Over the past 5 months I have been a social media and online marketing intern at NTR, a Dutch public broadcast company. I had always imagined myself working for an international company, hence my choice for the international bachelor’s. I have also always been interested in creative industries and have always said I would not want to work behind a desk from 9 to 5. So, it seemed clear what I was and was not looking for in an internship. But then I realized that I might actually learn more at a company that wasn’t such an obvious choice for me. I stumbled upon NTR’s vacancy. I had never considered working for a public broadcaster, but it seemed like a fun experience to work for them since I’d grown up with the shows they produced. So, I went for it.
Here goes nothing
My first days were packed with meetings and an overload of information, but I was surprised by how fast I got to know the place and its people. Within less than two weeks I felt totally comfortable. The days went fast and I enjoyed learning more about the things I was eager to master. One of my internship goals was to master working my Adobe skills, so I searched for internships that included editing tasks. I figured it would be useful to focus on the practical skills, rather than solely the application of communication theories. My internship turned out to be a mix of both. I had to write articles and create and edit social media video content on a daily basis, while on the other hand keep track of statistics and advertisements. I enjoyed both. However, I noticed that after about a month my days already started to feel repetitive. I have always enjoyed spontaneity and being active all day, so I disliked knowing what my day would look like. “Is this what they call the ‘office rut’?”, I asked myself.
The big C
Then came corona. Within a short few weeks, everyone in the office worked from home. It took a bit of adjusting, but working from home turned out to be easier than expected. Setting the same alarm every day as well as creating a designated workspace really helped. I remember working from my bed in the beginning of the working-from-home phase (whoops). That was comfy for a few days, but sleeping and working in the same spot messes up your natural rhythm. However, once I figured out how to divide work from home, it was rather easy and started to feel normal very soon.
Working from home isn’t all fun and games, though. Discussing things, asking for advice or raising an idea is not the same when you’re not in the same room. The lack of physical contact wasn’t ideal either and chit-chatting online just wasn’t the same.
My two cents
Overall, I am happy to have both the experience of working in an office and working from home. I feel more capable and confident in my abilities to work from any location.
I have also learnt that, even though the office environment was not that bad, ‘not that bad’ is not what I am looking for in a future job. The combination of lack of physical activity, the office environment, and 8 hours behind a screen is just not it for me. Nonetheless, I am very grateful for this experience and have truly learnt a lot. Not once have I felt like my work was worth any less than my colleagues’ and my input was always appreciated. I would encourage everyone to find a challenging internship, where you are treated like a true colleague rather than an intern. The main goal of my internship was to throw myself in the deep and experience everything with an open vision. This has allowed me to learn many different things.
Even though it is important that your colleagues trust you and give you responsibilities, I believe 50% comes from you as an intern. During board meetings, I would not only listen to what was being said, but try to figure out the underlying company structures and brand identity as well. This helped me understand why certain decisions were made and eventually guided me when doing my own tasks. My advice would be to actively listen and be interested in the process behind things, that’s when you learn the interesting things that will be useful in the future.
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