The past five months I spent as an intern at HelloFresh were incredibly valuable for my studies and career, and I experienced significant personal development. This was my first 9-5 job in a corporate office, and I was fortunate to have a very positive experience.
What I will remember for a very long time are definitely my colleagues. From the beginning, I felt included and got to know many people. Every day at exactly 12 pm, I would eat lunch at the office and have conversations about vacations, the weather, and weekend plans. Not to forget the mandatory walk afterward and the havermelk cappuccino. In the beginning, it all felt a bit like a simulation, but I really enjoyed having structure and a routine. Since most of my colleagues spoke Dutch, I picked it up quite quickly, which made me feel more at home in this country. Every Friday, we had beers at the office, which was a nice way to end the week and get to know my colleagues better.
At the beginning of my internship, I was quite nervous about having meetings. I heard many words and phrases such as KPIs, MBRs, and Targets, which I initially had no idea about. Eventually, I got used to the language and was able to use these terms as well. Experiencing the working culture in The Netherlands was also quite positive. I personally think that people communicate quite directly, which helps to speed up processes and improve work efficiency. I felt that people did not take feedback personally but were more accepting and reflective. They were not afraid to say if they did not like an idea, which made me more confident in sharing my opinions. Adjusting to the 9-5 schedule was quite difficult, though. It was a big change from my first year of study to the past five months. However, I really liked the feeling of being done with work and being able to completely disconnect during the weekends.
Regarding my tasks of managing partnerships and being responsible for flyer inserts in the meal boxes, I learned an important lesson: it is better to control than to trust. When dealing with many different partners, you need to stay on top of things to ensure everything runs smoothly. Sometimes, I did not double-check, and a deadline was missed. In those cases, I had to be creative and solve the problem. In the beginning, I was quite overwhelmed, but I realized that clear communication is crucial and not to be afraid of trying new things.