Micro-Internship with Mindless Academy

Posted on: 21 July 2021 by Richard Finch in Student experiences

Earlier this year Emily completed a 4-week digital micro-internship with Mindless Academy. In this blog post she talks about the internship and how it has benefitted her.

Can you describe the internship programme that you successfully completed?

From April to May 2021, I took part in Mindless Academy's micro-digital internship. For this internship myself and other interns were required to research and write four articles which will eventually be published through Mindless Academy's own magazine - Mindless Mag. At the beginning of each week, we were given a topic to write about that centred around fashion (e.g. fashion+ the red carpet, fashion+ the oceans).

We were given 5 days to write between 700-1000 words, and how we related fashion with the specified topic was completely up to us. After each article was written we'd get useful feedback from one of the Mindless Mag's editors, who would help refine our articles so that they were the best they could be. While this might sound like a lot of work, this internship was very flexible and had no negative effect on my studies whatsoever. 

How did you find out about the internship?

I found out about this internship through a posting on the university's career website Handshake. I highly recommend that any student should at least make a Handshake profile as most of the opportunities I've took part in has been because I've seen it advertised on the platform. Even just signing up for Handshake email alerts is a step forward because you can tailor the type of opportunity you're looking for, and, importantly, if it's relevant to your course.  

Any top tips for future or current students about how I got hired and the benefits from an employability perspective?

On the welcome call for the Mindless Academy internship the creator, Laurie Stewart, specifically outlined why she had chosen us as interns for this cohort. The reason she gave was that we all  demonstrated strong passion and excitement for such an opportunity. If anyone wants to take part in a writing internship like Mindless Academy, my advice is to not be afraid to highlight the things you want to write about or the ideas you already have. In my own application I made it clear I was very interested in the fashion industry's relationship with the environment, and I think showing this initiative for an internship I hadn't even been accepted for yet really boosted my chance of being chosen to take part.

I'm positive that taking part in Mindless Academy's internship has benefited my employability skills. It's increased my confidence in writing with clarity and precision, as well as making my writing engaging and informative. I can prove to employers that I can produce quality work within a tight time frame, and that I'm productive in responding to feedback on my work. Methodical research skills, resilience, innovation are just some of many things I've added onto my CV since taking part in this internship. So, I highly recommend that any other students interested in writing, about anything, to try and take part in an opportunity like this as the benefits to my own studies and employability prospects are endless.     

 
About Mindless Mag

Mindless Mag is a storytelling space for FASHION + Stuff That Matters.

Each month they explore the relationship between fashion and important social issues such as mental health, climate change, body image and sustainability.

Click here to find out more.