It seems like it was yesterday when I came in to the Telefonica office building for the first time and now, I am halfway through my experience here. This building located in what could be seen as Madrid´s CBD has been my working space. Moreover, it was the place where I got to put in practice my communication science knowledge and skills in a professional setting (as well as to meet my lovely colleagues!)
I am originally from Madrid and, hence, I decided to use my network here in order to find an internship that could suit my needs. After a few calls and emails to friends working on the communication field and spreading the word amongst my contacts, I finally managed to find what is my current internship: online data analyst assistant at the cyberthreats department of Telefonica Spain.
Telefonica S.A. is a Spanish multinational broadband and telecommunications provider with operations in Europe, Asia, and North, Central and South America. Operating globally, it is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the world.
I am working for the cyber-threats department of the company. This area performs a very interesting task within the company, as it provides service to a wide range of other companies, such as Inditex (the mother company of Zara, Pull & Bear and other textile brands) or Dufry. Day by day, I keep getting new opportunities to work in different areas of communication and always get help and guidance from my supervisor or colleagues when needed. This has allowed me to better comprehend the company and the analyst job by leaps and bounds!
In my day to day at Telefonica, I am dedicating my time to several activities which include the analysis of communication campaigns that could have an impact on the client’s reputation. Also, the identification and analysis of relevant profiles in the conversation developed around the client (e.g. Inditex), support in the tasks of classification of contents by subject and tone, preparation of executive reports with the most relevant contents according to the prioritisation catalogue agreed with the client and, lastly, the elaboration of on-demand research on issues especially relevant to the client. All these tasks are carried out in collaboration with a team of two dedicated analysts, plus an additional team of fifteen intelligence and cyber intelligence analysts, belonging to the cyberthreats service of Telefónica.
Moreover, these tasks can take from two hours to a full working day, depending on the amount of content found on the researched topic or profile and the required length and level of detail on the report that the client requires.
Regarding the application of the knowledge acquired in my Communication Science studies, I am using the skills acquired during the Content Analysis Workshop in order to use the program TalkWalker in my workplace. This content analysis tool is used in Telefonica in order to classify the online content by subject and tone and it is very similar to LexisNexis, the content analysis tool used during this workshop. Secondly, the use of content analysis at a professional level is helping me to extend the information learned during my studies as well as to develop my practical skills in the field of content analysis. In addition, the writing of reports for the clients to communicate them the results of the analysis is helping me improve my verbal and written skills. Thirdly, the research I will conduct parallel to my internship in a topic related to Inditex is helping to enhance my researching skills. Moreover, my internship is helping me to reflect critically upon my performance within a hierarchical system. I will also evaluate the host´s organisation internal and external communication, as Telefónica not only works for its own company but also offers its services to external clients.
Ultimately, this internship has been (and still is!) beneficial for me in order to expand my network in the Communication Science field, as I am working with expert data analysts and communication professionals with an extensive experience in one of the biggest telecommunications’ company in the world. Moreover, I have direct contact with the chief Analyst of Cyberthreats in Telefónica Spain and Coordinator of Communication Analysts for Inditex, as well as with other analysts on the communication departments for other important multinational companies.
All in all, I could not have asked for a better place to have my first professional experience. I feel that I am learning a lot about different aspects of data analysis as well as its later application to the communication strategies of the different companies. Moreover, I could observe from up-close how social media influences public opinion regarding a company. But, more importantly, I got hands-on experience on a great communications team full of amazing people!
