Mhairi Oliver,  Student Internship Bureau Support Office – Graduate Intern

How long have you worked in Careers at York and what did you do before you worked here?

I started my internship in Careers in September 2013 and I’ve loved every minute! I finished my Undergraduate English Language and Linguistics degree at York St John in May 2013 and after that I worked the Summer in retail while I applied for other work. As I had worked all the way through my degree I was really looking forward to getting stuck in to something new and this role seemed like the perfect way to get intense work experience.

What do you do in a typical day in your job?

My typical day starts with going through my emails but after that I can be doing anything! We’re currently advertising the summer vacation internships, and liaising with internship hosts about potential projects. I love this part of my jobs because the internships are all so different, I have really relished the challenge of learning about all of the different organisations and putting together really interesting projects.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love hearing back from students and graduates after their internships and knowing that the experience has helped them gain a new skill, get valuable experience in their preferred, or a completely new, sector, or just gain confidence in their own abilities for when they apply for future opportunities.

If you could do any job in the world what would it be?

There are so many jobs I don’t even know about yet! I would love to be a fragrance scientist though, when I was younger I used to put flower petals in water and call it perfume so I would love to be creative and learn how to make new scents and perfumes. Failing that being a florist would be great too!

What are you….? 

• Watching:  Suits
• Reading: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, I read this so many times for GCSE but never really appreciated it so I’m going back over it now I’m not forced to do it!
• Listening to: I GOT U Duke Dumont FT Jax Jones

Previous ‘Meet the Team’ blogs:

• Kelly McDonald – Careers Adviser
• Sally Greenwood – Volunteering Project Officer
• Irena Zientek – Information Resources Manager