If there is one thing that stood out to me these six months at my internship at Sony Benelux, is that my actions and ideas have an impact. Which, I mean, shouldn’t be such a surprise to me at this point in life, but really has. In highschool and university, I’ve done research before but always thinking “okay, it’s just to show that I’ve understood the process of how to do research, but it’s not like my results are going to have an impact on anything necessarily.” But at Sony, that is very much not the case.. My input and ideas were continuously presented to the higher ups, and those higher ups are presenting it to even higher higher-ups, and yo….. that means my actions can have an impact on the future of the company (I mean, probably not much right now, but like in the future?). It’s a good thing, of course, but my mind still struggles to realize that my actions, even just as an intern, has an impact on the company. Work is being valued to the extent that it can make a difference, persuade, start a new project, etc.,.
The people at Sony were incredibly supportive when one goes out of their way and puts in an extra little effort into their work, inspiring the rest, and I’m certain it’s similar at other companies too. The month when I launched my first monthly newsletter, and after not really having much support from my team (most “un-support” coming from one of my colleagues I work the most with (sample management), other than my supervisor and the manager of my supervisor, it was met with really positive reactions when it was presented at the Marketing Update meeting to sales and channel marketeers who were enthusiastic to wanting to share it with their external partners and also when shared with the headquarters. Making the aforementioned unsupportive colleague, incredibly more supportive.
Thus, an important recommendation for anyone starting their internship soon, or for those doing their internship now and feeling like they aren’t adding much value, put in that extra little effort into something that is fun, and “outside of work description” and create visibility.
Showing that I wanted to take responsibility in something, allowed me the opportunity to collaborate with PR and take the lead on one of my supervisor’s projects called the Vlog Academy. This is going to be a platform on the Sony site in which the aim is to get those that are doubting whether they should start vlogging, to really start. Through this project, I learnt a lot regarding how to set up a plan, deadlines, without being too “bossy”. It was a challenge, but careful and clear communication both in emails and in meetings were incredibly significant in making the collaboration work, as well as following up with what was discussed and any updates as often as deemed needed to ensure we were making progress as planned.
Although I was “just the intern” at Sony, I learned that no matter your position, you deserve the same respect as everyone else in the organization. We are all just human, and we make mistakes and we move forward and learn, so don’t allow any colleagues give you shit if you make one, and most importantly, don’t beat yourself up for it. Dare to take up space, share your thoughts, make yourself visible in the company beyond your team, and stay positive and don’t take yourself too seriously.
I’m certain that is what brought me the opportunity to stay at Sony for a full-time position.