I wanted to apply my academic skills, in particular research and critical thinking, in a professional environment where I could make a positive impact to a project larger than myself.
Career Connect
The application process had 2-stages, a written application and an in-person interview.
I believed the delivery service offered by Samdai was unique and possessed genuine potential, so the opportunity to be involved in its development was attractive. Also, the advertised role's focus on the onboarding of new business partners interested me as it presented the opportunity to develop my communication skills in a commercial context.
My main responsibilities:
• Building key relationships with our network of 'business to business' partners and our 'business to consumer' customers in order to increase retention and reduce churn
• Outlining clear customer-orientated goals for the team to work towards to achieve added value
• Working within a team with the aim of maintaining and developing the brand image and enhancing customer experience
My day-to-day activities involved a meeting with the CEO to discuss potential partners, after this I would categorise, these businesses depending on which aspect of our services, they were more compatible with. I would spend the rest of the day contacting each of the businesses with the intention of organising a meeting where we can discuss the practicalities of the proposed collaboration. The day would finish with another meeting during which I would report to the CEO which businesses I had heard responses from and update him on any meetings that needed to be added to the schedule.
I really enjoyed the organisation's attitude to problem solving, we had regular team meetings where we would discuss different solutions to a specific problem and the variety of perspectives that were offered made these interesting experiences.
Understanding the connection between some of the more administrative tasks that were part of my role and the organisation's objectives.
I used my research and critical thinking skills regularly during my placement, this took place when I was comparing different businesses for onboarding.
The placement has widened my perspective of the workplace and I am now more flexible regarding my plans for the immediate future; however, my long-term plans have not shifted.
I now wish to take the SQE post-graduation and engage in mainly in-house legal work as part of my QWE, which was due to how much I enjoyed the more commercial aspects of the internship
My piece of advice to students is to be flexible regarding future career plans and make the most out of every work experience opportunity.
Form completed: 30 Oct 2022