Branch out from your degree area with an internship
Anniinañޙs internships taught her that there are more opportunities out there for her than she realised
Anniina
- Editorial and Copywriting Intern for the
Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx) Podcast - Impact and Evaluation Podcast Support Intern for
ñޜAn internship is eye-opening. I donñޙt have to just focus on books. I can use writing and research skills and go in a completely different direction with it.ñޝ
But what goes into making a podcast?
A podcast is much more than the ability to press play on the end product. There are many steps before and after that all contribute to the making of a podcast, from planning and writing all the way through to impact and evaluation.
You might think that your degree doesnñޙt apply to podcasting, or that you donñޙt have the right skills. This isnñޙt the case ñޓ internships are all about using your transferable skills to gain experience that will be invaluable after you graduate.
Anniina, in the second year of her
BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing undergraduate degree, has completed two podcasting internships through the Universityñޙs internship schemes, giving her an insight into the podcasting process from start to finish.
ñޜSeeing that itñޙs not just for music or technical engineering students and that thereñޙs also something for English students is great.ñޝ
A podcasting internship was the perfect way for Anniina to combine her interests with the skills that she has gained during her degree.
ñޜI love podcasts and I thought doing something like that would be completely different because thatñޙs not something you get to do at uni. We get to do scripts and we get to do poetry and prose, but podcasting isnñޙt really a thing.ñޝ
Editorial experience comes in many forms
Particularly for English students, editorial experience is considered highly sought-after and hard to come by, when in reality there are plenty of opportunities to gain experience outside of publishing houses and newspapers or magazines.
This is what Anniina discovered during her time as an Editorial and Copywriting Intern for the
Culture and Heritage Exchange (CHEx) Podcast, run by the Universityñޙs very own Criminology department.
Working with two researchers, Anniina took the information given to her and used it to create and shape a podcast structure that would be both interesting and informative for listeners.
ñޜThe researchers did all the research and looked into different articles, the podcast guestsñޙ studies and theses, which they sent to me and I used to make a podcast structure,ñޝ Anniina explains. ñޜI was writing an intro and writing questions for the guests, making bullet points of what I wanted them to address in their answers, making overall points, reference lists and even content warnings, to make sure the podcast was well-structured.ñޝ
Having a degree ñޓ any degree ñޓ is said to open up 70% of job opportunities to you. But it can be difficult to know exactly what those opportunities are until you experience them for yourself.
ñޜIt is a bit eye-opening,ñޝ Anniina says, ñޜbecause I donñޙt have to just focus on books. I can use writing and research skills and go in a completely different direction with it and itñޙll still apply.ñޝ
Getting experience through an internship allows you to explore your options before you graduate, which can help you to form your plans about the future. Anniinañޙs internships taught her that there are more opportunities out there for her than she realised.
ñޜItñޙs good to know that there are other options and you donñޙt just have to become a teacher. You can use research skills and apply them to sociology podcasts, which has been really helpful for my mindset going into third year and knowing that Iñޙm graduating in a year.ñޝ
Taking your skillset to the next level
Internships arenñޙt just about putting the skills you already have to use, but about gaining new ones that will make you more appealing to employers.
Anniinañޙs podcasting internships havenñޙt just helped her to develop in the editorial and copywriting areas, they have given her experience of a professional environment and the communication and time-management skills needed to thrive in the workplace.
ñޜI think that confidence is a big one,ñޝ says Anniina, ñޜespecially in the workplace. I hadnñޙt had much work experience before this apart from babysitting and working in a grocery shop during the summer, so being part of that professional office environment was something that was new to me. Having experience of how to talk with co-workers, going out for lunch with colleagues and how to operate that space was useful.ñޝ
Having the confidence to stand up and put forward your own ideas, taking initiative and developing your creative thinking are all valuable skills that can be gained through an internship.
ñޜIt has made me proactive,ñޝ Anniina reflects. ñޜIñޙd come in and suggest my ideas and weñޙd work together to figure out a plan. I was working together with colleagues but also being proactive and independent.ñޝ
One internship, many opportunities
During her time as an Impact and Evaluation Podcast Support Intern for Fotonow, Anniinañޙs work took her in a whole new direction.
ñޜMy duties changed in the middle of the internship. What I thought my job was going to be was researching the social impact and how to do podcasts, and I did that for the first few weeks ñޓ just looking up different podcasts for inspiration.ñޝ
Then, Anniina was given the opportunity to gain experience in a completely new area.
ñޜI had looked into everything that they needed to know already, research-wise,ñޝ Anniina remembers, ñޜand then my supervisor said that if I was up for it, I could start experimenting with this audio program and start learning about audio engineering. So, I went in that direction a bit more and by the end of it I was producing a podcast and looking up jingles and sound effects, editing audio files, etc.ñޝ
In the end, Anniina looks back on the experience as the most exciting part of her internship.
ñޜI really enjoyed the audio editing because Adobe Audition ñޓ the program that I used ñޓ costs a lot of money, and Iñޙm not going to have the opportunity to use that unless it is for a company.ñޝ
As many interns find, these unexpected opportunities give you a chance to branch out from your degree areas and widen your skillset.
ñޜDoing English, I donñޙt get to do a lot of engineering or technical stuff, so getting that experience and having the freedom to play around with it ñޓ they gave me a full four hours just to experiment with it and have fun ñޓ was really enjoyable. Iñޙd already done some research, but who gets to do audio engineering just like that?ñޝ
Anniina using Adobe software
Not only this, but Anniinañޙs internship with Fotonow gave her the opportunity to develop her professional network and make useful connections for after she graduates.
ñޜI think that internships can be a really good way of getting your foot in the door for after graduation,ñޝ Anniina says, ñޜbecause Iñޙm now working with Fotonow as a volunteer and getting more work experience. They asked me to stay on if I wanted to and I said absolutely!ñޝ
ñޜIt allows you to get a foot in the door and bond with the team ñޓ networking-wise you can make good connections and if they need someone after graduation then they already know me and Iñޙve already done work experience with them, so thatñޙs really useful.ñޝ
The ñ makes it easy for you to find the perfect internship
Anniina applied for her first internship after opting to take a work experience module on her degree, unsure of what she wanted to do other than gain some more experience for her CV.
Luckily, our dedicated Industry Liaison,
Lee Whittock , was on hand to help her out.
ñޜLee has been a heaven-send for the applicationsñޝ Anniina says, recalling his help in finding her a placement for her work experience module. ñޜI knew that I needed a placement, but because the module didnñޙt start until after the application deadlines for the internships, I kind of panicked and emailed Lee asking for help. He arranged a meeting between us to go through them together and talk through what I wanted out of this and what he thought would be fitting, and he made a list of two or three internships that he thought would be good for me and said to send him my CV and cover letter so he could forward them on.ñޝ
Here at the ñ, help is available at every step of the way to make sure that you get the best out of your internship experience.
ñޜIt made it seem easy and he made it very manageable ñޓ he really helped a lot with that process. I think having that middle person was really nice, because he finds all of these opportunities and sends them forward, which is the hardest bit.ñޝ
Beyond the application process, Anniina recalls how Lee attended the initial meetings with her for both of her internships, introducing her to the internship providers and overseeing the process.
ñޜIt felt like we were being looked after,ñޝ Anniina says, ñޜbut not in a babysitting way, by providing us with a professional who knows what heñޙs doing and is able to ask the right questions about the work that we need to do.ñޝ
Support is not just available from the University, but from the internship providers.
ñޜFotonow was really helpful ñޓ they have someone who coordinates placements and internships because Fotonow is so big on offering work experience, so they had one person just focusing on that outreach aspect and were very on top of it.ñޝ
The bottom line
A podcasting internship might seem like an unlikely choice for an English student, but Anniinañޙs story shows that anyone can take part in and benefit from an internship that they might never have considered before.
ñޜTheyñޙve shown me that itñޙs okay not to just focus on one particular direction,ñޝ Anniina emphasises, ñޜbut that you can build around your skills, especially when youñޙre just starting out, because there are so many different things that you can do. You can do one thing and then move onto something different. It takes the pressure off. Iñޙd like to do more in third year.ñޝ
Donñޙt get intimidated by the job descriptions. Sometimes they sound very clever, and I think ñޘwell I canñޙt do an editorial positionñޙ or ñޘI canñޙt do this type of workñޙ, but when you really boil it down ñޓ which Lee was really helpful with because he was picking apart the descriptions and telling me the skills that they are looking for ñޓ you see that you can go for it. Donñޙt underestimate yourself and just go for it anyway, even if it sounds a bit high-brow or a bit clever.
Having completed two internships, Anniinañޙs top piece of advice is to have confidence in yourself when applying.
This article was written by Aimee Whittle, BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing student, as part of her internship with the School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences.