Student stories: Work experience to kickstart careers
At Family Fund, we are proud to be an inclusive employer. Our student internships are one of the ways we support young people to gain new skills and work experience, to help kickstart their careers. Issie joined Family Fund’s Communications and Marketing team after graduating from the University of Hull with a degree in Media Production. Outside of work, she loves to read, play the piano and help create costumes and props for music videos and short films.
Why Family Fund?
Issie was drawn to a Marketing and Communications Internship after hearing positive things about Family Fund and the work we do to support families raising disabled or seriously ill children.
What I’ve been working on
During her internship, Issie has been able to use her media production skills across a range of communications and marketing projects.
“During my internship I went to an exhibition in Liverpool where I was in charge of taking new asset photos for the website. More recently I’ve been editing videos to be posted for the Discover Digital festival and making promotional videos for fundraising events as well!”
She says: “I don’t think there has been a single thing I haven’t liked being involved in. Even the meetings we have are uplifting and a lovely way to break up the day and see what everyone is up to, especially since everyone is so welcoming and helpful.”
“I’m really proud of the images I produced from the exhibition as they really helped to capture the important work we do at Family Fund and it was so lovely to meet other companies to see how else families raising disabled and seriously ill children can be supported.”
What I’ve learned
Issie says the internship has helped her understand more about how teams work together across a larger organisation, and how much goes on behind the scenes in a charity.
“I’ve gained a real knowledge of how teams operate in such a large company and how asking for help is encouraged here which is always nice to know. I’ve also learnt how to schedule posts for multiple social media sites and feel much more confident using many other websites and applications within the company.”
“The biggest thing I have learnt is probably how much work actually goes into a charity and how hard the staff work to put on fundraisers and spread the word about Family Fund so that they can support families raising disabled children and help make living easier.”
Looking forward
As her internship comes to an end, Issie says the experience has helped her feel more confident about the next steps in her career.
“This was my first marketing job that I have had since leaving university and I’ve loved every part of it. I think it is safe to say that I definitely want to continue down the road of Marketing and Communications.”
Issie’s advice for anyone thinking about a similar opportunity is to give it a go:
“100% go for it! It seems so nerve-wracking at first but once you get to know everyone and start being given tasks to complete and helping where you can it is such an enlightening and insightful experience that you won’t forget.”
