Latest news: A charity milestone

In the autumn of this year, Cancer Research UK recruited their 500th intern – a fantastic milestone for the Charity.

Chloe Forster-Coleman is part of this special intake and speaks of her intern journey.

‘After graduating with a degree in English and American Literature I decided to jet off and do some travelling before settling down to my career. I landed back home with a jolt and a wakeup call to the tough reality of job hunting. I began to feel trapped between a rock and a hard place as endless job descriptions not only required a degree, but relevant work experience too.

Like most graduates, my work experience was limited. Passionate about the third sector I decided to look into opportunities offered by the number one charity in the UK, Cancer Research UK. It was then I discovered their vast award-winning internship scheme, including internships from finance, to events, to PR and many more.

I am currently the Fundraising Products and Event Marketing Intern and I have loved my experience. No intern at Cancer Research UK is the tea girl, or boy, we all manage our own projects assigned to us by our individual mentors. Our mentors not only allocate us our work, but are our support for endless questions and ensuring we are getting what we want out of our internships.

My internship has included writing marketing copy published online, overseeing the entire end-to-end production (including the mailing) of a newsletter, complex survey analysis as well as uploading and marketing events on the Cancer Research UK website – and that is just a taste.

The experience has not only helped me to gain a better understanding of my ambition for my future career, but the skills I have developed have increased my confidence and I feel much better prepared for the next step.’

Cancer Research UK’s Internship Scheme launched in 2005 and offers internships to high-calibre individuals looking to gain work experience in the charity sector. They offer 12 week placements three times a year in a wide range of areas, including fundraising, marketing, retail, communications, campaigning, e-business, health awareness and finance.

The scheme takes applications from undergraduates and graduates in any degree discipline as well as professionals looking for a career change. The February intake opens for applications on Thursday 18th November.

The summer intake, which begins in July, will open for applications in April 2011. Please email internships@cancer.org.uk if you would like to receive notification when applications are open for this intake.

To apply, or for more details, please visit Cancer Research internships