From Intern to paid media assistant

Rachael Orr works as a paid media assistant in the press office of housing and homelessness charity Shelter.

She started out giving two months of her time for free as an intern.

"Oh, we always knew you’d do something worthwhile", was the ever so slightly patronising verdict from my assembled throng of friends, delivered over a beer after my first day at Shelter. “We’re just failing to get our heads round the fact that you’re not actually getting paid…”

Six months ago I arrived at Shelter for a three month internship in the press office. Following my degree in English and Politics with a year working as a support worker had confirmed to me that I’m far too impatient for overtly caring professions but that I really wanted to work in the third sector and in a job that was vaguely political.

Apart, evidently, from my articulate, coherent writing style, I think I’ve taken so well to working here because I’m very organised and very inquisitive. Shelter is a huge charity, with people working in housing advice services around the country as well as in fundraising, marketing, campaigns, public affairs and policy in our head office. This has meant I’ve been able to find out about how each department works, and how they work together to make the organisation a success.

From day one everyone was warm and welcoming, and to the letter staff made time to talk to me and answer my questions, whilst never patronising the little work experience girl. I was a trusted member of the team as soon as I was comfortable, really feeling like I had arrived when I found myself briefing a researcher from the Today programme whilst my boss was talking to a reporter from the Wakefield Gazette.

I’ve made sure that I’ve got involved in as much as I can, from volunteering to campaign at music festivals to being in the thick of “team bonding” in the pub on a Friday evening.

After 2 months, due to a mix of what I hope was fortuity and aptitude, I was offered a temporary paid contract. I went from media intern to media assistant and even got my details on the staff intranet. I’ve now been charged with a couple of individual projects and I actually feel like I know what I’m talking about most of the time.

Looking back, I’ve learnt a huge amount in the six months I’ve been at Shelter. Not just about how to be a press officer and the intricacies of housing policy but about how a charity works and its relationship with the government, its stakeholders, its clients and the general public. Bring on the next 6 months, and hopefully many more.