When I first joined MOSL, I had little-to-no professional experience in Communications. I study German and Spanish which, granted are forms of communication, haven’t given me many practical skills for a business setting. Everything I had learnt up to that point, I had gained through reading articles, listening to podcasts, and following experts on LinkedIn, which is why I decided to look for a summer internship. After applying to many, and hearing back from few, I nearly gave up and started thinking of alternatives. Fortunately, a friend spotted the internship at MOSL advertised on the University of Southampton careers hub and said it sounded right for me; 'Digital Communications Internship' was exactly what I was looking for - and what's more, it was paid!

I was buzzing to get started with this internship and learn about how a company manages its communications, particularly social media, in a professional capacity. While this internship, without a doubt, has met those expectations, it has also exceeded them, as it’s taught me so much about the water industry and the sort of career I want to pursue.

I can remember the first All Teams meeting I joined; I was baffled by the acronyms and complex projects being presented. At that time, I had no understanding of PR24, MIF, or even the Strategic Panel. “Bilaterals”, you say? No clue. This was also my first time dipping my toes into the world of water, so I had a lot to wrap my head around. But just like swimming, there’s no point in spending nine weeks just dipping your toes in – you have to be brave enough to dive right in.

For me, this meant having the courage to ask people what they’re working on and read publications. Being on the Communications team has certainly helped with this, as we proof-read so many documents across all departments, and helped me to quickly find out what were hot topics in the market. This sparked my interest as I could see the importance of this continuously developing market and its significance from a sustainability perspective. Yes, the non-household market is still finding its feet, but it has a lot of scope to influence changing the way businesses, public sector and not-for-profit organisations view their water consumption.

When I was offered the opportunity to stay on part-time, whilst completing my final year of my degree, I didn’t hesitate to accept. MOSL has had a total of three interns now, and all of us decided to stay on part-time after completing our summer internships. From my perspective, this achievement for the company comes down to its welcoming atmosphere, and colleagues' open-mindedness to new ideas and suggestions. There are many other reasons why I have made the decision to stay. For me, I’ve been about passionate about sustainability for as long as I can remember, so being able to work in a business with water efficiency at its core was a huge pull factor when making my decision.

But in short, I’m choosing to stay because I feel I have barely scratched the surface and know there is so much more I can gain from working here. After all, MOSL is a learning organisation, so the people here believe in supporting colleagues to help them develop skills and improve in all aspects of the job. I've certainly made mistakes in the time I have been here, but I have never felt ridiculed for making them; instead, my team has given me advice and training in the various software we use, giving me the independence to learn and grow. I’ve loved having Heather-Fiona Egan as a mentor (and I promise I’m not just saying that because she will be reviewing this!). She has so much experience in Communications and I feel very lucky to be learning from her for longer than the nine weeks of my internship.

At the same time, as much as there’s more I want to learn, I think there is a lot I still have to offer. With the recently approved Instagram case in now the works, I’m keen to get involved with the development and implementation of our Instagram strategy. I hope to use my understanding of the Gen-Z demographic and experience of starting in the non-household retail market will help others adapt to this newly developed and complex market. The channel will become an outlet to help new starters and applicants understand what MOSL is and how we work. 

I can’t promise I’ll be staying at MOSL for years to come, but for now, MOSL feels like the right place for me.