Category Archives: Pathways to Marketing

Employer Case Study- University of Exeter Environment and Climate Emergency Team

“Professional Pathways is a great way of getting a student’s perspective and some fresh ideas to help with research”

Line Manager: Victoria Patch

Job Title: Communication and Engagement Lead

How did hosting an intern via the Professional Pathways programme benefit you and your organisation?

I joined the University in May this year- and one of the priorities was (and still is) writing a Communication and Engagement Strategy for the Environment and Climate Emergency team. This is a huge task, as first of all I had to get my head round how the University works, the organisational structure and the processes. Having students assisting was amazing as they could help in one key area – communication and engagement with students. They gave me an insight into the student journey, from before they start through to the final year, and suggested key times when we should be thinking of including the sustainability message as part of the regular communication that goes out, e.g., the prospectus. They also suggested the best method of contacting students – OK – I knew social media was one of the main channels but it hadn’t occurred to me to send information to tutors to forward to students… apparently one email they are guaranteed to read. They analysed our current website, gave feedback (strengths and weaknesses) and researched public engagement with climate change – and both reports will feed into the strategy.

How was your experience of hosting a Pathways intern?

The interns worked partly in the office and partly independently. They got on well, so some days when not in the office they worked together, so could compare notes. I wrote a brief before they started, with four areas I wanted help with and asked them to choose two – that way they could choose which interested them the most. I talked to them both again before they started to discuss what work arrangements suited them best (hours, from home or in the office etc). They were invited to a team meeting the week before the internship on Teams -one of them came along and introduced herself to the team. If they had any queries, I asked them to contact me on Teams. I had a couple of catch ups with them during the week, but they were relatively independent and got on with the work. I looked at draft reports towards the end of the week and suggested amendments or further research. From my perspective it went well, and they both seemed happy.

Employer Case Study – Generation Brands

“The analysis that the interns conducted was really useful to filter out markets that we shouldn’t spend time on and those we should.”

How did recruiting an intern via the Professional Pathways programme benefit you and your company?

Professional Pathways came at a time we were looking to start expanding our market reach and also to look at exporting in general. The analysis that the interns conducted was really useful to filter out markets that we shouldn’t spend time on and those we should. On the ones that we should, they conducted further analysis on the procedures and compliance that would need to be carried out at a later date. Their independent and objective view from outside of the company was important because as we all know we can all be too involved in our businesses to make the right decision. Their reports enabled us to make quick decisions on what would otherwise have taken us a long time to achieve.

What advice would you give to a student considering applying for Professional Pathways?

Do it! We had to operate remotely during the pandemic and so it didn’t have that hands-on approach that we would normally look to have, however, making the connections with businesses is vitally important at this stage in your career. Do lots of research on the company beforehand and clearly understand the objectives that are being sought. the information you are gathering will be taken very seriously by the employer and the time you take should look to answer their question exactly. Don’t go off on a tangent and answer a different question. The businesses that you will work for will know their business inside and out and they will have a clear idea of what they are looking for. Ask questions to clarify any issues you have so that you do exactly what the employer is looking for. Even if it isn’t the exact fit that you would have liked, at least you now know it isn’t something for you!

Why would you recommend Professional Pathways to other employers?

We would highly recommend Professional Pathways. We had a very good experience with our interns and they clearly worked hard on their given roles. It was important to work that they carried out and we have used the reports for many months after the internship finished. It is really important to keep them focused and meet with them on a daily basis to ensure that they are working in the right direction for what you are looking to achieve from them. There is obviously the cost-benefit of using the interns, but we found that they were enthusiastic and really willing to help. They came up with ideas that we had previously not thought of and it was a very rewarding experience.

Employer Case Study – Applied Inspiration

“The work that our interns undertook has provided us with a great foundation for developing materials to reach new clients.”

How did hosting an intern via the Professional Pathways programme benefit you and your organisation?
We were lucky enough to host two interns from the University of Exeter. They worked on developing new strategies and marketing materials for the expansion and development of our FutureFIT programme, which is an integrated careers resource delivered directly into the classroom. Within the project, there were two strands of development. One focused more on the creation of visual marketing materials (including social media post templates and posters), information materials that can be used to promote the programme to new clients, and developing the programme website to create a more engaging, informative, and interactive platform. The other strand was more focused on market research and involved identifying new potential clients and collecting information that will feed into developing individual promotional strategies, as well as identifying potential business partners for the programme. We have already started work on integrating these new resources developed by our interns into the programme. The new portal on our website is live for our clients and we are using the information collected to inform our marketing strategy moving forward. Without the help from our interns, we would not have been able to progress as quickly as we are now. The work that our interns undertook has provided us with a great foundation for developing materials to reach new clients, which will in turn help to grow the programme meaning that we can offer higher quality resources for students. This will be directly benefitting schools and students in disadvantaged areas across the Midlands and North of England.

Why would you recommend Professional Pathways to other employers?
I have now been lucky enough to participate in the Professional Pathways programme both as a student intern and as part of the host employer team. During my final year at the university, I participated in the Pathways to Marketing programme, completing a remote internship with Applied Inspiration. Following this internship and after I had graduated, I continued my work on the internship project as a casual staff member before being offered my current position within the company, as Executive Assistant. I now help to coordinate various projects and programmes, as well as managing administrative tasks. I have the unique privilege of being able to personally recognise the benefits of the Professional Pathways programme for both students and employers. Professional Pathways is a fantastic way of connecting employers and students. For students, this means having access to great networking opportunities, alongside sector training, and for employers, it is a great opportunity to raise their profile as future graduate employers. In cases like my own, it also provides a chance to get to know potential new hires within a working environment. This means that there is a mutual understanding over company values, working styles and smoothly facilitates integration into the wider working team. This is without mentioning the valuable input that student interns bring to the table during these placements. Bringing in an outsider’s perspective on internal projects is something that can make the difference between a successful or failed outcome. For these reasons, I can’t recommend Professional Pathways enough to other employers. It’s a fantastic initiative run by the university that helps both students and employers.

Employer Case Study – Packed Kitchen

“We were lucky to have an intern we trusted to create content and schedule content for our social media channels – taking a load off of our shoulders.”

How did hosting an intern via the Professional Pathways programme benefit you and your organisation?

As a micro-business, content creation and social media engagement is often an area that is overlooked due to time constraints, despite it being proven as an effective marketing and sales tool. We were lucky to have an intern we trusted to create content and schedule content for our social media channels – taking a load off of our shoulders. Their ability to create engaging content means we have a number of assets that we can use in the coming months, so their placement will be beneficial to us long after they’ve finished.

How was your experience of hosting a remote working intern?

Our intern was really proactive, we met regularly via video chat and had open communication via email which allowed us to troubleshoot any problems. I ensured we had a thorough induction and pre-planned activities and documents which aided our internship.

Given the Professional Pathways internship is 35 hours in total, how would you recommend ensuring both you and your intern(s) gain as much as possible from the experience?

I would recommend as much pre-planning as possible, working to your intern’s strengths and giving them set goals and objectives which are easily achievable.