Ben B.
About me
| Ben B. | |
| Social Policy and Social Work | |
| Applied Social Science | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Derwent | |
| 2017 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Programme Intern | |
| City of York Council | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Government and civil service | |
| Large business (250+ employees) | |
| 2016 | |
| 2016 | |
| £264 |
More about Ben
Like this profile?
Add this profile to your favourites so you can return to it later from your account.
A day in the life of a Programme Intern in the United Kingdom
York Council - Older Peoples Accommodation - Project Intern
My advice to students considering work
Volunteer and look for internships. Spending more time outside of a University setting can help grow contacts, form thoughts on your future and open you up to other viewpoints.
Other advice
Unique work experience can make your CV stand out more than general office work. I have had two employers tell me I was selected for interview due to my involvement with the Army Reserves.
Contacting me
I'm happy to be contacted with general queries but have particular knowledge of Local Government and Research Work. I have also been through the TeachFirst selection process.
What I do
I worked directly with the programme director on a large modernisation programme of older peoples accommodation in York.
The breadth of this project meant undertaking a number of roles including organisation of public consultations, preparation of procurement documents for spatial planners, site visits and the production of a project plan and options appraisal for development of a care home, among other things.
Skills I use and how I developed them
The primary skills for working in local government are time management and communication. In this role I could be working on upwards of four distinct projects at one time and each project would require working and building relationships with numerous different stakeholders. Being able to communicate effectively but also manage your time efficiently to keep on top of different work streams is vital. My manager was fantastic in introducing me to key colleagues early and advising me on how to keep on top of my workload.
Listening and research are another key part of the project. You will likely be changing tasks regularly, I learnt to take notes all the time and run back over them between tasks to learn as quickly as possible. It is also important to be confident approaching people as one of the biggest benefits of the council is the number of experienced professionals in the building but I had to learn to be at ease approaching them before I saw success in projects.
What I like most
Being part of a programme with real goals and being able to see the benefits of my work. I also enjoyed the project management side and the fact that I was given the freedom to organise and lead some parts of projects on my own.
I also appreciated the way this role gave me a working insight into parts of my course.
What I like least
It can be daunting entering such a large organisation and it can be quite isolating at times when doing some of the more desk based work but that is the learning curve with this kind of role.
What surprised me most
The level of responsibility I was given by the Council. I would often be leading projects with minimal supervision.
Next steps...
If you like the look of Ben’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Ben a message to find out more about their career journey.