Hi, my name is Arabella and I am a Sociology student currently working as the People & Culture Intern at The Brain Tumour Charity. My role mainly focuses on all things HR, recruitment and general day-to-day Charity life! The Brain Tumour Charity is the world’s leading brain tumour charity, and I am so proud to play a part in its vision as well as progressing my own career development.

Finding the Placement

I scoured Surrey Pathfinder daily for new placements and wasn’t finding anything I wanted to do. It was really important to me that my placement aligned with my values – and then the role of People & Culture Intern popped up!

I applied the day of the deadline, and was quickly offered an interview. The Charity were really great at keeping in touch with me throughout the hiring process, and made sure to make me feel supported and comfortable at all times. It’s super important to not feel rushed in making a decision, and knowing the university were there to support me too was a great help. My advice? Keep looking, and make your applications meaningful.

My First Week at The Charity

The morning of my first day, I was very nervous and nearly wanted to quit there and then. However, these feelings are completely normal, and nerves are good for propelling you forward. When I arrived at the office, all of my team were already there to greet me and make me feel welcome, which I knew meant I would always be supported by them – and I am!

The Charity created a great Foundation Programme for me, which outlined my first 100 days with them, and ensured I spent time with all of the different departments. My first week was full of getting to know you chats, and really made me feel part of the team.

Now I am in charge of creating these Programmes, and I find it so encouraging when new starters are enjoying their induction and come over for chats – a big part of my job! This placement has given me the space to be confident in my ideas, and meet a variety of different people daily. I really recommend chatting to as many colleagues as possible on your placement to understand those wider experiences.

Five Months in

I’ve been with The Charity for five months now, and can safely say I have become part of the furniture! I have never worked somewhere so friendly, warm and welcoming and will be really sad to leave! I now have the confidence to actively engage in team meetings and bring fresh ideas to the table – something I wouldn’t have been able to do without the supportive nature of my manager. It’s so important to enjoy where you work on your placement year, and having a good relationship with your manager really supports that.

I’m so pleased I took the leap and applied for this role. I would really recommend a placement year to anyone considering it.