Katherine Hall’s Volunteer Experience with EmployabilityUK
Katherine Hall is a Volunteer Marketing Officer with EmployabilityUK. She joined the organisation seeking to put the business and marketing skills she had learned in the lecture hall to work.
Hi Katherine! Tell us a bit about your time volunteering with EUK so far…
During my few months at EmployabilityUK I have already been able to apply so many of the marketing and business skills I learnt in theory, in real life situations. It is really engaging being part of a passionate team of skilled individuals and putting together pieces of work such as Marketing Strategy plans that will clearly have a great impact on the organisation. From my first week with EmployabilityUK I was invited to attend the weekly meetings which really made me feel a part of the team and encouraged open communication and contribution.
What kind of tasks have you been responsible for in your first few months as an EUK Volunteer?
My first independent responsibility was to take on a case study assignment of workshop participants. This gave me a deeper insight into the true impact of the charity, while also gaining experience in marketing and communications. I researched platforms then developed an online survey to optimise responses, which was first distributed throughout the internal team for comments and improvement, and then sent out externally.
I was also involved in the development of EUK’s Marketing Communications strategy, created to understand the direction of marketing actions. This enabled me to apply the MarComms theory I learnt at University.
What has best enhanced your professional experience so far?
I am currently working on a social strategy project in which myself and a smaller team are working to measure and market EUK’s online workshops. We are developing a timeline posting schedule, creating social media content, and distributing branded content, while also monitoring the impact through social media analytics.
As you joined the team during the pandemic, how have you managed working from home?
While completing these projects, it has been important to clearly and consistently communicate with the Marketing Communications team, Business Development team, Diane – our CEO, and others. Therefore, email correspondence and video calls have been really useful throughout.
How has EmployabilityUK enhanced your prospects?
The experience and support I gained through working with EmployabilityUK has been invaluable in the development of my career. The numerous projects I was involved in gave me the opportunity to learn so many new skills and develop myself in terms of my technical skills, confidence, and employability. Additionally, the support from the whole team at the charity has been truly invaluable to me personally and professionally.
Having now secured an exciting role in a company I am very grateful to the EmployabilityUK team for all the incredible support and the opportunities I was given to develop myself and the charity. EmployabilityUK truly is an organisation run by those passionate about supporting young people and as well as contributing to the impactful work, I definitely experienced this genuine support first-hand and would recommend EUK highly.
Would you recommend volunteering with EmployabilityUK?
Definitely! The whole team at EmployabilityUK have made me feel really welcomed and valued, have communicated fantastically throughout and I have also been able to and continue to develop my marketing skills which will be really valuable in my future career.
