Your Future, Start Now: Ayesha
Ayesha Vohra shares her experiences of participating in the Your Future, Start Now Internship Programme.
My story – Ayesha Vohra
- Course: BSc Psychology
- Year of study when you completed this internship: First year (2021)
- Employer: University of Hong Kong Psychiatry Department
Why did you sign up for Your Future, Start Now?
As the workforce gets more and more competitive, I signed up for YFSN with the intention of gaining skills and experiences that make me stand out in a crowd. Career related life-skills are not necessarily taught first hand and the YFSN programme started with the basics such as how to curate CVs, interview prep and Linkedin help. I found these three things particularly useful, as it is extremely difficult to impress employers without knowing how to formulate your abilities.
How did you find the 5-week workshop programme?
YFSN is extremely student-friendly and interactive. These were only two-hour online evening sessions each week where we got carry out some activities and also listen to St Andrews alumni and how they used the Careers Centre to accelerate their careers. For me, the CV and interview workshops were particularly helpful in applying for my internship.
Tell us a little about your internship
Using the skills learnt in YFSN, I redrafted and improved my CV; fortunately, I was a successful candidate for an internship back in Hong Kong with the University of Hong Kong Psychiatry Department. As a Psychology student, I have found it to be extremely difficult to find internships and work experience, since there is not much to offer for undergraduates and extremely competitive. Interning in a hospital’s psychiatry department, I was able to get an insight into one of the many avenues of my degree. This internship involved shadowing doctors and psychologists, looking through patient files and assisting with meta-analysis and research for the University.
What skills did you learn and how did you put them into practice during the internship?
This experience challenged me to improve upon my skills. I had the opportunity to work in a professional setting, communicate and work with various age ranges and cultures, and develop my IT and technology skills. Most importantly, I was able to understand what one pathway of my field could look like, and I am looking forward to using the interpersonal skills I gained in future work experience opportunities.
In some way or another, all the skills I learnt in YFSN were applied throughout my internship. I found that working in a professional environment came into play the most during this internship. Professionalism is something that I had never really got to experience before but coming into this internship with what to expect was extremely useful as it can be quite overwhelming for some students at times.
What’s next for you in your career journey?
As a student going into second year, I hope to take part in plenty of other career developing programmes. Using the skills learnt during this programme, I hope to apply for more experiences and internships within my field in the near future.
What would you say to someone considering signing up for Your Future, Start Now?
Sign up for as many career-related programmes as possible, it’s never too much! Make the most of the YFSN resources, CV checks and internship programmes.