Internship Placement Meeting

Tuesday was the long awaited day of my internship placement meeting. Before I go into details about the placement, I want to express my sense of accomplishment and also my ambivalence about this moment in my abroad experience. I use these two terms because I'm proud to have assimilated to everyday life in the UK. However, I'm nervous about the second half of the semester. I will finally get a taste of the working world in London, both the positive and negative experiences. I also fear the dreaded end of the semester. I don't want this experience to conclude. I still have two months but the past thirty days comprised some of the best moments of my life. But I also like to think that taking more risks in life and challenging myself will bring me the same joy and a diversity of experiences regardless of where I'm living.

My interview will be next Wednesday, Oct. 15th at 10 am in the Wolverton Gardens area, just a few tube (metro) stops from my flat in South Kensington. Most of my information about it comes from a very thorough packet distributed to individual students at the meeting. Here are the key details.

My possible tasks
-Updating websites
-Daily administrative tasks
-Research for articles
-Organizing information
-Opportunity for writing

Dress code
Business casual.

Days I work
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from Oct. 29 to Dec. 18.

Who reads Third Sector Magazine?
"Many of our 8,000 readers are chief executives, trustees and senior managers in charities, voluntary organizations and social enterprises. Others are Parliamentarians, lawyers, finance professionals and private sector executives concerned with corporative responsibility."

Let's analyze this. The tasks fit the typical intern job description. My favorite right now is “Updating websites.” That suits my interest in new media and hopefully it will teach me a little more about HTML and other web applications and software. Another task that stands out is “Opportunity for writing.” FIE said journalism interns would most likely not do actual reporting. Therefore, I’m cautious about this task but optimistic that I’ll be set loose in London to get sources, gather information and all the other reporting activities. Just kidding. I’m petrified.

It will be interesting to see how much will happen in that month and a half of interning. Will it go by quickly like the past month or will it drag on, weighed down by the stress and rigor of professional demands?

How prestigious is Third Sector? The company description gives the impression that it is an important publication, one with possible influence on top-level players in the UK political and business world. I hope to learn more about the role Third Sector plays in the UK professional world.