Amira Joseph McLoughlin is a student at City and Islington Sixth Form College, London. Her experiences during a paid internship at bp, and relationship with mentor Will – a civil servant – has helped her progress towards her ambition of working in politics.
“Before my internship, I was unaware of how the working world truly is, and what skills are needed,” says Amira. “I was lacking in self-confidence and organisation skills and felt scared to go out to work.”
“Now, I’m way more confident in myself and the skillset I know have. I’m a lot more organised, and learnt skills that I can apply to my A-levels, future study, and future work.”
Amira, a student at City and Islington Sixth Form College in London, completed her internship at bp over the summer.
“It was very engaging from the get-go,” she says. “I met so many amazing people and felt fully supported the whole time. I was presented with so many great opportunities in my area of expertise, and a highlight was being able to help the government affairs team.
“The project I completed was a great achievement – from researching information to presenting it to people, there was so much to learn about. I developed my confidence, organisation and research skills, and the experience helped me to be less scared to go into work in the future.
“It’s made me very aware of working in a corporate setting and very comfortable in a position of demanding work. It’s also put me into contact with great people, developing my network.
“This opportunity and will stick with me forever.”
A helpful mentor
Amira is keen to work in politics in the future, so her mentor Will, who is a civil servant, was a great match.
“Will has given me guidance through my current studies, and pointers for future studies,” she says. “He’s provided lots of revision tips for my A-levels and support for university.
“The civil service is where I’d like to work, and he’s given me lots of information and advice about getting into this area.
“I know he is someone who will always be there if I ever need any pointers during work or even study.”
Getting the best out of the programme
Amira also enjoyed developing her skills through Career Ready masterclasses – especially the interviews and assessment centres masterclass.
“I learned about how to conduct myself in an interview (for example body language, how to adapt to the environment/atmosphere) and also that I need to prepare for an interview (using the STAR method, elevator pitch, do some prior research and have questions ready).
“I never thought I would be able to confidently go into an interview, but now I know I could go in and be completely fine. Interviews now excite me, rather than scare me!”
She also enjoyed her workplace visit with Allianz: “It showed me what fast-pace, on-the-go, demanding work is like. This pushed me to go for more challenging work and excited me for work like that in the future.”
Next steps
Amira is going into Year 13 and preparing for her A-levels.
“I plan on taking a gap year to work before going to university,” she says. “Career Ready gave me the opportunity to network so that I can find work for my gap year. I have also learnt useful skills for my A-Levels such as organisation and timekeeping, confidence in myself, and the ability to push myself to go for competitive opportunities.
“If you want to build on yourself and see great personal development then Career Ready will definitely help. It will prepare you for future work, but also current studies. It will also open up chances for you in the future.”
