Holly Smith from the School of Psychology talks about her experience of Enhance: The Work Experience Development Programme.
Tell us a bit about yourself
“My name is Holly, I am a second-year BSc Psychology with Clinical Psychology student and my future career goal is to be an Educational Psychologist.”
Why did you apply to the Enhance Programme?
“I initially applied to Enhance as I wanted as much support as I could get when applying for placements for the next academic year, with the hopes I would learn skills that would increase my employability.”
What support did you receive on the programme?
“The Enhance group sessions focused on areas that everyone on the programme needed assistance with and I also received a lot of individual help.
“I emailed my cover letter and CV to Roxanne from the programme, as I wasn’t confident with it. She took time to go through it and make suggestions, which I worked from. After a few weeks of improving the cover letter and CV, I sent in my first application to an organisation that was only offering 2 spaces on their placement programme.
“I ended up getting an invitation to interview! So Roxanne then did a practice interview with me. This was incredibly useful, as I had never been for a formal interview before, and Roxanne was able to advise me on what the interviewers would be looking for.”
What impact has the Enhance programme had on your Year in Industry journey?
“Using the advice from the programme, I went into my interview feeling more comfortable and ended up securing the placement! It was the first placement I applied for, in an organisation I really wanted to work with and I don’t think I would’ve had the skills to have applied confidently if it wasn’t for Enhance.”
What do you want other students to know about the Enhance programme?
“I would really recommend the Enhance programme if you want to do a year in professional practice or generally want to learn valuable skills that will help you for your future. I will remember everything I’ve been taught and implement it into any future CVs, cover letters or interviews.”
If you’d like to know more about the Enhance Work Experience Development Programme, please visit our website www.kent.ac.uk/careers/enhance or email enhance@kent.ac.uk.
If you are a Stage 1 student in the School of Computing, School of Arts and Architecture or School of Humanities, you can apply to take part in the next Enhance programme today – www.kent.ac.uk/careers/enhance