Researchwise

A few years ago, I had an idea.  

I wanted to offer a paid internship. 

I thought this could be a solution to a problem I see again and again – the difficulty of getting an entry level job without any experience. 

I’ve seen that this is especially difficult in the UX field, with junior roles often requiring years of experience. 

At the time, I was working as a contract User Researcher at NHS digital – through my own company. 

Over time, this idea became like an itch I couldn’t get rid of. I knew on paper that I could hire someone, but I hadn’t seen it done before. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. 

I decided to approach things step by step. 

Step 1: Find out if the clients would be OK with me bringing my own employee to the team. 

Step 2: Confirm legal and accounting requirements.  

Step 3: Find someone to hire.  

Steps 1 and 2 were much easier than I anticipated. After a few conversations and emails, it was clear I could go ahead. Step 3, however, took a few months. 

I was struggling to find the right person and for a while I thought I should just abandon the idea. 

I was encouraged by the fact that a fellow UXer at NHS digital had a similar idea. He was partnering with university students and allowing them to intern for a few weeks at NHS digital. He was calling it a mentorship programme and it seemed that in every other meeting I went to, it was mentioned. The responses to this programme were so positive. 

I knew it would be a great environment for an intern. 

Then along came Cinny… 

I met Cinny through my church. By chatting with her, I quickly discovered that she aspired to work in technology and was looking for a job. 

I told her about the internship I could offer with NHS digital, and she was keen to learn more. 

I gave her a short interview, let the team know, then arranged all the necessary paperwork. 

Before I knew it, she was on the team. 

Cinny worked with me for 3 months and went from being a complete UX novice, to leading on a card sort study and presenting findings to stakeholders towards the end of her time there.  
In the last year she’s gone on to excel in her technology apprenticeship with Accenture and recently won a WeAreTechWomen award. 

I know there are so many others that just need a chance to get real work experience. To put theory into practice and to truly learn what they are capable of. 

I hope that I can do more of this in the future and maybe if you’re able to, you’ll try putting an idea like this into action – step by step.