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

I helped to develop specific exercises and training programmes to complete whilst using Rugged Interactive products. These were taken to professional football clubs and gyms where I learnt about how they used our products and how their athletes benefit from using them. I researched and developed information for the website to inform potential customers about the benefits and background of using our products. I helped set up an experimental trial in a school in Cornwall. This was to gain an understanding and information on how our products could help motivate children to exercise through using interactive equipment and see if there were any benefits gained from using the products daily. I attended exhibitions with Rugged Interactive – including sport specific conferences, disability and physical activity promotion conferences. I supported my manager with sales and the administration of sales. This involved discussing with customers what products could be most beneficial to their organisation and talking them through the process of ordering a bespoke product.

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

Working in a small company has meant I gained insight into all areas of this business. I was given the responsibility of setting up a physical activity trial in a school in Cornwall. It was exciting to see how our products can benefit children both physically and mentally.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I helped update and improve the content of the website ensuring there was in-depth detail about how the interactive products can benefit a range of customers – whether it be elite athletes, disabled users or personal trainers. I used my knowledge at exhibitions to discuss the physical and psychological benefits of using our products. I helped with the sales process, ensuring this ran smoothly and helped with the sales process. I even made my first independent sale for the company!

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

As with any job that involves customer service, ensuring the customer felt supported and valued at all times was important. There were occasional problems where we were short of stock for a certain delivery and therefore, this meant a slight delay for a customer. However, ensuring I kept the customer informed of where their order was and at what stage of production we were at was important. This has made me realise how important it is to let the customer know what is going on at all times.