Eight weeks at Brighton Chamber: reflecting on an internship

Imogen Pelham started an eight-week internship at Brighton Chamber in July. Here, we ask her some questions about the time she spent at the Chamber and discover what she learned, what were her highlights and, importantly, what’s next. 

Can you tell us a bit about your internship?

My internship at Brighton Chamber has been in Digital Marketing and Content. Day to day, this has involved lots of content-based tasks – like writing posts for social media, uploading and managing content on the Chamber website, and working on blogs.

I’ve worked hybrid from both at home and in the office, like the rest of the team do. I’ve helped out at events, worked on membership projects, produced Net Zero content and social media posts, as well as sharing topical information with members and lots of things in-between!

What are some of the key skills you’ve developed?

As this role has been my first ‘professional’ job, working from an office and working on a laptop, I’ve learnt a lot of new skills!

I’ve worked in events before, having attended Glastonbury festival with crew every year since I was eight. Now I pack my summers full of voluntary positions at different festivals with Oxfam. Networking and working alongside the Chamber team has exposed me to different sorts of events, and meeting members has really developed my people skills in a professional environment.

My digital skills have also expanded in developing copywriting and content creation, using new platforms like as Canva, CRM and Hootsuite. I’ve also learnt how to send out mail merges, which was scary at first.

What events have you been to?

The first Chamber event I attended was the Summit last April, where I volunteered through the University of Sussex to help the team out. The day was packed full of lots of exciting activities and opportunities to meet people. There was an amazing keynote from Floella Benjamin. This was the first time I met the Chamber team, and it was great fun – and part of the reason I got the chance to do this internship.

I went to a Chamber Breakfast on my first day, and this was a fun and exciting way to start a new position and meet some members. The Bite-sized Learning event I attended on LinkedIn, run by Miles Duncan, gave me lots of new and useful tips – from how to construct an ‘about’ section to what sort of images are most appropriate to use for your header or headshot. 

My favourites have been the networking events. At Slo-mo Networking, I got to network and meet lots of members. I really enjoyed the style of the event, sitting in groups of three, and each person in the trio had several minutes to speak about themselves. As well as hearing about members’ businesses, this helped me to perfect ‘pitching’ myself, and getting used to speaking to others about who I am and my aspirations. 

What have your highlights been?

The events have been the main highlight of my time at the Chamber, as I’ve had the chance to speak to people in many new and different ways.

I’ve also been helping Amy and Hannah on a membership project, speaking to members about their membership to understand their challenges, successes and how they use the Chamber. I’ve spoken to a range of members in person, virtually, and over the phone – from sole traders to owners of larger business and employees at different levels. 

The types of businesses that people work for have been so varied – from individuals working in photography, the music industry, and events to financial services, marketing and law, and it has been great to hear about the different industries and professions. Some I didn’t know existed!

So, what’s next?

After leaving the Chamber, I have a lot of big changes going on.

I am officially moving on from the Brighton chapter of my life – where I have lived and studied, having graduated in July. The few weeks following the end of my internship I will be starting a new position as a Sales Development Representative at Intercity Technology in Birmingham, as well as packing up all my possessions and helping my mum with the big move up from Surrey to the Midlands.

My future plans are to continue to travel and see the world – my next trip booked is to Vegas – and, in the long-term, my best friend and I plan to travel around South-East Asia. I will also be returning to Brighton to help the team at the next Summit.

* Immy’s internship at Brighton Chamber was through the University of Sussex. Find out more about internships on the University of Sussex’s Career Labs page at sussex.ac.uk/careers/services/careerlab 

For more information about Brighton Chamber, visit brightonchamber.co.uk