Megan Hankin is a Human Geography alumna (Class of 2020) in the Faculty of Social Sciences & Public Policy who took on a summer internship through the Entrepreneurship Institute.
Working in a start-up can add valuable experience to students' CVs and is an opportunity that's worth exploring. Start-ups and small businesses account for 99.9% of the UK's business population (5.5 million businesses at the start of 2021) and 61% of the total employment in SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) (2021).
Megan is currently a Civil Servant in the Education, Gender & Equality Directorate of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
What was your internship?
Operations Intern with the Entrepreneurship Institute (EI).
Your role and responsibilities
On a typical day I would help the individual businesses in the King’s20 cohort by answering any questions they had. I also supported with the prep and planning for the next cohort. One of my projects involved organising a welcome box which was posted to the entrepreneurs before the programme began, to ensure they had the best start possible. The box was full of free gifts that related to the EI’s goals around sustainability. I researched and reached out to small companies and brands to see if they would like to partner with us. One of the items was a pack of seeds which the cohort could plant themselves. It helped to set the tone for a really warm welcome!
What interested you in this specific role?
I was hoping to gain experience in a professional working environment. When applying for the internship I was really open-minded to the bigger picture of taking on an internship. Whether you know what field you want to work in yet or not, it’s really important to not limit yourself and give yourself a wealth of opportunity for your own personal as well as professional development.
How have you benefited from this experience?
The internship really helped to build my confidence when working in big organisations with important stakeholders. Being in such a supportive and open learning environment gave me room to make mistakes and learn from them. I was also able to develop my networking and people skills, which are skills I now use in my current role as I’m required to have a lot of oversight of different areas and work with a range of individuals.
Before taking on the internship I saw entrepreneurship as a certain type of person or way of being, that was only accessible and adopted by the very few. The EI showed me how you can be entrepreneurial in your day-to-day life. I don’t think it’s a pre-adopted mindset anymore, it's one that you can build on to become a better colleague, employee and person.
What advice would you give to future interns?
It’s cliché, but don’t be afraid to put yourself forward, ask questions when you don’t understand things. I’d also say don’t limit yourself to the ‘business as usual’ approach, but be willing to suggest new and versatile ideas.