Why I did Internship Experience UK this summer?

Graduating in the midst of a global pandemic has been disconcerting, to say the least. Nevertheless, I am determined to capitalise on all opportunities to progress towards my career goals, despite the high levels of uncertainty characterising this period.  

One of the key experiences recommended during this time is doing a virtual internship. As such, I greatly enjoyed participating in the Business, Operations and Marketing stream of the Bright Network Internship Experience UK.  

Sector-leading firms such as Google, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, GSK, Marks and Spencer and Procter & Gamble gave varied and inspiring talks, as well as sparing the time to answer huge numbers of questions in the alumni office hour virtual booths, offering an invaluable insight into marketing as a career. I found the real-life simulating work sample stimulating and the entire experience was, undoubtedly, extremely useful, particularly within such a competitive sector. 

Over the course of three days, approximately 9,000 students were live and inside the virtual experience – networking and ready to have positive interactions. The highlight of my time was listening to the keynote, Ebony Amoroso, Director of Inclusion at Endeavor as her career journey was ever so inspiring. As part of the internship, we were given the challenge of identifying a new city in the UK for the launch of Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s services. We needed to independently create a marketing plan and strategy with key steps for a successful launch. I received feedback from my presentation, dealt with working to a tight deadline and am proud of what I achieved as a result.  

The Internship Experience allowed me to grow personally, but it also helped me to gain a better understanding of the marketing industry, made a new network, and was awarded a certificate of completion for my LinkedIn profile. But most importantly, I gained a new sense of professionalism and a clearer view of what it meant to be in the professional world. So, I would advise everyone to take the opportunity and do a virtual internship, even if it is not necessarily in the industry that you wish to work in. There is much to gain from it on both a professional and personal level.