My internship at Paul Wurth Luxembourg was a great experience which provided me with new insights into the operations of international companies. Paul Wurth is known for designing, constructing and repairing blast furnaces. For context, blast furnaces are large machines which are used in the steelmaking process, specifically to turn iron ore into usable iron for steel making.
One of the most interesting parts of my experience was seeing the company’s intricate structure, which works quite similar to a living organism. All teams (organs) work together to succeed at the common goal (survival) when there are problems within the organs or in the communication between the organs it will cause a decrease in output which is undesirable. When all teams work together well, the company does good and has more energy and resources available to improve the course and targeting of the market.
Among the 500 employees in the office, a few hold key positions that are essential to the company’s success. After being at my internship for a while, my mentor was leaving the company. Seeing her deal with transferring her knowledge and tasks was very impressive. She had been with the company for over ten years and had a significant role over the European region as well as being the head of the internal marketing at our office in Luxembourg. It made me realize that experience and presence in a company are very valuable elements and that replacing certain people within an organization can be difficult for a multitude of reasons which not only include competence in the role but also social skills and integration with the community. I believe this is a key point to remember in the future hiring process where it is essential to not only present yourself as a good candidate but also to find a position which fits your goals, personal working style and philosophy. Some people might want to sit at a desk, some want to make a lot of social contacts and perhaps people change what they want while working. Working together with people made me realize working and organizational culture are always changing and it`s important to find a good relationship between what you want yourself and what the group needs from you.
During my internship, I was introduced to many engineers. I was particularly impressed by how well the teams work together and how much impact their work has on a daily basis. Many product projects are built completely from scratch, creating a new technology or combination of technologies that have not been made before and might only work in theory. This does not only put stress on the workforce of the company but also becomes a calculated risk for strategically playing the market. Seeing this happen first hand made me more appreciative of the innovations and changes all companies make to their products all the time, where some eventually claim success or misfire depending on not only the product itself but also the market, its integration into the market as well as national legislations and buyer sentiment. This showed the complex cycle of development and the stakes and gains for the company.
My role in the marketing team mainly involved video editing. I was responsible for recording and editing videos of company events and interviews, which were then prepared for our social media channels. Having hands on experience with something like this is nice, because it shows my capabilities and ability to learn something new. It is also great for gaining insights into what you actually enjoy doing which can be used for future activities and professional endeavors as well.
In the end, I had a great internship where I learned a lot and gained many new insights.
To anyone looking for an internship I would recommend finding a position that allows you to do an action you really like, or to get close to something you truly admire. I think people can get much closer to their dreams than they think sometimes and the internship is a perfect moment of taking a leap of faith to see if what you dream of is something you’d also like to do when you’re awake.