Well, it’s been around 5 months since I started my internship at AkzoNobel. It’s been hard. But so rewarding. It’s also been pretty stereotypically corporate. Just like how we see it in movies and tv shows. You have to dress in a professional manner, and the language used is formal. However, there are also very non stereotypical things about the internship that I did.
The 9 – 5
Working for a corporation means you are restricted to that 9 am to 5 pm work hour. And while that may be true. Sometimes my hours extended the usual 9-5. If I had to post something earlier or later than usual, I usually had to ensure to get approval early on and notify the reputation managers that posts will be going out later than their working hours. If there were negative tweets about AkzoNobel, and it continued after 5 pm, I would usually keep monitoring social media. So while you may officially do 9-5, be prepared to sometimes work a bit overtime as well.
Workplace Culture
I’m sure you’ve heard of the term ‘workplace culture’. It defines how the working environment is in an office. There is this notion that corporations have this strict, competitive and toxic workplace culture, where everyone plays politics. However, that was not true for AkzoNobel. Working in the Communications department felt like I was working with people I had known for years and whom I could trust. Although I was just an intern, they treated me like an equal and ensured that I had the opportunity to share my ideas and contribute to the company. This is one of the non stereotypical aspects I realised was there in AkzoNobel.
Oh, they’re an intern, it’s their job
The typical internship shown in the media and much of literature. The intern does not get any actual work done but rather has to act as an assistant to their supervisor and get coffee or do the admin tasks. Sometimes others may even pile on work that actually the intern is not supposed to do. However, that was not entirely the case for AkzoNobel. Sure, I had colleagues asking me to help with their tasks, but I was supported by my supervisor. She would back me up when I refused and also gave me tasks that related to the actual position I was an intern for. So this way I truly learnt a lot of practical skills that can help me in the future.
So while many students think that the corporate world is scary, and sometimes it might be, there will always be companies that change that notion for you. And it is extremely important to find such companies, especially for internships. As in those companies, you truly get the most out of the internship.