Santander Internship Stories: Study Fast

Head with a bookshelf in front of black wall

At StudyFast we are transforming the way the world learns and we knew we had to find people who were ready to join that mission.

When my business needed a copywriter to help us achieve that mission I knew exactly where to turn to… Santander.

Jordan Harry, CEO of StudyFast

Having brought on three interns through the Santander Internship Scheme, who are all now full-time, it made perfect sense to contact the Entrepreneurship Centre at Cambridge Judge Business School to find my fourth. Within weeks Rhiannon Philips, a student from the University of Cambridge, was on board and transforming how we communicated with our customers.

Rhiannon was, and still is essential, for the following reasons:

  1. SEO – Using the relevant keywords based on people’s search behaviour
  2. Blogs – They are a great way to show our latest thinking and bring value to our community
  3. Tone – As a business she was able to convey the tone of our company in the written format (a skill I am not good at. Just give me a camera haha)

What I love about working with a recent graduate is their open-mindedness and the energy they bring to the company.

Today, Rhiannon is part-time, writing two blogs a month for us covering any topic to do with learning anything faster.

My future plans are to increase the number of blogs we produce, allow her to explore other areas she’d like to grow in and continually involve her in strategic decisions because as StudyFast grows so too will Rhiannon.

Rhiannon’s experience

Like many students, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after I graduated. I studied History which didn’t lead to an obvious career path, but I was keen to use the skills I had gained from my degree in a real-world business situation.

Rhiannon Philips, Intern at StudyFast

The idea of moving to London and working in a large corporation really didn’t appeal to me, so I started looking for other opportunities.

A mutual connection put me in touch with Jordan Harry, co-founder and CEO of StudyFast. Jordan was looking for a Copywriter to join StudyFast’s small, remote team and the rest, as they say, was history!

After speaking with Jordan to find out more about StudyFast and how I could make a difference, I was keen to get involved!

Thanks to the Santander SME programme, Jordan was able to add me to the StudyFast team, where I have put my existing strengths to good use as well as learning some valuable new skills.

My main responsibility is writing blog articles and publishing them on the StudyFast website.

I research relevant topics on speed reading or memory, such as how you can remember more names, then create a fun and engaging blog post from the information.

Although this was slightly different to writing essays on Stalinism, I was able to put the research and writing skills I had acquired from the previous three years into practice.

But, as I soon found out, writing online blog posts involves far more than simply putting ideas onto paper (or screen). There are several technical elements to bear in mind that were not necessary for History essays!

When writing these blog posts, I need to consider search engine optimization (SEO) to help improve StudyFast’s online visibility and the position of the articles in search rankings. This was a whole new area for me to understand, but I have now learnt how to optimise articles using keyword research, internal linking, meta descriptions, and more.

Although the StudyFast team works remotely, collaborating with people of a similar age with a range of talents has been motivating and inspiring.

Because the team is so small, you really do feel like you make a difference and that your work is valued. It can be challenging as you are solely accountable for completing your tasks, but the sense of achievement when you do them (especially when they are successful) is the thing I love about working for a start-up like StudyFast!

StudyFast is supported by the Santander Universities SME Internship programme. Find out more >

Jordan Harry, CEO of StudyFast

Jordan Harry, CEO of StudyFast

I am a memory and speed reading coach who became a geek by accident! My TEDx talk that has been viewed by 2 million people changed my life and with the help of my team, we have taught over 20,000 people from 147 countries speed reading and memory. When I was 10, I had a speech impediment which left me struggling with speaking in public and reading. I now read seven times faster than the average reader (1,500 words per minute), the CEO at StudyFast and an international public speaker. My mission is to make speed reading and memory training accessible to all.
Jordan Harry, CEO of StudyFast

Latest posts by Jordan Harry, CEO of StudyFast (see all)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.