Why E3 Consulting Employs Interns - Keeping us on our Toes!

We have employed two students this summer on a three month internship from the University of Southampton. Malina is a European Law Student going into her 2^nd year and Patrick is a History and Politics student going into his 4^th and final year.

At E3 Consulting we have regularly offered both summer and winter internships over the years which have supported the growth of our business. Nearly all of our past and current team members initially started off on short fixed term contracts, before becoming permanent members of staff.

Many businesses, of all sizes, recruit interns to support their overall HR and business strategy. We are very commercially aware that having interns into the business keeps us engaged and on our toes!

Fresh perspective

Welcoming interns brings a fresh and vibrant perspective to the business, providing valuable input by generating open discussion, new ideas & sharing opinions and possible solutions. It is refreshing to have interns into E3 Consulting who are eager to be challenged and whom contribute to the team and the business alike.

This summer it has been particularly useful getting our interns input and feedback on some of our recent articles and website content, including several areas of our website’s careers section. Both Patrick and Malina have been able to give their own external student perspective which, has helped us develop further the vibrancy and engagement with both our social media and website.

Staff Development

Having interns working within the team also provides the opportunity for permanent members of staff to develop their support and supervisory skills. Experience is the best teacher, and staff benefit from the opportunity to nurture an intern by supporting them as both their buddy and mentor.

This also helps with the induction of our interns and allows them to gain a deeper understanding of our culture, ethos and the practicalities of our day to day working environment. Our interns have had the opportunity to participate in our ‘Weekly Collaborative Learning & Business Improvement’ meetings where all team members share and talk around their key learning point of the week – whether that is a technical point or on a wider commercial point. This allows our permanent team members to lead by example by sharing what they’re doing and for our interns to see our collaborative business approach in practice.

Each intern is allowed time each day to review their projects and tasks with a member of staff (including Alun and Nicky) and to write these up in their daily reflection and learning log. This provides a practical reference point for recording constructive feedback, shared conversations, observations and reference to articles, case law etc.

The depth of learning is reinforced by giving examples of ‘on the job learning’, discussing what they do with each learning point and then agreeing what their follow up actions are to be. Hence, by coaching and mentoring our interns throughout their time at E3 Consulting, we are further developing key soft skills ourselves such as active listening, how to hold a meeting, networking and presentation skills.

Building ongoing relationships

Internships are a practical way for businesses to understand someone’s true ability and skill set by working on a variety of different tasks and projects. From this we are able to see the quality of the work that they deliver, both individually and working within the team over time. Typically an internship at E3 is for between a three to six month period. Upon the successful outcome of a full review, this sometimes leads to part time work, a role as a brand ambassador and/or even a permanent role. Over the last few years we have had former interns work as brand ambassadors at several universities including Exeter, Southampton and Plymouth.

“I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to attend networking events throughout my internship. At first it was a challenging experience for me as it was not something I had really done before. But having now attended several different events including the Southampton Property Association, Hampshire and Dorset chamber events, I have become more confident in myself, having had the chance to practice my networking skills.

I believe that these experiences have been very beneficial because they have had an important and positive influence on my mind set. They helped me to see that going out of my comfort zone is part of my recipe for success moving forward and I will be actively attending networking events both at my university and in and around Southampton. I am also now working for E3 Consulting part time and representing the business on campus at the University of Southampton” – Malina Amortoaie 

“My internship at E3 has been very informative and challenging, especially given the wide variety of experience on offer. I have improved many transferable skills such as learning how to become more structured and systematics with the way I plan, work through and complete tasks. Essentially, I now deeply understand the value of planning and being organised.

 I have continually used the principles of planning during my internship including planning my day to make phone calls and to execute short articles to support E3 Consulting’s social media strategy.

 I will be taking these skills with me into my final year which will help me to gain the best degree result possible and overall experience from my final year” – Patrick Scully

Conclusion

In order for any internship to be successful, there has to be a mutually beneficial exchange of ideas and productive outcomes; where the value gained by each intern is balanced with the commercial and practical benefits returned to us as a business. Brining interns into the business is key to keeping us vibrant, on our toes and driving the business forward in a collaborative, team orientated manner.