Intro from Adam
We were delighted to welcome Kayleigh from Kings' School in Winchester to spend a week of work experience with us. Kayleigh was a real asset to the team in the short time she was with us, bringing fantastic creativity to some of the projects we are currently working on. You'll get to see some of Kayleigh's photography of the team in some of our marketing online and in print over the coming weeks and months.

I also asked Kayleigh to write a blog on her time spent with us and we're sharing that below.

Thank you Kayleigh - we really enjoyed having you with us and wishing you a happy summer and all the best with Year 11.

Kayleigh's blog
I am very fortune to have been able to spend my Year 10 work experience at Charisma as a Marketing and Administrative Assistant.

I was immediately made to feel welcome even before my week started, through friendly emails answering any questions I had before joining. This was continued during my work experience through video calls with the team and by joining the team meeting at the Pump House.

Everybody was very generous and accommodating, taking time out of their busy work days to explain tasks to me and ensure I felt happy and confident in my role. Furthermore, the tasks that I was given, such as working on updating the branding of case studies, designing EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) datasheets and updating the database, were all relevant to the subjects I study and particularly enjoy at GCSE. This meant I thoroughly enjoyed all the projects I was given and has led to me learning new skills which are super relevant to my coursework.

My week at Charisma has also given me a really valuable impression of the workplace environment and the skills to send professional emails, uphold clear branding and work with databases; all of which will undoubtedly benefit me when I get a job. I’ve enjoyed the operations/support tasks which I have been set, including working with and updating Charisma’s bespoke candidate database. I worked on data-entry, data-cleansing and updating candidate records. This has given me an insight into how businesses function through the data they collect. Moreover, this was my first experience of using a database and so has provided me with really relevant experience for future roles.

I was also given the opportunity to attend the team meeting and asked to take individual and team photos that can hopefully be used in the future. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity as I particularly enjoy photography both inside and outside of school, but had never tried anything of a similar style before. I believe the skills I have learnt, such as what creates a professional headshot and how lighting can be used to achieve this, will enhance the quality of my schoolwork. I found taking some of the photos challenging due to the lack of natural light, although it was good to meet these challenges head on as it will improve my ability to work in different environments.

Despite my enjoyable experiences doing photography at the team meeting and working with the database, my favourite projects were working on the EDI datasheets and the case studies in Canva. I really enjoyed the creativity of working with the new style to create professional looking documents that fit in with Charisma’s branding. I was pleased to be able to use some of the skills I have developed in Media Studies for these projects.

I really like how Charisma is a very modern and inclusive company and how this is reflected in the branding. Furthermore, I especially enjoyed working on designing possible new formats for the EDI datasheets, due to the opportunity to be creative and design something that is fun yet functional whilst also adhering to the company’s brand identity and brief.

Overall, I have loved this week and am very grateful for my work experience here at Charisma. Every member of the team has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and answer all my questions. The skills and experiences I have gained from this week are incredibly valuable and will be so useful throughout my life. I am very proud of my work at Charisma and I find it exciting that some of the work I’ve produced has actually been used. I am very thankful for this opportunity and have loved it here.