Third Sector Development Internship

Hello everyone, I’m Siobhan and I too work as an intern at East Renfrewshire Council. My job is different from Kates, (no sightings of Yogi Bear for a start!) I work as a Third Sector Development Officer within the Economic Development department. The role is really varied, which is brilliant, as I get to work on a number of different projects carrying out a number of different tasks. At the moment the two main projects I am working on are developing a training centre that is based at Rouken Glen Park and working with Neilston Town Team on implementing some of the projects in their Town Charter. On any given day I can be found researching business plans, budgeting, meeting with partnership organisations or researching and applying for funding amongst many other things.


Rouken Glen Park, East Renfrewshire



                                             

My road here was a little convoluted but as Douglas Adams says “I may not have ended up where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be” (yes, I am one of those people who has a quote for every occasion!). I graduated in 2007 from University of Strathclyde with a law degree and no desire whatsoever to practise law. After a few months of working in a cinema, I was fortunate enough to obtain a paid internship with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) where I was based in their policy, research and communications department. I enjoyed this a lot so afterwards I went back to Strathclyde to study for a Masters in Public Policy. A year later I was in a fair bit of debt and smack bang in the middle of the recession. Luckily I had a shop job which allowed me to keep paying the rent, if not exactly fulfilling the aspirations I had set for myself. After many months of job hunting and an increasing feeling of failure I started volunteering at a charity called Spinal Injuries Scotland one or two days a week which helped keep my CV up to date and diluted that failure feeling a little. A few months after that I managed to find a part time admin job at another charity. Between two part-time jobs, volunteering and the continuing treadmill of job applications I could find myself working weeks without a day off, but I told myself it would be worth it in the end if it helped me find a job. That all brings me to here! I saw this internship advertised with CSPP, had a telephone interview with Joy and a couple of weeks later I had an in person interview with my current manager at ERC. I started my internship in March for three months and have since had my contract extended until March next year. I am looking forward to getting involved in a lot more projects and learning as much as possible.

You can follow me on Twitter @siobhan_intern where I will be sharing my experiences, thoughts and opinions on internships. Feel free to ask me any questions you have or share your thoughts, I’m always interested to hear them.

Siobhan