“Hi, I’m Sophia. I undertook an SME Internship as a recent graduate from my Neuroscience BSc. I worked for The Brain Charity, a Liverpool-based charity that provides support to individuals affected by neurological conditions.
I found the charity during my search for an internship that would align with my morals. I contacted them directly, and to my delight, they were happy to take me on as an intern through the SME Internship Scheme, as a Neurodiversity Training Co-ordinator.
My job
My role was a Neurodiversity Training Co-ordinator, which involved various administrative and miscellaneous tasks that supported and enhanced their Neurodiversity Training programme.
It offers training sessions to clients and their employees, to educate and share knowledge on how to best support neurodivergent employees in the workplace.
I supported their Neurodiversity Training programme, working closely with the training manager to carry out various tasks. These included monitoring their training inbox and communicating with prospective clients. I was also responsible for coordinating details with the trainers and arranging the sessions effectively.
Other tasks included creating online surveys, collecting client testimonials, editing and improving their initial client information email, collating training feedback and many more similar tasks.
After gaining an understanding of the training programme, I was able to improve the efficiency of their booking process by using PowerAutomate, an app that I discovered during the internship.
I found a way to automate it all to save them time, and they were very grateful! Having a range of different tasks kept things more exciting.
Challenges
The most important skill I developed was having more confidence in an office team setting. I started the internship with less self-belief, but in the end, by seeing the positive impact of my work and how much I’d helped, I had a massive confidence boost. In addition, I practised communicating in team meetings, learned how to use new IT tools, and generally gained a lot of insight into how teams can function in the workplace.
A challenge I experienced was a dip in motivation two-thirds of the way through my internship. This was partly due to my harsh self-critic not giving due credit for my work. In addition, as I’d been working remotely up to this point, it was difficult to sense how well they thought I was doing.
By communicating with the training manager who was my mentor, this was all cleared up and I regained my motivation. Working remotely was a good option for me, as it worked well alongside my other (more physical) part-time job. However, I think that an in-person internship could give you far more of an enriching experience.
The best bit
For the last week of my internship, I went to Liverpool to meet the whole team and work in the office. The charity hosted its annual event that week with many fascinating speakers, at which we also showcased the Neurodiversity Training session.
To gain further experience, I was able to deliver a section of the training programme at the event, which I had previously prepared and practised for. This was one of my internship highlights as it really pushed me to put into practice everything I’d learned, and gave me valuable experience in presenting and delivering training.
I would highly recommend participating in the SME internship scheme, it’s such a great (and rare) opportunity. If you choose to, I suggest finding a company that fits with you and your morals as it will be much more enjoyable. A final tip is to try and get as much out of the internship as possible! Fully engage, ask loads of questions and let them know what you want to gain so they can arrange tasks that suit this.
Good luck.”
Feel inspired?
The SME Internship Scheme is open and we are currently advertising internships that you can apply for, or you can arrange your own internship, find out more here.
Check out our “My SME Internship” blog series to hear more student stories.
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If you have any questions about the scheme, writing your application, or anything else relating to careers you can speak to us on live chat, or pop into 5 Tyndall Avenue from Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4.30 pm during term time.