Interns: Emily Harragan

cck team 2011 emily harraganWhat internship did you do?

Journalism & Writing Internship, November 2011 - January 2012, 330 hours (30 hrs/week)

Overall satisfaction: Very Happy (4.3 out of 5)

Mostly enjoyable.

What exactly did you do?

Total hours: 300 hours (uhh, ok so I forgot to log first 20 or so)
Personal development hours: 20% of total
Mentoring hours (time spent on me by others at CCK): 52 

You can see my timesheet here and here is what I did month by month.

How did you get round to doing an internship with us?

It was a familiar scene; a recent graduate poring over classified ads on a targeted site which oozed corporate confidence and an awareness of desperation. The dejected graduate slowly scrolled down the list of positions, reading between lines of endless enthusiasm and the need for a temporary office barrister.

And then, there it is. An advert which is bursting with personality, filled with a cocktail of excitement, responsibility and the tantalizing hint that this is different. Lo and behold, an advert for a journalism internship for a company that has dedicated itself to coffee, cake and kink. How exciting. How scintillating. How very promising.

Hands shaking, this graduate sent off a cover letter and CV after scouring the ad for an application end date (please, please, please let this get through!) and began compulsively refreshing her email inbox. A charming reply, a cat startled and another letter sent saw her running through train stations and arriving in the big city.

Dashing up a multitude of stairs and tumbling into the corridor, she was greeted by a polished figure offering a reassuring smile and the welcome balm of lemonade and cake. The charming figure revealed herself to be the much admired Alana, who pried stories and hypothetical reactions out of us with practised ease while providing an upbeat, educational and positive dialogue.

Twenty minutes past the scheduled time allotted for the interview, we were all still there. Slowly the conversation wound down, and the interviewees were sent off on their way. Two girls tripped down the stairs and headed for the tube station; broad smiles on their faces, they exchanged numbers and promises to keep in touch. As this graduate saved the name and number in her phone, it struck her that this is precisely what Coffee, Cake and Kink represented and how desperately vital it was to the development and structure of our community.

Was the internship represented correctly?

Mostly as described. The text in the advertisement made it very clear what CCK was all about; it's initially what drew me to applying for the internship.

How would you rate internship induction?

Smooth, efficient and reassuring. LoneWolf handled everything very well and was very patient when I was getting the hang of things.

What, specifically, did you learn? What is most valuable?

Really enjoyed my time writing, and feel that this has been an exceptionally educational time. Found some aspects to be very to be stressful, such as deliverables and deadlines, but it was good to get to grips with them.

What did you find particularly beneficial?

Everyone's patience in walking me through ManyMoon and Zoho. I know I didn't have the greatest luck with technology, and the help was appreciated.

How did you find home and flexi-working?

Loved it, so good to be trusted and in control! I don't think I would have been able to do an internship if it wasn't for the flexi-working. I really enjoyed that, and appreciated the fact that I could work at a certain place and had the freedom to move from location to location.

Overall, how well did the internship meet your expectations and why?

Very well. The recruitment process was very thorough and I found out why! It was very intense in some places, but I was looking to be challenged. Never a boring moment!

What next?

In my other life, I enjoy horses, and am rather good at training them, so that's what I am doing next. Then back to writing, where the internship will come in handy, I hope!