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Alex Michelsen, LSTS Intern, · It was a chance to get stuck into something practical, without the mounting sense of panic I was feeling about applying for jobs as the end of my course approached! Initially I was surprised to find something that matched my interests so well: my thesis was looking at sustainability in retail supply chains, and ISEAL is an umbrella body that represents the organisations behind social and environmental standards, like Fairtrade and Organic, many of which you can find in your local supermarket. They contacted me because they wanted some help delivering their communications strategy, and throughout my masters I had been interested in the role of communications in promoting sustainability. They were interested in the comms-focused work I had done in the past and I ended up making a short video for their website. Alex now works for Laing O'Rourke, in their sustainability / innovation team. Madhurima Waghmare, LSTS Intern 2007 The first day of being an intern is a disaster. I do know what to do and how to do. I do not know the name of colleagues. I do not even know where the toilet is. And the worst thing is my English is so poor. The most panic task for me is to negotiate with the clients to get detailed information of their cavity wall products. The second one is the limitation of the specified knowledge of implementation for me. I was totally upset at that time. The experience of internship in Camden Council has taught me to be a professional council employer. I benefited from it a lot and will never forget it.Sharing experience, knowledge and skills:
The experience of this year's LSTS Network members
Organisation: The ISEAL Alliance (www.isealalliance.org)
Delivering a Communications Strategy
Although I was a bit concerned about doing an internship whilst still trying to finish my masters thesis, by the end of my LSx placement I would only recommend the experience to anyone in the same position. Here's why:
· It was a chance to gain some experience in both an area and capacity that I was interested in, and in that sense 'test the water' for a potential career path.
· It was something completely different from anything I had done before. My MSc in Environmental Technology was a complete change in career, as I used to be an English language teacher!
The placement delivered in a number of unexpected ways:
Looking back on the experience I think that voluntary placements like this can work really well when there's a genuine two-way transfer of experience: where you can learn about something you're interested in, and at the same time contribute something of value, whether it's a skill, or simply your passion and a fresh perspective. It was great to finish my time at ISEAL and see the result I had helped to make before moving on to my first full-time position after the course. As it happens, one of the most valuable things I learn from the placement was that I didn't actually want a job centred around communications. But that's great – it made making what feels like the right choice that much easier when the opportunity finally came around!Previous Stories:
Organisation: London Sustainability Exchange
Building Sustainable Communities
"Working with the communities in order to transfer the concerns of sustainability is a challenging task, which requires a lot of patience, perseverance and art. This is my experience at the London Sustainability exchange. I am able to say that convincing the industry, government and other agents about environmentally sensitive actions is easier with the help of tools like: strong policy, legislations, taxes, subsidies, etc. If such actions are coherent enough and effectively implemented then the results are also relatively explicit.
As against this, in the case of community initiatives it is a different scenario: The results are not always direct and explicit. The effects, many times, take a very long time to surface. However, from the long term sustainability point of view, it is very important that the communities and the future generation is made aware of their responsibility towards the sustainability agenda. Therefore, I would vote for all possible encouragement and support to community outreach and awareness initiatives".
Zibo Tao, LSTS intern 2007
Organisation: Camden Council
No Pain, No Gain
"Camden Council, invited me to be an intern in their Energy & Sustainability team in the middle of August 2007. I will never forget the date. Lucky me."
However, it was the starting point to overcome all the difficulties for me as well. My manager is a professional and kind-hearted person. He taught me the knowledge about cavity wall insulation and the skills of negotiation with clients. Sometime, he even helps me to correct the mistakes of my pronunciation. My colleague, who is a positive thinker, always praised me because of what I have done. He encouraged me to work hard and learn more.
The 'ideal' intern:
What this year's LSTS host employers had to say
The 'spirit' of the CV: Many employers said that they found the majority of the CVs bland, lacking true character to demonstrate the spirit, enthusiasm and experience of the applicant. Whilst the list of academic qualifications was usually impressive, many of the CVs lacked the relevant 'why, what and how': why the applicant was interested in an internship and sustainability, what the applicant had to offer the employer and how the applicant had proved him/herself previously.
For example: The majority of CVs stated that that had worked at XXXXX company from XXXX to XXX. This does not demonstrate the role/position, it would therefore be beneficial to follow this statement with a brief explanation of what was undertaken and how you contributed to the success of the role e.g.: did you provide leadership, take-on responsibility or add creativeness.
Professionalism: Lack of professionalism was one of the most common observations by employers. Employers encourage students not to underestimate the importance of basic professional skills; this can make the difference between getting an excellent job or not.
These skills include punctuality, for interviews and after, promptness in responding and fulfilling tasks as well as "assertive humility" i.e: taking on the role with confidence but not arrogance, and being courteous. Remember that quite often these skills play a greater role than your academic excellence!