Recognising my values and gaining the confidence to ask for more through Collaborative Future's internship
Our intern Sakshi shares her experience of joining our work placement programme in Summer 2020.
Three quarter shot of Sakshi smiling with sea in the background
Sakshi was one of the first young people to join our 2020 work placement cohort. Having graduated with a History degree in 2019, her most recent employment, just as many young people have experienced, was unfortunately impacted by COVID. As time went, and the competition for jobs grew, Sakshi lost her confidence, and began applying for roles without putting much heart into it.
Sakshi joined Collaborative Future looking for projects where she could offer her writing and research skills. She was flexible as to the work she wanted to do, and overall wanted to get a bit more well-rounded which tied in nicely with the varied opportunities available through the programme.
From the application process to attending the interview, Sakshi appreciated the alternative recruitment process we had in place where interview questions were shared beforehand, which enabled her to bring her whole self to the interview and have honest conversations...
Having participated in a graduate scheme previously, Sakshi also shared with us how much she appreciated our teams interest in how she could gain the best experience in her areas of interest, as opposed to how the organisation could mould her to fit a certain role..
Throughout her time on the programme, Sakshi was paired with Amy, Director of Woodgate Consulting, who instantly recognised how Sakshi's skills could fit within the projects. Sakshi was part of a FutureLearn project, everyday tasks of which involved completing Excel tasks as well as written tasks. Sakshi found that this experience polished up her Excel skills, organizational skills, and her attention to detail.
Although on our 2020 programme our cohort of young people worked on a part-time, ad-hoc basis, Sakshi noted that this was enough to keep her busy and provide meaningful work. As someone who works best under pressure, she found that having someone to report to and complete work for was motivating. Plus, as she has been out of work for a bit, these experiences sharpened her brain and got her back into the right head space.
Sakshi shared with us that coaching was one of her favourite experiences of the programme. She felt that it was unique to other schemes available for young people, and that it came at the right time in her life when she felt a lot of confusion about what she should do, where she’s meant to go and how she’s meant to cope in these times. The conversations she had with our coach Asma, Founder of My Success Story, made her feel that she was being personally talked to and cared for..
Sakshi was taught several techniques to aid reflection, and was guided to recognise what she values in herself, in others and in work. She was encouraged to narrow down her values to a top three, which then guided her moral compass.
Before she joined us, Sakshi was fast tracked into a role in the Civil Service. Months on, after being matched with a role that was very statistics focussed, with Collaborative Future’s support Sakshi gained the confidence to ask for more..
Sakshi is now a couple of months into her new role at the Civil Service, and we wish her the very best for the future.