It is Wednesday morning. Today is yet another day at the office for my internship. The office is a shared space, so usually marketers from diverse companies are working there. On Wednesdays, there are just four people at the office: the two founders of Amsterdam Vintage Jewels, my colleague who works in customer service, and myself.
As I arrive at Amsterdam Central Station, I decide to walk to the office instead of taking the bus. It is a 15-minute stroll that treats me to the city’s charming center. When I enter the office, my colleagues are already there. Settling at my desk, I grab my laptop and open SPSS. I always try to work on my research immediately when I get to the office. Data input for my content analysis occupies my attention, until my colleague, who is also the founder and my internship supervisor, requests assistance in preparing the photoshoot set upstairs. Upstairs is where the showroom for the jewelry is. Every Thursday, the company launches a new batch. Given that Wednesdays are not busy, new products are photographed on those days.
Completing the setup, I return to my laptop and look at the video concepts I came up with earlier that week. I ask my supervisor if she is able to record a few TikToks, and we head upstairs. The filming process is always fun because there is always a lot of humor incorporated into the TikToks. After we finish filming, I have enough content for that week.
The shoot is starting, one founder of the company is behind the camera and my internship supervisor is in front of it, modeling the jewelry. Assigned with capturing behind-the-scenes footage, I document the process.
Post-shoot, my colleague and I restore order to the set. After that, I edit some videos and ask my supervisor for some feedback. After she has given the feedback, I do the finishing touches and schedule the content for the week.
Now it is time to work on another task: a competitor analysis for Instagram. I was asked to analyze three brands on Instagram and find out how many new launches or sales each brand had from July 2022 to July 2023. Furthermore, it was important to figure out how much these brands were capitalizing on holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, etc. Most importantly, I needed to record the number of posts each brand shared for these launches. How far ahead would a brand announce a new launch or sale? Would they announce this with an Instagram Reel? How did they showcase the products in the posts? What kind of information was provided in the Instagram caption? I was responsible for tracking all of these details in an Excel sheet.
The workday is over and it is time to head home. I pack my things, say goodbye to my colleagues who are still preparing tomorrow’s batch, and exit the office.
I think I got really lucky that I had the opportunity to do my internship at Amsterdam Vintage Jewels. Being creative is something that often comes naturally to me, so being a creative intern did not feel like a “job” to me. Furthermore, I got really lucky with kind colleagues who are very helpful, dedicated to the company, but also know how to have a little fun. As I reflect on my time here, I am reminded that this experience has been a perfect blend of personal growth and creative exploration.