Surbhi’s Internship Story

Hi, I’m Surbhi. I’m currently the marketing coordinator intern at MMU. I work with the LEED department and my role is to market the short course programme.

I did my degree in Psychology, but I’ve always felt like I belong in a more creative environment, so when I stumbled upon the world of marketing, it piqued my interest. Problem was, I had zero experience in marketing. I decided to take matters into my own hands and dived into some marketing courses on LinkedIn Learning. And you know what? I found myself really enjoying it. The Future Talent Team at MMU offers internships for their graduates, and one day, I received an email about it. I saw they had internships for marketing at MMU. Talk about perfect timing! I aim to do a master’s in media and communications, so I saw this internship as a golden opportunity. It was a chance to gain valuable work experience and dip my toes into a whole new career field, that was beginning to spark my interest.

After applying for the role, I was called for an assessment centre interview day. The assessment centre interview was laidback, and fun and I was able to network with other candidates. I found this style of interview to be enjoyable rather than nerve wracking – which eased my calms massively. After my interview, a week later, I was told that I had got the job!

The past 3 months have been an exciting journey, filled with a lot of learning, growth, and creativity. Firstly, I’ve attended the development sessions, which are compulsory. This has been helpful as you meet and network with the other Future Talent interns. These sessions have been focused on developing our professional skills; we’ve looked at improving our LinkedIn and how to tailor our CVs to a specific job role. I’ve been very lucky to have an amazing manager, Mâir, who has pushed me to try new things and not just stick to one area of work. I’ve attended workshops, and I’ve joined my manager when she’s been interviewing candidates. I’ve also attended our practitioner filming sessions. All of this has been super fun and an excellent way to meet other people and share ideas. I’ve also made great connections with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) as they are partners in our short course programme. Working with GMCA has been interesting as I’ve been able to see how GM local authorities work, their values, and skills.

My favourite part of this whole internship has genuinely been all the amazing people I have met. Meeting and chatting with a bunch of different people, all with different personalities and stories to tell, was one of the highlights. Learning about their roles, what motivated them to work for Man Met, and what they’re passionate about was inspiring. I can’t stress enough how kind and welcoming everyone has been. I’ve taken lots of notes of tips and advice from these people, and it’s been an invaluable experience. Another favourite memory of mine was when I was designing landing pages for Future Me. I enjoyed this because I had complete design freedom to create something on my own terms. I learnt how to use a new software, called Figma, and I did my first presentation. This activity helped me really enhance my IT and communication skills.

There’s a lot of creating writing in marketing and I’ve really developed my writing skills further, as I have realised that tone of voice is very important when creating marketing assets. In an office, you must learn to speak and interact with others. I don’t see myself as a shy person, but I am reserved at times. I had to step out of my comfort zone, strike up conversations, and really get to know my colleagues. Social skills? Check. Networking? You bet! Oh, and those development sessions? They were all about communication and building connections. I made sure to chat with fellow interns, and learn about their roles, and what brought them here. Making friends and feeling comfortable in your work environment – it’s the real deal. Also, I want to give a quick thank you to Ben in LEED, who has been so lovely and kind throughout my internship. Not only has he made me, and my fellow intern feel very welcomed, but he’s also helped me really wrap my head around software such as Figma and Photoshop. I’d have been lost without his support.

The internship has been very significant in my professional growth. I also feel a lot more confident about my future and more prepared for when I start my master’s course, due to having experience behind me. A big thank you to the team and Mâir – without her, I wouldn’t have been able to transition into this role as easily.

Interested in following in Surbhi’s footsteps? Keep an eye on the Rise site for further placement and project opportunities, or use our self-study area to learn new technical skills in creative writing and marketing.