Business Development

My internship was a wonderful whirlwind. Over a five-week journey I helped a Spain-based company expand its influence into the U.S. by analyzing the American market in relation to the company's mission and coming up with strategic plans to conduct the expansion. Having to apply my own knowledge to abstract tasks definitely gave me a taste of what it would be like to work in my dream job. When I'm (hopefully) working as a marketing manager, I won't often be given an itinerary on what to do. The task will be given, and I will have to do it and do it well in whatever way I choose to complete it. This research into nuances of my own country's market is great practice for the analyzing and planning I will have to do around other nations' markets in the future when working for an international company. It is hard to truly get practice with a passion like mine. Some teenagers want to be doctors so they buy tools and check their grandparents' vitals, some want to be professional athletes so they go on the field every day. But for international business, I can't exactly insert myself into inter-continental financial transactions so easily. This is the first real taste I got of the goal I'm working towards, and I adored it. Now having some true, realistic experience under my belt, I feel more empowered to improve my skills and offer them to great companies.

With this internship, I believe that I have taken a giant step towards my desired future. Thank you very much for making this opportunity possible, the truth is that it was incredible. My role during my internship was one of hard research. I was investigating both the possibilities of entering new markets and the disadvantages and advantages that my institution had concerning its competitors. This role has helped them a lot since many of my reports have been discussed internally to enhance the characteristics of the company and improve the disadvantages they have. In the long term, I provided them with great business ideas including new partners in different markets. The company where I interned always communicated in a very professional way. They went above and beyond to help me countless times and were all very friendly. It was amazing the similarities that I had with my supervisors. We understood each other very well, they were very nice, kind and wanted to get the very best out of me right from the beginning. It was wonderful to feel appreciated in this way. After having worked a lot and completing many reports, my supervisor congratulated me on my effort and told me that I had done an incredible job. All my feedback was amazing, and I really felt that my efforts during the internship were not in vain. I gave my best every moment and I felt very happy and proud that a company with such a great reputation acknowledged me in this way.

My remote internship was with a sustainable fashion brand and lifestyle blog, which is dedicated to producing and promoting clothing, bags and accessories, all made from organic, up-cycled or natural materials. I worked with people from different nationalities and backgrounds, which is always a great thing. I thought I would not be given very important tasks, however I did and I am very happy about that. As a piece of advice, I would say to ask many questions to learn as much as possible! Activities I was involved with during the remote internship included: working on the rebranding of the company (preparing the launch of the new website and collection), developing the marketing strategy together with the team, performing an STP analysis and creating versions of the ideal customer persona, working on SEO, setting up new social media channels, and creating relevant content for them. My favorite memory or outcome from the internship was having such direct contact with the companys founder and having the opportunity and freedom to be creative. I am even more certain of what I wish to do professionally.

This remote internship contributed to my achievement of long term goals because I would like to pursue a path or career in corporate sustainability. During the internship, I worked on projects that were related to this, and the relevant experience will help me for the future. My role during the Business internship involved eco-friendly packaging alternatives and the implementation of principles to encourage a circular economy. As this was a remote internship, it taught me a lot about effective communication online and some of the things that need to be in place in order for there to be smooth communication. During the internship, I demonstrated good communication, customer service, negotiation skills, research and corporate sustainability skills. My favorite outcome from the internship was having one of my ideas for the business being well received and they said that they loved it. I demonstrated that I do possess the knowledge to help companies achieve a sustainable change and that change can happen. From here, my goals are to keep on working within the corporate sustainability field and hopefully pursue a career in this area.

My virtual internship role involved business development, communication and marketing. This meant I was part of the commercial team and analysed potential client leads for the business through market research, surveys and interviews. In addition, I developed business and marketing strategies for a pilot that the business was planning. This included proposing social media communications such as stories and posts on Instagram. My support helped the organisation in the short term, as they were able to advertise their event through social media beforehand. As for the long term benefit, I was able to gather client databases for the company. The remote internship helped me to become a better communicator and this skill will help me in my future career - I believe that communication is key in any career.