Like most Dutch people, I have shopped at HEMA during my entire life. When I was a child, my mom bought my clothes and toys there, when I went to school I bought school supplies and now as a student I buy decoration for my apartment. When I had to choose a place to do my internship I decided that I wanted to do it in a company that I knew and felt good with. This way, I came to HEMA. HEMA had an application open for an international e-commerce intern. As I already have gained marketing experience in a committee last year, I thought it would be interesting to try something else, that still had something to do with communication.
When I had my interview, I already felt a positive vibe in the office and I really liked the people I had my interview with. Luckily they immediately offered me the position! So I started as an international e-commerce intern in February. The first six weeks I worked at the very large office in Amsterdam Noord. My department was placed on the fourth floor, where you have a great view of ‘het IJ’ and the rest of Amsterdam. In these weeks, I got to know my coworkers and the way of life when you work a 9-5 job in an office. I did find this difficult, as I am usually a waitress and work evenings. However, I got used to the early mornings quite quick.
Unfortunately, just as I was really settled, the Corona virus came around and the entire office had to work from home. When this was announced, I was still in Austria skiing, but luckily one of my coworkers lives in the same street as me and she brought me my laptop when I got home.
This is how I spend the last 2 months of my internship working from home. Although this is not how I imagined it, I am happy that I still got to finish my internship. My coworkers where very nice and asked me how I was doing multiple times. Of course it was difficult not being able to communicate with my coworkers face-to-face, and I was not able to learn new skills, but this is also a valuable experience. I got to experience what it is like when a global crisis happens and how it affects a big retail company like HEMA.
Still, the most important thing I have learned for now it that I am not ready to be working in an office from 9 to 5. I feel like I want to enjoy all the free time I have during the days now while still studying, and I like working in the restaurant. My coworkers there are my age and we also spend time together after work. Maybe one day I will work in an office, but currently I am not ready yet.
To end things off, I would recommend anyone to do an internship, as it could give you valuable insights about you and your future.