University of Exeter

Student Business Partnership (SBP) – Employment Services – University of Exeter

Feedback:

We hired a Business Council Membership and Marketing Assistant through the University of Exeter Internship Scheme. The intern was prepared for the workplace and worked extremely well. He made an excellent contribution to SBJBC’s work and events, including leading on development of a new website.

The intern quickly made an impression and became a valuable member of our small team, leading on a number of events as well as preparation also. He demonstrated flexibility through remote working, working when necessary.

The Exeter internships at SBJBC have offered students the opportunity to help manage high profile events and important business relationships.  We were so impressed by the calibre of the student that we extended his role and offered him a full-time role for another six months to take forward a number of new projects. It’s pleasing to know that many interns have used the experience to move onto relevant careers in public and government affairs and communications.

This is the sixth time we have used the University’s Internship scheme, and as before it was a very positive experience. We received a good service from the Internships Team and would definitely recommend the Internships Scheme to other employers

 

3CUBED Search – Executive Search Consultant

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

  • Headhunting
  • Interviewing and pairing the right people, personalities and skills sets to fantastic job opportunities across the globe
  • Screening candidates and drawing up shortlists of candidates for clients to interview
  • Organising interviews both phone and face to face
  • Helping applicants to prepare for interviews
  • Building relationships and rapport with clients and candidates.
  • Negotiating offers and contracts

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

I have had to teach myself a lot of about backend development, full stack development and the programming languages associated with Senior Engineers. Having not come from a technical/comp sci background I would have never learnt this in a classroom. In addition, I have learnt how to evaluate the skill level and quality of experience of a person through just an initial phone conversation.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

My internship lighted the workload of the rest of my colleagues and I brought in a new pool of very talented Senior Engineers & Backend Developers in the UK and US. I also have a few candidates in their final stages of receiving offers which would increase my company’s profit.

Student Researcher – Training Tutors to Teach Distributed and Emergent Forms of Leadership – University of Exeter

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

  • Conducted literature searches using agreed key words and search strategies.
  • Contributed to a review of the literature on group work and leadership of student groups in higher education.
  • Designed survey instruments.
  • Field work conducting interviews with a wide range of students and some members of staff using surveys.
  • Contributed to writing a report on the review of literature and analysis of group work data from questionnaires and focus groups.

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

Managing the internship successfully whilst also maintaining focus on my studies.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

Started and completed work and tasks that my line manager does not always have time for in his work day. He now has a basis to continue from.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Problem solving, time and workload management, research

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Initiative, independence, professionalism

 

Student Researcher – University of Exeter Education Incubator

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

  • Offering administrative support to three Chinese fellows on MOOC course on contemporary Chinese culture
  • Planning and drafting a social media campaign
  • Proofreading and editing of English texts written by non-native speakers, and adapting these to an online context
  • Recruiting student and non-student volunteers for the trial version of the course

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

The independent nature of the role meant that I was able to really strengthen my skills in taking the initiative and working autonomously and independently.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

Administrative support, lightening my colleagues’ workload, and ensuring that all course content and materials were adapting and appropriate for an English-language audience.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Communication, leadership, decision making

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Initiative, perseverance, independence

Volunteering Assistant – Hospiscare

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

My main task for the week was to develop a brief and recruitment plan for a new volunteer role to support the HR team. I had a meeting with the HR team members and identified some of their tasks that could be fulfilled by a volunteer. In addition, I identified a new volunteer role that would improve the recruitment process at Hospiscare; I decided that there is room for work in equality and diversity in Hospiscare, and that they needed stronger links between the HR and communications teams. Therefore, I created a volunteer role that would overlap between both areas. I created a recruiting strategy and produced some marketing materials for this, including posters and social media posts. I also did some patient-facing work, including helping out in day care and on the ward.

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

I was initially very nervous about working in this environment, with people nearing the end of their lives and with bereaved families. However, I overcame this fear during my internship through patient-facing work.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I took some of the workload off the volunteering manager who deals with Hospiscare’s 1000 volunteers. Also, I have created a plan which will lighten the workload of the HR team who told me that they are very busy and would love me to create a new volunteer role which would allow them to focus on more difficult tasks.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Customer service, organisation, focus on goals and outcomes

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Motivation, cultural awareness, creative thinking

Graduate Ambassador (Widening Participation and Direct Recruitment) – University of Exeter

The internship was invaluable in helping me to develop the skills required to secure a training contract to be a solicitor. I am now back in full time education completing an MA in Law and look forward to starting with the firm in 2020.

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

As a Graduate Ambassador, I worked in both widening participation and direct recruitment. This involved delivering presentations for schools and colleges to inform students about their Higher Education options. I represented the University of Exeter at Information Fairs and UCAS Exhibitions, as well as helping with events on campus such as Open Days and Offer-Holder visit days.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Leadership, strategic planning, IT

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Commercial awareness, logical thinking, professionalism

Employability and Work Placements Support Officer – University of Exeter College of Life and Environmental Sciences

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

I was planning, organising and arranging employability events which included inviting speakers, arranging logistics, promoting to students and hosting events. Aside from this, I was processing work placement paperwork for employability modules, writing the college student newsletter, meeting with academic colleagues to review and plan college employability provision, and training other team members on the work placement processes.

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

I gained confidence in event management, administration, and the office environment.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

The CLES employability team only consisted of myself and my line manager. I played a key role in organising events and processing work placements. Without my role, the team would have struggled to function.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Negotiation, ability to work under pressure, networking

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Commercial awareness, logical thinking, professionalism

HR Intern – Welstand Contractors Ltd

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

Payroll management, tax filings, VAT and VAT returns data base entries and maintenance, payslip distributions through emails and posts, communicate with clients and resolve any inquiries related to payroll

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

I learnt regulations related to employment in terms of hiring, tax computations and filing and VAT returns. Payroll management was very interesting and I was quick at learning to adapt to new changes in my workplace – a very new experience working abroad.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to learn quickly, the trainer felt comfortable to share his feedback openly and I was open to new learning which made it very easy for them to get work done from me in a short span of time.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Persuasion, ability to work under pressure, IT

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Logical thinking, creative thinking, professionalism