Thanks to our student Jasseh for answering our questions about her remote internship. We have had many online internship students this year so far and it’s interesting to hear their take on what the virtual work experience is really like…

Why did you decide to take a remote internship in Spain?

I decided to take this remote internship in Spain for several reasons. Firstly, I always wanted to intern abroad, however, due to the pandemic I was not able to do this in person and so I decided to go for a remote internship instead. Why Spain? Well, I lived in Spain for 6 months during my Erasmus, a study abroad programme, and since then I knew that I wanted to improve my Spanish and live in Spain again in the future. I thought that interning in a Spanish company was a great step for this to become a reality and as well I wanted to improve my Spanish a little bit more.

How was the experience regarding communication with the company and tasks you were assigned?

Initially, communication between my colleagues and advisor was always clear in speaking terms as we were speaking primarily in English. However, there were times I had to do some tasks which involved looking for quotes in Spanish. This was when it got a bit challenging. Fortunately, my workmates were kind enough to check on me and my Spanish anytime I asked for their help. Overall, my communication with the company and the tasks I was able to do were understandable with the big help and support from my internship advisor and my fellow intern.

What kind of business skills did you develop throughout your remote internship?

I was able to develop various business skills. One major skill would have to be my communication skills. Considering that the internship was done virtually, I was able to improve my communication through video calls, phone calls, emails and even through simple text messaging. With these communication skills, I was also able to cooperate well with such a diverse team which is also an advantageous skill in any company today. My management and organisation skills were also challenged but improved through this internship. I had to organised my time daily and weekly to keep on track and on top of each task. Working from home meant you are in control of your time and responsible of structuring your day around your tasks. Thankfully, I managed to be organised for the 8 weeks of my internship through planning each week and day.
In addition, I was able to broaden my knowledge of using marketing tools such as HubSpot and Mailchimp which I have never used before. I also got to take part in creating an activation campaign during a soft launch in the company and promote this campaign through social media. I also improved my presentation skills virtually which I did not have much experience until this internship. Throughout my whole internship, I was able to develop these skills which I will for sure be able to use in my future workplace.

Would you recommend a remote internship to other internationals?

I highly recommend doing a remote internship to other students. I believe this a great way to develop new skills and enhance their skills for their future careers. A remote internship is also a much more flexible choice if the student is busy which gives them time to focus on other important things.

Do you think it could be useful to combine this with an Online Spanish course?

Yes, I really do think that a Spanish language course would be useful. As it is already a Spanish company, a Spanish language course would be nothing but only beneficial during the internship. In addition, you could even practice your Spanish language course with your internship advisor or Spanish speaking colleagues throughout the experience.

How would you say this experience could be beneficial to your future career?

Being an International Business professional, this experience will definitely benefit me in my future career. This internship has only enhanced my professional profile and gives me an advantage combined with my degree in the future. I believe being an International Business graduate it is important to experience working with a diverse
team in an international environment which in this case I have done due to this remote internship experience. Not only I had interned remotely but also I developed skills that I could not learn in a classroom or through the modules in my course.

Was it a positive personal experience for you too, as well as an academic and professional one?

Yes, I think it is also definitely a positive experience from a personal point of view. This internship kept me productive on a daily basis when I thought I would only be stuck at home during this pandemic. It was something I looked forward to each day and week. I strongly believe that this internship has helped with my personal growth in terms of how I deal with adversities and stress. During my internship, there were times when I would be stress and face challenging tasks. However, as time passed by I learned to face these difficult situations with calmness and open mindedness. Now, I take every difficult task as a learning experience. In addition, I was also able to meet amazing and talented individuals during my internship who I know call as my mentors.

For more reviews from our past students, check out our Student Interviews here.