Alessia, a first-year postgraduate student participated in the COVID-19 SME Internship Scheme last spring. 
Here’s what she has to say about her experience.
What was your role?
During my 9-week internship at i3Works, I worked as a Marketing and Sales Support Intern for 15 hours a week, divided over three days. i3Works is a management consultancy and my main responsibilities for the first few weeks included learning how the company acquires new contracts, editing documents and case studies, and thinking of new ideas to implement in order to improve the consultancy’s marketing strategy.
After the first few weeks of learning and shadowing meetings, I was given the task of improving the current look of the website and brainstorming some ideas on how to do that. I submitted a report highlighting the issues with the current one and possible solutions, while also creating my ideal layouts on Canva. I have also gathered info on events and conferences that members of the company can attend in the future.
What did you learn?
The internship enabled me to learn how a consultancy works. I believe doing an internship will also expand my future job prospects in this and other fields, so I recommend anyone interested in an internship to do it. You need to be prepared for rejections, sometimes organisations prefer candidates that already have experience, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen! I didn’t have experience in an ‘office job’ before so I was delighted to see that I got selected out of all candidates.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how friendly and welcoming everyone was and how they were all willing to help me and answer my questions. It was very gratifying at the end of the internship to hear some positive feedback on my work and my attitude, so much so that there is a possibility for me to do some contract work for the company in the future.
Find work experience 
As Alessia discovered, an internship is a great way to develop your understanding of a sector, develop your skills and earn money. Interested?
Look out for paid internship opportunities on mycareer.
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