Internship Module Portfolio Section 3

Parul Mishra

FAIRLIGHT

St Albans Road

Watford

Hertfordshire

WD25 9ND

Home Telephone: 01923 442051

Mobile Number: 07825759764 Email: parulmishra@hotmail.co.uk

Date of Birth – 17/04/99

Female

EDUCATION

2001-2004: Possums Nursery
2004-2010: Whitegrove Primary School
2010-2011: Kendrick Grammar School for Girls
2011- 2017: St Helen’s School for Girls
2017-present: University of Dundee

GCSE grades

English Language – A
English Literature – B
Mathematics – A*
Biology – A*
Chemistry – A*
Physics – A*
Design Technology – B
Latin – A
History – A
French – A*
Additional Mathematics – C
English Aural – A1

A level grades

AS Maths – A
A level Biology – B
A level Psychology – C
A level Chemistry – C

AWARDS AND QUALIFICATIONS

Grade 8/8 Ballet Silver Medal
Grade 3/8 Violin
Grade 6/6 Bharatanatyam (a form of Indian classical dance)
Stage 9/10 Swimming
6 years of English Speaking Board, 5 Distinctions and a Merit
Weapons Handling test (completed as a part of training for Army Camp)
Beret badge award in Navy; Ordinary Seaman. (as part of Combined Cadet Force)
Advanced Naval Proficiency Test, Able Seaman (as part of Combined Cadet Force)
Junior and Intermediate Maths Challenge, one Bronze and four Silvers
Won the Math’s Marathon on behalf of my school
Gold medal in Hertfordshire and Middlesex Badminton League 2015 and 2016
3 years intensive training with the Centre for Advanced Dance Training based in Birmingham hippodrome
Advanced ECDL – Powerpoint skills
Promoted to Chief Petty Officer (2nd in command) in Navy Cadets

EXPERIENCES GAINED

2 months scholarship in Shanghai where I studied Chinese and Engineering.
One week on Army Camp in Shropshire during summer as part of Combined Cadet Force.
3 overnight activities with Navy as part of Combined Cadet Force.

Work Experience

NHS – 2 weeks (Royal Free and The Consulting Rooms)
MAX Dehli – 1 week
AIMS Dehli – 1 week

Transferrable skills:

– note-taking

– how to dress and interact with staff and patients professionally

– medical knowledge

4 months waitressing at Pizza hut, Watford Dome Roundabout

– how to deal with high pressure

– how to stay calm and diplomatic to avoid conflict

– how to prioritise in a list of activities

– how to multitask

– how to communicate efficiently

30 day internship in Marketing

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

I played badminton for my school for 4 years and I am a passionate artist. I dance a lot, mainly two different styles: Ballet and Bharatanatyam (a form of Indian classical dance), both of which I have completed my final two grades in. I was part of the Centre for Advanced Training for Bharatanatyam, an intensive course for elite dancers in the UK. I have performed for charity several times with different styles of dance and I have been invited to perform at both Oxford and London Mela. I was Chief Petty Officer of the Naval Section in the Combined Cadet Force at Merchant Taylors School which was a 4 year weekly commitment. I enjoy debating, public speaking, poetry and (of course!) dancing. I am studying Business Management at the University of Dundee, where I received a scholarship to study in China for 2 months in the summer of 2018.

REFERENCES

Mrs D. Sinclair

Head of Upper School

Tel: 01923 843210

Dr Vaishali Garg

General Practitioner

Tel: 07717326488

Goal	Type of Goal – Short term (up to 3 months) , Mid-Term (up to 1 year) or Long term (prior to graduation)	Smart Goal Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-based	Detail Actions to help you achieve this goal Did you achieve your objective? Explain how this objective was met
Goal 1	Complete an internship Mid-Term	I will apply for the an Internship Programme, using the cover letter provided as evidence. I will attend the interview and talk to a student ambassador to find out more about the company. I will attend the careers service for help and guidance with my application and CV. Based on these efforts I will receive excellent feedback from the careers service and feel confident in my application.	1) Talk to a KPMG Student ambassador about their experience and what the company is looking for in its employees 2) Book an appointment with the careers service to review my application 3) Use notes taken from the talk with an ambassador and feedback from the careers service to practise/plan for the interview
Goal 2	Start my business Long-Term	I will begin selling paintings to my fellow students. I will write up a business plan and fund-raise to source my opening inventory. I will be able to measure the success of this business based on the profit it turns over, and whether these are accurate reflections of my projections. I would like to turn over a profit before I graduate.	1) Write business plan 2) Paint 15 launch designs 3) Have these converted into high-quality prints 4) Using my 25% trade discount from canprint, buy canvases in bulk. 5) Sell at a profit
Goal 3	Pass all my exams for this academic year Short-Term	I have already sat and passed almost every exam for this year. However I would like to ensure that all my exams are passed so that I do not have to retake any modules. I will be able to measure my success through the results I receive in summer.	1) Make sure that I have taken detailed notes for all sections of Business Law. 2) Re-read these notes and make cue-cards with mock questions/case studies 3) Sleep and eat well before the exam!
Goal 4	Achieve a 1st in my degree Long-Term	I must manage my time efficiently and keep in touch with my lecturers to make sure that I am on track to graduate with a 1st. I will make sure I have allowed enough time to complete the modules at my best ability, and without rushing. The more modules I do well at the beginning, the easier it will be for me to graduate with the result I want.	1) Make detailed notes in class. 2) Have your lecturers pre-read your assignments before submission – ask them specifically “What can I do to bring this work up to an A” 3) Make an exam/revision timetable in order to efficiently organise my workload into smaller achievable chunks

2/4 of the team posing with our poster (I am behind the camera)

Now I will speak to you in more detail about my personal reflections. I chose to do the internship module as I thought it is the perfect opportunity to gain a realistic insight into the business working world. The reason I chose to do this particular internship in Marketing is as I felt it was close to my degree and I cannot think of a better place to intern than with my own university.

Despite most of it being carried out in my home, I was still required to show levels of professionalism, such as when meeting with my internship leader. My internship leader gave me constant guidance and support, and was very thorough in our meetings, which I felt gave me full confidence in carrying out the work, as I knew precisely what I had to do.

Reflective summary:

Although I would not usually choose working alone over working in a chatty, busy environment, I am very glad to have done the internship module as I feel it has taught me invaluable skills that I would usually try to avoid. I now feel much more confident with my written work and referencing, and definitely feel bolder including my opinions into my work. I have found that adding opinions into your work can make it more engaging as the lecturer can see your passion and reasoning. I thought a research based job would be fairly boring, however I was actually surprised by how happy I was with the finished result. It was very thorough, and because James gave me such specific instructions, our meetings were short but still informative. James was a very good internship leader, and I find that we work well together as he lets me get on by myself but also manages to answer my questions clearly and understandably. Looking back to the beginning of the internship module, I was initially very worried, as I was not sure what the internship would entail and I did not know the specifics of what I had to do. James managed to completely reassure me, by giving me detailed and specific instructions (see Portfolio section 2 for minutes) that helped me to understand fully what I was being asked to do. I really bounced off of his support and guidance, and I will happily continue to work for him in upcoming open days etc. I think this internship has definitely opened my eyes more to careers in marketing/other research based jobs as, even though I was less motivated working alone, confronting a weaker skill has helped me to feel comfortable with repeat practice. Because of this, and the fact that I have now been told several times I have done a good job, I would be happy to have a research based career, as I can now include it in my ever-expanding collection of transferable life skills. My next steps involve working towards getting a paid internship, achieving a 1st in this degree and eventually securing a Master’s degree from a very prestigious university. I am still uncertain what I would like to do post-graduation but I now feel I have a more in depth insight into my strengths/weaker skills, which may help me to narrow down my choices.

Additional pieces of evidence:

I completed the Career Planner test as, although I have started to understand what kind of a person I am in the work environment and which of my skills are strongest/weakest, I am still clueless as to what I want to do in life and my degree is so broad that I do not need to limit myself option wise.

The top 3 matches that I received were an anaesthetist, charity fundraiser, and cardiologist. I am not surprised by these results as, even though I only specified interests in Business Management related jobs, I wanted to do medicine for a long time before, and am not surprised that my personality and desires reflect this. For example, I said I want a career that involves caring for those in need and also has a high starting salary. However, I was expecting this test to provide me with some more enlightening responses. These jobs are ones which I have already considered and dismissed aside. Moreover, these careers require many years of training and a full separate degree. I have already done half of a Business degree so, economically and rationally, it makes no sense that I then go out of my way to study an extra 10 years of medicine and pile on more student debt before I start earning. On reflection, I realise that these online tests cannot be very accurate, and can only help you to gain an insight into your personality. The website didn’t consider all of my individual preferences and so did not really help me to narrow down my post graduation options.

The document I put together for James is way too big to upload as evidence, so I have decided to include a cover letter that I will use to apply for a future internship. I have been desperately trying to source an internship for this upcoming summer, however I am being rejected from several on the basis that I am too young. Because of this, I am not applying for a particular job vacancy, rather I am addressing the company’s undergraduate team to see if they might make an exception for a student as keen as myself. I particularly want to work with KPMG, so I am emailing their undergraduate team with the following cover letter:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you to explain the reasons why I would love to work for such a highly reputable brand as KPMG. I would like to do something productive with my time over the summer break and I think this provides an excellent opportunity to expand my learning. As a passionate business student, I really feel I would benefit from this internship, particularly as I have seen on your website that most interns are offered jobs upon completion; this could really be a solid foundation for my future after graduation. I have just finished my second year of studies, and I feel as though the opportunity to work with you would be a key consolidation to what I have studied so far at university, as well as making for interesting further learning which can help me develop skills transferrable to my future career. I know that KPMG does not generally accept students unless they are in their penultimate year of University, however I am keen to start practising more business “in the field” from as early as possible, as I feel this would give me more practical skills in the world of business and investment. I know my diverse skills and qualifications will make me an asset to the team and I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss it further. I am available to start work in July but would be happy to explore dates for possible telephone interview at any time – I’m reliable, flexible and responsive.

I appreciate your consideration and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Parul Mishra

+447825 759 764

Internship Module Portfolio Section 2

Evidence of skill development

Skill:	Motivation and Professionalism
Question:	c. Describe an example of a time during your internship that you exceeded the expectations of a customer or a colleague
Answer:
I met with my internship leader, perhaps fewer times than he expected, however this is because he allowed me to visit him as I found necessary. I recorded very detailed notes of James’ instructions during these meetings (which lasted roughly an hour each) but, as I am sure you can imagine, he was very surprised to see me at our third meeting with 8000 words of research! He had a brief skim through of the document, and verbally conveyed that he was beyond satisfied with the work he could see. During the poster presentation, one of the members of staff within Marketing was asking me about my internship, and we discovered that she already knew who I was as James had been praising me. Naturally I was happy by the outcome (and slightly embarrassed for being so OTT!).

Evidence of skill development

Skill:	Problem Solving
Question:	Describe an example during your internship when you used a creative solution used to resolve a problem
Answer:
My internship involved identifying weaknesses and suggesting improvements within the School of Business in order to best promote our degree. One of the problems that arose during my internship, was that I discovered a lot of the university lecturers are frustrated with our registration/attendance policy. The current method of recording registration is having students sign a sheet of paper that is sent around the lecture hall during the lecture. I noticed that this is not the most efficient way of going about this as it results in a number of issues: – First and foremost, it is not the most thorough method and some students abuse this system by signing for people who are not in the lecture. – Passing the registration sheet around the hall while the students are concentrating on the lecture means that sometimes students are missed and do not realise, leading to inaccurately recorded absences, which are then later to provide evidence for. – A less talked about, but equally, if not more important issue is that each lecture uses at least 2 sheets of paper. This seems like a waste since there are more environmentally friendly AND generally efficient options. One of the reasons that this seems to be overlooked is because paper is relatively cheap as an option. The cost is a slight disadvantage to my proposed solution, however if we are able to acquire sufficient funds, this will not be a problem. During the research that I conducted for my marketing plan, I discovered Glasgow’s attendance policy. I proposed that we adopt the same strategy. The policy entails that each student has a key fob and have to scan themself present at the entrance of each lecture. This results in a consistent policy that guarantees that the students are now 100% accountable if they are not marked present. This also means that lecturers do not have missing records if they mistakenly forget to send the registration sheet around. Because each student has their name recorded on their key fob, this will also eliminate, or at least significantly decrease the number of student’s being signed in by someone else. Obviously, this is also much more sustainable as it does not use any paper and the same fob register/key fobs can accommodate all lectures. Unfortunately the outcome has not been determined yet, as my Marketing plan is over 10,000 words long and my internship leader has not had a chance to look through it yet.

Hourly Log

Date	Time	Description	Cumulative Hours
22/02/19	12:00-13:00	Initial briefing with James	1
23/02/19	13:00-16:00	Worked on Market Research (Scottish Unis)	4
24/02/19	14:00-15:30	More Market Research (Trying to get in touch with Scottish students)	5.5
1/03/19	9:00-10:00	Second briefing with James	6.5
4/03/19	19:00-22:00	More research (English universities)	9.5
5/03/19	14:00-17:30	Finish Market Research (English/International universities)	13
6/03/19	20:00-22:00	Market Segmentation	15
14/03/19	20:00-01:00	Theoretical business case looking at the possible relocation of the Business School to an existing building as an option (Risks, Resources required, Market Assessment – PEST Analysis)	20
20/03/19	18:00-21:00	Customer journey	23
22/03/19	12:30-13:30	Meeting with James	24
24/03/19	14:00-15:00	Creating the survey for market research for the promotional video	25
25/03/19	13:00- 18:00	Video script and filming plan	30

Section 2 (A) – Final Goal Achievement Review

To be completed by student prior to Final performance review and shared with line manager.

Goal	Smart Goal	Employee Review of Objective Achievement Did you achieve your objective? Explain how this objective was met	Any outstanding actions for future / handover instructions
Workplace Goal 1	I would like to have a template Marketing plan, that is thorough enough to use for future occasions where I will be, for example, required by my lecturer to write up a Marketing plan.	Yes, as I created a Marketing plan, which I can use as a template for future coursework related to Marketing.	None
Workplace Goal 2	I would like to complete my 30 hours within the deadline. Online submission will act as evidence for this.	Yes, I have uploaded this document in time with my complete hourly log.	None
Personal Development Goal 1	As the internship will mostly be done online, I would like to further develop my ability to target the web for resources. The internship requires that I do a lot of online research so I want to be able to find reliable and accredited sources	Yes, I referenced all the sources I used in a bibliography and cross-checked sites that seemed to have misleading information on them.	Keep it up!
Personal Development Goal 2	I would like to impress my internship leader with my professionalism and enthusiasm.	I believe that I have achieved this, as my internship leader has verbally expressed his satisfaction.	No further action required

Section 2 (B) – Student Overall Performance Review:

What strengths do you feel you have displayed during your time on internship?

I think I have shown enthusiasm and good communication. I think I have shown that I am thorough, and listen well to instructions, without needing constant spoonfeeding (27/30 hours I spent alone).

Do you feel you achieved the aims and objectives of your internship satisfactorily?

Yes. I shocked my internship leader with how much I had done and he conveyed how I had exceeded his expectations.

What learning points will you take from this experience?

I felt I really developed my organisation and time management skills as I had to balance the internship alongside my university timetable and I had to record an hourly log. I also think that I have intensely improved my research skills, as I found several unreliable sources which I had to cross-check, and the product of my internship was a lengthy and detailed marketing plan. Having spent the majority of my time adding and developing this marketing plan, my work was mainly research based, and I had to be extremely thorough with this. I now feel so much more confident with writing and referencing, and including my own opinions into my work, all of which are skills I believe will help me flourish in my degree work and future essays. I now feel more confident working alone for long periods of time as I know that I am the extroverted personality type and it was something that I would previously dread and try to avoid. Because I have now completed 30 hours of a task out of my comfort zone, I feel less reliant on company in order to work at my best.

Line Manager Overall Review:

What strengths do you feel the student displayed?

I think that Parul clearly showed professionalism and demonstrated how she was reliable, thorough, organised, and could efficiently manage herself.

Did the student achieve their set goals satisfactorily?

I am happy to confirm that she has achieved her set goals. Looking at the Final Goals section and her explanations of how she believes she has achieved these, I can agree with what she has said.

Did the student achieve the aims of their overall internship satisfactorily?

I asked Parul to produce a Marketing Plan for me and she completed this task with ease. I am more than happy with the result.

What learning points do you think the student should take from their time working with your organisation?

I think that the internship really helps students to improve their marketing techniques, which could come in handy with consolidation of modules they have already been taught in theory. I think that she now has a better understanding of what it feels like to be professionally relied on, and has more experience in networking with other students/staff.

Reflective summary:

During my internship, I gained a number of skills, as well as developing existing skills, which I will talk about in further detail. I think I have shown enthusiasm and good communication. I think I have shown that I am thorough, and listen well to instructions. My day to day experiences in the placement were fairly limited, as the internship was heavily research based. I conducted the research alone, either in my own home or the library. As I am an extrovert I found this aspect challenging as it is very hard for me to feel stimulated/motivated without some noise and evidence of other people present. To overcome this, I would constantly switch which room of the library I sat in and would recharge myself in breaks by talking to friends I bumped into. I felt I really developed my organisation and time management skills as I had to balance the internship alongside my university timetable and I had to record an hourly log. I also think that I have intensely improved my research skills, as I found several unreliable sources quoting misleading information, which I then had to cross-check. On top of this, the product of my internship was a lengthy and detailed marketing plan full of my comments and opinions on how best to market our degree, which required hours of in depth research to put together. Having spent the majority of my time adding and developing this marketing plan, my work was mainly research based, and I had to be extremely thorough with this. I now feel so much more confident with writing and referencing, and including my own opinions into my work, all of which are skills I believe will help me flourish in my degree work and future essays. I feel that I have achieved the aims of the project to my internship leader’s satisfaction, as he has told me so, and I used my initiative to add relevant text which he did not specifically ask me to research. He seemed to be very pleased and reassured at our meetings when we discussed which ideas I had been looking at already and which I could include for future hours. I am very pleased with my placement provider’s assessment and feel proud to have impressed him.

As I have been told my Portfolio Section 1 will not be marked, due to late submission, I have chosen to use the same pieces of evidence here:

This is James Robertson, who is my internship leader. We met at last year’s open day where I was asked to present my experience of the Business Management course, having experienced almost one year. We met on the 13th of February to discuss what research I was expected to do over the next few days. Unfortunately, I caught him off-guard with my picture to submit as evidence. We spoke for about 40 minutes, and I formed a to do list for the next couple of days which I will type up (because as you can see I scrawled it down at the same time as having a conversation with him, and I’ll also have him sign a copy of this for the next submission.)

Formal Version of pictured notes:

Research

Scottish Universities (approximately 3) a typical degree takes 4 years
English Universities (approximately 5, students pay fees so it would be more profitable to target a majority of non-Scottish students)
Imperial
International Universities
Europe (approximately 1)
Neoma Business School
BI Business School (creditable, have an image – include references to advert on Youtube with high views)
USA (approximately 1)
Harvard

See how these universities present their Business degrees, do they have many? Is that something people are interested in in other countries? What do they offer? Anything unique? Look on their social media pages, check their fees, perhaps get a quote from a student? Do they upload their lectures? Class sizes? How strict are attendance policies etc, try to put a positive spin on every aspect e.g. Small class sizes = more attention etc.
Read in the Financial Times for stories focused on our sector. (Does having a new business school affect application numbers/ academic performance of a university?)
Flow chart à describing a student’s journey from open days and Google searches to attendance. Annotate each stage with ways we can target the students and catch their attention. Start introducing ourselves as an option!

Marketing Plan

Main objective – is to recruit students
I need to come up with ways to target them

digital	print	events
web socials

Talk about China – how Dundee gave me extra opportunities to travel abroad and further consolidate and develop what I had learnt in lectures.
There is a new building being built from across our library – “shiny new School of Business” building.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/27/bulldoze-the-business-school

I read this article in the Guardian online, published by Martin Parker. Overall the whole article is extremely negative towards business management degrees, explaining why we should “Bulldoze the Business School.” Parker explains that “employers complain that [business] graduates lack practical skills.” He says that critics say Business Schools have “been corrupted”, “by deans following the money”, and “students expecting a qualification in return for their cash (or, more likely, their parents’ cash).” The author of the article, who himself has taught in business schools for 20 years, has come to believe that the only solution is to “shut down business schools altogether.” He even has the audacity to comment that “most business-school graduates won’t become high-level managers anyway” and that we will become conformant employees of random generic offices. In the article, Parker mentions that some business graduates have commented on their work being “disgusting”. I think this article on a whole is very negative and off-putting considering a degree in Business Management, and that the author has been extremely one-sided and lacks evidence. He comments that most graduates won’t become ‘anything special’. However, he has shown no evidence for this, and another article I have read by the Independent:

https://www.independent.co.uk/student/postgraduate/business-schools/why-business-and-management-degrees-are-popular-university-courses-a6895531.html

claims that “Business studies graduates are more likely to be employed three months after graduating than other graduates” and goes on to show a list of successful business graduates. I think that this could have an effect on my internship as the Guardian is a popular newspaper which many people read, and reading this article could influence potential students “(Or, more likely, their parents”)! My internship consists of targeting students, across the UK and internationally, to encourage and promote the Business Management degree, and articles like this can be a serious threat to university applications.