How did you first find out about The SME Ambition Internship Programme and Tickets for Good?

I heard about the SME Ambition Internship Programme through an email distributed by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities’ Employability team. My first interaction with Tickets for Good was actually as a customer. My friend, who works for the NHS, had obtained discounted tickets through the platform for us to attend Live at Leeds Festival in Spring 2025. When my friend explained the platform to me, it sparked my curiosity about TFG and their mission. This all coincided nicely with the opening of the Ambition Internships application window, and led me to apply to this particular internship over a few others that I had considered.

What made you apply for the internship at this point in your student journey?

While it may seem slightly counterintuitive to complete an internship after graduating, I found that it provided me with the perfect transition period between my degree and my first full-time role. I had worked in casual roles as a Student Ambassador and Disability Champion throughout my studies, but I hadn’t yet experienced an office-based role. This was something I knew I wanted to do before I started searching for graduate roles.

Being autistic, I find navigating change and unpredictability difficult at the best of times, let alone the end of my educational journey with no clear pathway afterwards. Having the stepping-stone of an internship between my degree ending in July and my full-time job beginning in October massively helped me to adjust to working a 9-5 and navigating the office environment, instead of being thrown straight in at the deep end.

Logistically, the internship also provided me with a 3-month window to apply for jobs, during which I was accumulating relevant experience on my CV and earning a few hundred pounds each month.

For anyone unfamiliar with Tickets for Good, how would you describe the organisation and your role specifically?

Tickets for Good is an organisation that distributes free and discounted live event tickets to NHS staff, teachers, charity employees, and more! The role at TFG intertwined two of my main interests - working in the charity sector, and my passion for the arts. I also strongly advocate for TFG’s ethos for broadening access to live music, theatre and sport.

I worked as a Ticketing Operations and Customer Service Intern one day a week for three months. I built events on the TFG platform, which involved inputting data into the CMS and creating event banners on Canva. I navigated the workflow of event builds using the team's Notion site, on which I would indicate my progress to other team members. I also undertook account approvals, in which I would redact sensitive information on evidence submitted to prove eligibility, and liaise with customers to resolve any issues that arose with approving their accounts.

Did anything make this internship different from other work or placements you've done in the past?

Put simply, the people! I was delighted with how supportive and encouraging the entire team were. Everyone went above and beyond to welcome me into the office, and answered all of my questions about live events, ticketing and marketing. It was also crystal-clear how much everyone genuinely cared about the work they were putting in every day.

The highlight of my experience was attending the whole-team meet-up around halfway into my internship. As most of my colleagues worked hybrid or remote, this was a great chance to get to chat to everyone that I had been working with in a more relaxed environment - playing crazy golf at Golf Fang!

Another highlight from working at an organisation like TFG was seeing the impact that attending live events has had on our customers. Hearing that direct positive feedback from our customer base during our Stand-Up meeting each week was a motivator like no other.

How did the internship help you apply what you learned at university in a real world setting?

In my linguistics degree, I took every opportunity I could to broaden my digital literacy by taking a diverse range of modules that enabled me to develop data handling skills in different platforms (such as Praat, Sketch Engine, and Google Sheets).

This investment paid off massively in the first few weeks of my internship. In my role, I had to get to grips with using several unfamiliar platforms (the content management system for the TFG site, a complex Notion workflow, and Canva) for each event I built. My ability to quickly pick up skills across these new platforms enabled me to sustain a high turnover rate and help the team manage the influx of event builds we were receiving, particularly as my internship was during the peak season for festivals and sporting events.

What was the biggest adjustment between your studies and this internship?

Initially, I found it challenging to manage my dynamic workload effectively. As someone who typically has taken one task at a time when studying, I had to adjust to switching seamlessly between tasks to fulfil the team's ever-changing needs. By the end of my internship, however, I refined my ability to select tasks based on what would reduce the demand placed on others, whilst accounting for my own professional development.

For example, on days where we had a heavy workload of builds, I would take the straightforward ones so that my colleagues could tackle more complex ones. On quieter days, I would take that opportunity to shadow colleagues on those more challenging builds and try them myself, knowing that any questions or uncertainties I had were not impacting their workload.

Did the internship help you feel more prepared for life after university?

Without a doubt! Firstly, I was able to familiarise myself with the process of submitting a job application, preparing for and completing an interview, and also managing the nerves that arise with that.

Secondly, I also found it advantageous to get a ‘first day’ with a new team under my belt. Having a ‘dress rehearsal’ at entering an established team as a new starter ensured I was then significantly more prepared for starting my full-time job. It also helped me to figure out which questions I needed to ask to feel comfortable and settled - even just little things like the arrangements for making hot drinks and what people did for lunch. 

The internship also provided me with such a safe environment where I could ask lots of questions about the different roles held by my colleagues and how their career journeys led them there. It was also great to work with several colleagues who were recent Sheffield alumni, as they could put themselves in my shoes and provide lots of insight and reassurance about navigating early careers.

What advice would you give to students thinking about applying for the SME Ambitions Internship Programme?

Do it! I credit the experience I gained during my Ambition Internship for landing my current role. When applying for an internship, let your personality shine through in both your application and interview. Whilst retaining a clear structure and rationale within your answers is important, don’t be afraid to add a personal touch to elevate your answers and set yourself apart from other applicants. For example, I discussed my own experiences with accessing and attending live events in my TFG interview.

Also, it can be challenging to fit hours of interview preparation in around exam season and deadlines. This is where setting aside just an hour a month to keep a log of your skills and experiences (MySkills is great for this) will ensure that you have a bank of case studies to draw on during your application. This enables you to prepare sufficiently without taking valuable time away from your other priorities.

Finally, make sure you note a couple of relevant questions to ask the panel at the end of your interview. This can demonstrate your curiosity about the organisation and its operation and showcase how your current skillset could align with the role you have applied for.