Humanities Alumni Video Project at The University of Manchester Jades story University of Manchester Careers Blog

Humanities Alumni Video Project at The University of Manchester Jade’s story My name is Jade and I am in my final year studying Linguistics. I knew from the beginning of second year that I wanted to do something productive with my summer, to boost my CV and skills before I entered the dreaded final year. I found out about SEI’s when I was walking through Sam Alex one day after a lecture in December and I noticed a Careers Service stand (I believe it is there every Wednesday). I decided to ask the lovely Career Consultant if she could give me any advice about how to make the most out of my summer and that’s when she told me about SEI’s. Throughout the Christmas period I worked on my CV and when I returned I booked a CV advice session; then I was all ready to start applying for the summer internships! I joined the Facebook pages which are updated with all the new internships and there was one which caught my eye â€" the Humanities Alumni Video Project. This internship genuinely interested me and it had exactly the kind of work experience I needed for my future career prospects. I applied for the internship and I was invited for an interview. About the interview For the interview, I was so nervous and even worse the interview took place on Friday the 13th! I remember it raining heavily and walking into the interview looking like a downed rat. Firstly, I was asked to complete a small task which was to write a mock email to a potential alumni volunteers and a mock brief for the filming sessions, after that they asked me the typical questions about why I was suitable for the role and my relevant experience from my education and part-time jobs. A few days later, they offered me the internship, I was so happy to be taking on a role that required so much responsibility. My internship My internship started at the beginning of June and the first few days involved introductions and getting to know everyone in the department. On the first week, my colleagues took me out for lunch to make me feel at home and by the end of the week, I was going out after work for drinks! One piece of advice is to say yes to the social events right from the beginning of your internship, it is a great way to get to know people and also do some sneaky networking… My main role was to project manage a series of Alumni-based, career videos to promote Humanities degrees. The videos are used as a student recruitment tool to demonstrate the wide variety of careers you can enter after studying a Humanities degree. I had to liaise with the Marketing Team and the Alumni volunteers, to coordinate the entire filming schedule. I also had to attend the filming sessions with the film crew, ensuring the volunteers felt comfortable and that the content we recorded fitted the brief. Best bits My favourite part of the internship was attending the filming session and meeting all the Alumni, I got to visit fantastic companies such as the BBC and top marketing companies in London. It was also incredible to hear the career stories of Alumni who studied Humanities degrees, it was extremely inspiring and gave me confidence for my own future! I was so sad when my internship ended, I loved everything about my role and my line manager even generously gave me some fantastic leaving gifts. However, a few weeks later, they offered me a part-time position for my final year to assist with Alumni-based events. This is great as I am still gaining invaluable skills and I still get to work for such a fantastic team. I would definitely recommend an SEI if you wish to do something with your summer. It’s a brilliant way to boost your confidence, boost your CV, to meet other interns and take advantage of the help The Career Service offers while on the internship. All Make The Most of Manchester Manchester Made Me Undergraduate Undergraduate-highlighted Applications and interviews careers Internships manchester made me my story summer internships University of Manchester work experience