Beth Donaldson talks about her Week of Work experience

When I started my Week of Work placement with Evelien Bracke, it cannot be said that I approached the week without trepidation. I had never worked in any form of administration before, and so had no idea what tasks I would be undertaking. However, with hindsight there was no need for the nerves at all, as help was available every step of the way. With help from Evelien as well as the other students working at the same time as me, I was able to quickly iron out any issues that I had and overcome problems that I faced. Throughout the week I was able to develop the skills of working in a professional environment, I learnt how to communicate with staff members and the best way to present information to the public online.

I took a particular interest in the work that I completed on the two websites, Cymru Wales Classics Hub and in particular the departments blog. Previous to this week I had never worked on the production or editing of websites and blogs and so approached this task with slight nervousness. However, I felt that I very quickly managed to grasp the concept: my confidence when working on these two websites greatly increased and I found myself thoroughly enjoying the task.

Completing a Week of Work in the Department allowed me to experience the other side of a university, and there is much more going on than I was previously aware of! This week has given me invaluable experience in both working in and contributing to a professional working environment. I felt that through the variety of tasks that I carried out I was able to develop a number of skills that will aid me in my future work prospects.

I thoroughly enjoyed my Week of Work. I found it extremely useful in both developing existing skills that I had and also in creating and nurturing new ones. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Beth Donaldson, History and Politics