Mentoring with Career Ready

Hi, my name’s Meghan, and I took part in an internship over the summer holidays at Commsworld.

I started on the Career Ready programme last year, and have been working closely with my mentor, Commsworld account director Sam Reymbaut. We met around once a month at my school to talk about work, and what I wanted to do. I was really keen to take part in the programme and feel really lucky to have been given this opportunity.

Part of the Career Ready programme is the chance to complete a four-week internship in my mentor’s workplace. Commsworld works with Glasgow City Council and Career Ready, to give local young people the ability to experience the world of work, and gain insight into what working life is like.

Sam told me all about Commsworld, and what line of business it was into – connectivity and the internet. She told me all about the different types of jobs in the firm, and what their roles were.

It was really interesting, and I looked forward to going into the Commsworld Glasgow office to experience what work was like with the business.

The first day I was extremely nervous, and looking back I was pretty quiet. However, as I gradually got to know everyone and learned different aspects about the business, and the jobs that people do, I feel I came out of my shell quite a bit.

During the four weeks of my internship, I worked beside Sam and learned what the role of account director was. I also got practical experience of working in other areas, which were the Service Team, Sales and Marketing, HR and Finance.

After about three weeks, I was a lot more confident and felt I was able to be productive. With Sales and Marketing, I inputted data and uploaded hundreds of items into Commsworld’s CRM systems.I also worked with Graeme St John, who is Commsworld’s Finance and Commercial Consultant, helping him with spreadsheets. With HR, I did some apprenticeship work and came up with ideas, which they liked.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time there. I got to experience what it is like in work and the different type of roles and departments in a business the size of Commsworld.

I also personally liked the fact that I became really productive and always had something to do.

If I was to describe my experience in three words I’d say it was fun, unexpected and busy. Fun – I got to experience what an office is like to work in, that was great. Unexpected – I got to set myself targets and really got out of my comfort zone with the tasks I was given, which I really enjoyed. That brought out a whole new side of me, and made me a lot more confident. Busy – I always had work to do and was constantly meeting new people across all the teams in Commsworld, which I really enjoyed as well.

I also enjoyed the daily routine of getting to work for 9am and finishing at 5pm, and completing all the tasks I was set every day. That gave me a real buzz, and boosted my confidence. As the days went on, I actually came to enjoy meeting and working with new people across the company.

In the future, I’d really like to go to university. Being an intern at Commsworld has made me realise if I put my mind to it I can do anything. So getting the grades to go to university is a real ambition for me now, with a view to maybe starting my own business in the future.

Looking back now, my favourite part of working at Commsworld was the fact that it really boosted my confidence, not only dealing with different types of work but meeting new people all the time. On the first day, I really wasn’t sure whether I was going to enjoy being an intern, but by the end I just loved getting involved and I ended up with a really positive attitude about all of it. It’s made me realise my potential.

Being part of Commsworld for a month has made me realise I’m far more prepared for the world of work than I thought. I wasn’t afraid to ask for support when I needed to, and that in turn made me really enjoy everything I did. Thank you Commsworld.

 

Kirsty McNeil, Career Ready Regional Manager in Glasgow and the West

“We’d like to thank Commsworld and their staff for working with us to invest in young talent and through paid internships and mentoring. Both of these are key in helping young people develop the workplace skills and confidence they need to succeed in the world of work. And we’d urge other businesses to join them in giving young people opportunities to kickstart their future careers.”