Through the Employability Points Scheme and co-funded by the Santander Internship Scheme, Visit Kent provided an internship to Caitlin Minter (School of Anthropology and Conservation) focused on events management and marketing. Here are Caitlin’s thoughts about her experience:
During Stage 3 of my undergraduate degree at the University of Kent I was stressing about the future due to the many horror stories I’d heard, about how difficult it is to find a graduate job. I applied to many jobs throughout the year and completed many aptitude tests and interviews but still had no luck. I even considered doing a master’s degree after undergraduate study but was unsure about what career I wanted to pursue. So I decided that I needed to gain some experience both to develop my skills and to get a better idea of what industry I wanted to pursue a career in.
Getting an internship through EP was a lot easier than applying to companies independently. I felt a lot more comfortable during the interview as there was advice on the university website on how to properly prepare and I had learnt from my mistakes from past interviews. They were also really quick to reply about my success.
I completed a 10 week internship at Visit Kent and it is honestly the best decision I have ever made. I have learnt so much, both about myself and the tourism industry. This was definitely not a ‘make coffees for everyone’ kind of internship. I wrote three group travel guides, one for Hertfordshire, Kent and one aimed at the US audience; I was responsible for business to business social media; I created webpages on the company’s website; supported travel trade, marketing and research activities; recruited investors to the Visit Kent Business Barometer; and created itineraries for tour operators.
My internship has been very challenging but has shown me how capable I am. The people at Visit Kent are amazing, they are very warm and supportive and made me feel like part of the team since the beginning. I really enjoyed the interdisciplinary nature of the role and have loved learning about destination management.
I’m excited to start my new role at Visit Kent and learn more about the marketing and project aspect of the travel industry.
My advice for other students currently looking for employment after their degree is to remain persistent. No matter how many times you get knocked down keep at it because opportunities can crop up where you least expect them.