There were many reasons why I decided to take on the placement at Lifeprint.fit. Primarily, I hoped to explore a different career path within my field and determine the aspects that suited me and those that didn’t. This is important to my future and has allowed me to better understand the direction I hope to take for my career going forward. I also hoped to develop academically by seeing the research process and different areas of Psychology in practice by working with professionals in the field.
Career Connect
I found the application process for my summer internship to be relatively simple. First, I planned out and drafted my responses to the standard internship questions on career connect. From there I waited for a response. Once my application was reviewed, I received an email to attend an in-person interview. I then attended the interview at Sheffield Technology Parks, which was a rather relaxed conversation with the founder of the organisation. Around one week later I was offered the placement via email.
I chose Lifeprint as I found their work on coaching and positive psychology to be something of great interest to me. As it was an area I wasn’t very familiar with, it was obvious that there would be plenty of development opportunities for me to access during my placement. I also found their vision inspiring, and something which I could see motivating me to learn and enjoy my time working for them.
Each week, I would liaise both with the founder and other interns, reporting my findings and any challenges I had found during my previous task. Then, I would be issued a research topic to investigate for that week. I would collate sources by getting a holistic overview of the current research, and then create a critical research review of what I had found.
• Check in with founder and other members of the team
• Spend time researching the topic I had been given for the week
• Summarise research in a literature matrix – read and highlight sources
• Plan my report
I enjoyed seeing and working with Psychology in practice for the first time and working in a role where I could see the direct benefits of my research on the quality of life and wellbeing of others.
I found it surprisingly challenging to work remotely, which has demonstrated to me the importance of face-to-face interaction in any future roles I will accept. I also found it challenging at times to collate research, especially in areas which lacked a strong evidence base.
My role included many skills from my course. The main ones are academic and research skills, organisation and time management, critical thinking, and personal development opportunities.
Yes, I now know that I would be more productive and have positive wellbeing in a more practical working environment, where I see people face-to-face. Whilst I am a strong independent worker, I enjoy seeing and being part of a team, which is something I hope to take forward. Personally, I have also seen the impact and importance of research which has provided me with more motivation for my studies going forward. Helping improve the lives of others is something which I will aspire to focus on going forward into the next phase of my career development.
I aspire to continue my studies after graduation through postgraduate research, where I will expand my knowledge of psychology. This is something of great importance to me, as I will be able to continue to develop both personally and academically. I would also like to continue to gain experience within the field by looking for more work experience in the realm of clinical psychology.
Make sure to be yourself and to give each opportunity that comes your way your all. This way you will gain the most out of it by being open to learn and grow as a person – not just academically.
Form completed: 05 Sep 2022