November 16, 2018, by Carla

How an Internship Can Help You Figure out Your Future Career

By Marina Ivanow, final year, BSc Finance, Accountancy and Management 

There is a lot of pressure to apply for internships with the huge companies with extremely long and difficult application processes. I was looking for an internship where I wouldn’t be sat at a desk all day doing the same tasks over and over.

Working for a smaller business really appealed to me because I wanted the opportunity to make a difference in the company.

I struggled to find something at first and I think it’s because I was looking for something that looked good on paper. My advice is to apply for something you really want to do. When I came across the Nottingham Internship Scheme advertising a role with GeoSLAM, I knew it was the one I wanted.  

What to expect?

Although I’ve had summer jobs before, I’ve never worked in an office or done a solid 9 to 5 week before. I was expecting to struggle to get up in the morning, but in reality, I felt more active. I felt motivated to go to the gym – which doesn’t happen very often! – and was keen to see my friends in the evening.  

Learning about business

I really enjoyed gaining new skills and developing others further. For example, I learned how to use the Adobe Suite for designing and editing different marketing materials. Although I’d used these programmes during my A-levels, using them professionally gave me an insight into how they could help me in my future career.  

The experience also helped me understand more about the structure of a business. It showed me that to be successful, you must be prepared to get stuck in and contribute to the team. Everyone had a positive, ‘can do’ attitude which created an exciting and vibrant culture to work in. 

Learning about myself

I am still unsure which sector I would like to go into, but it is much clearer since working at GeoSLAM, and I’ve identified some tasks that I would like to be part of my future career. Speaking to professionals about my interests and long-term plans also helped a lot and learning about their experiences was reassuring – it’s okay to still be figuring things out!  

I feel much more confident about future job applications and interviews now. My internship helped me identify weaknesses and strengths that I wasn’t previously aware of. I know what skills I need to highlight in my interview and which areas I need to work on. If you’re thinking of applying for an internship, my advice would be: do it! 

Are you looking for work experience? You can find lots of information on how to find it here. Interested in opportunities with local businesses? Sign up for Nottingham Internship Scheme updates here. 

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