East Kilbride student Jodie, from Duncanrig Secondary School, has a new focus for the future after her paid internship with mentor Lauren at Meraki Talent in Glasgow. This is her story.
“I had a horrible attitude toward school in general,” Jodie says. “I couldn’t be bothered – I was always running late for class, and I wasn’t very productive. I never really met any of my deadlines. I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to go back for S6.”
But Jodie’s perspective has changed after working with mentor Lauren Kerr, a Senior Delivery Consultant at Meraki Talent – and completing her four-week paid internship with the recruitment firm.
“I really enjoyed my time at Meraki,” she says. “It’s helped me find a career that I potentially want to do when I leave school.”
New experiences, new skills
“During my internship, I created relocation guides for the international team. It was very interesting to learn about different counties people would be relocating to. I also made lead sheets – a spreadsheet with lots of different job titles that I had to look for then add them into the systems. That was interesting and helped with my skills on spreadsheets.
“I learnt many new skills that I have taken back to school with me. It helped me get better at communicating with people I haven’t met before, as that was something I didn’t enjoy doing prior to my internship at Meraki.
“I shadowed a Zoom call with a client with one of the members of the team and that was a great way to learn about how the team communicated with clients. This helped me gain so much more confidence with talking and listening to people I had never met.
“I also learnt how to take criticism if it was given in a constructive way – something I used to struggle with.”
She also had mentor Lauren to turn to for support.
“Lauren was always a great help and a great mentor. If I had any questions or concerns, I could ask her for help and advice on what to do. She helped me with the decision between returning to school or going to college.”
A future in recruitment
Jodie’s now back at school for S6 – but her attitude and focus have shifted.
“I’ve gone back fully focused, and more mature for the most part,” she says. “I’ve stopped messing about in classes, I’ve got my head down and keep working to make sure I’m meeting my deadlines.
“After doing the Career Ready programme, I hope to go into a job like recruitment. It was great to get to know everyone at Meraki, and I’m thankful for the time and effort they put into helping me grow as a person. It was a great experience.”
