I’ve got an internship at Founda Health. It’s a healthcare technology startup in Amsterdam. How did I find it and why did I choose a startup? I’ll write my stories in this blog. It includes:
- How did I attain my internship: A month of applying and interviewing
- Why did I choose Founda: The startup spirit
- What do I want to do in my internship: My expectations
How did I attain my internship: A month of applying and interviewing
I’m the kind of person who always plans ahead to the point that it might be compulsive. I started the internship hunting two months ahead. I prepared my CV, and made a plan to send at least one application every two days. I looked for things on LinkedIn and Mediastages (an internship website specifically for people who want to work in media, but mostly for dutch speakers, so I was only able to find two opportunities on the website). I changed my CV and motivation letters according to the job description, sent, and kept on doing other things. This went on for two weeks until I got my first offer for interviews.
Interviews are tricky. They are such an unnatural way of human communication: I am pitching myself in a highly pressured environment in a really short time. How’s anyone able to do that and secure an offer? The only true advice I can give? Practice. Yes it sounds cliche, but this was how I feel through the process. The more interviews I had, the more I became fluent in answering questions and convincing the interviewers. After five interviews, I became so confident that every interview I had led me to an offer.
Why did I choose Founda: The startup spirit
So I was having a few offers at the same time. Why did I choose Founda? The most important thing – Their recruiter was the nicest among all the interviewers. She always looked at and listened attentively, no matter what I said I felt encouraged and appreciated. Later in the recruitment process I happened to get really busy with exams and other assignments at the university, and she messaged me saying “don’t worry, and remember to take care of yourself while studying” with two hearts-giving emojis – this emoji in “professional” communication? You might say I based my judgement on personal feelings towards the recruiter, but it tends out that she is the best demonstration of what the company culture is – Casual, informal and open. There is no hierarchy. They literally make fun of the CEO every day saying that he’s only 13 years old inside.
This kind of thing you could sense during the interviews. I also interviewed with Tesla. It felt different. I could feel that the culture is a bit more serious: They were asking high-demanding questions and challenging your answers. Perhaps it has to do with the number of applicants and they had to be harsh on people to choose the best, but still – I was doubting whether I would be comfortable working there.
My expectation of working at Founda
It’s a startup. The marketing team has only three people including me. I imagine I’d have a lot of free space to explore and learn about marketing and branding. The work includes two sides: the creative side to produce content that presents us as an interesting player in healthtech, and the analytical side to experiment with digital tools and conduct campaigns to grow the brand. I feel like I’m equally interested in both, and at Founda I get to experience both sides at the same time.