During their time at Creative Business, third-year students will have the chance to do an internship at a company of their choice, in the Netherlands or abroad. From a start-up to a big international organization, the possibilities are endless. And while it may look overwhelming at first, students take different courses beforehand that help them prepare for the working environment. One good example is the course The Future Workplace, where students learn about different types of organizations and make the first steps to discover which direction they would like to take for their soon starting working life.
Every year, we are very curious to hear what our students’ stories are and how they experience the working environment together with all their learnings, challenges and most rewarding moments of their internships.
Today, we sat down with Mihai, a Creative Business student who is currently doing his internship at the biggest Mercedes Benz dealer in Romania, his home country. He tells us with great enthusiasm that he is part of the marketing team where he has very different tasks – from market research, to something as complex as improving the social media strategy for the brand.
For him, the choice of finding what he liked was not that difficult. He already knew he wanted to have a position in the marketing field, but the abundance of companies overwhelmed him. So he went back to his biggest passion: cars. Together with marketing, he chose what his dream internship would look like – now he only had to find the perfect company. Six months before the internship, he started to be proactive and emailed different car dealerships in his home country. One thing Mihai emphasizes is that companies are really looking forward to having students with fresh, innovative and creative ideas in their teams. He advises other students to be confident, especially because Creative Business already offers a good mindset, together with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed within the marketing and business field.
As he mentioned, the most difficult part was to decide on what he wanted to do for his internship and where. But the process was smooth especially if students start their research a few months in advance. When it would get overwhelming Mihai advises other students to do as he did. “I took a step back, I relaxed and I thought, okay – but what course, or what learnings from Creative Business did I like the most?” Those would be moments when he got clarity to continue with the process. It’s also very important to look around for the options you may have – maybe you can create new opportunities. It is appreciated to show proactivity when searching for an internship, and as Mihai did, he put himself out there and sent many emails to different companies he liked just stating “I want to do my internship at your company”, explaining what he is looking for and his motivations to work at that specific company.
So after all his search, what is he currently doing for the internship? Mihai is working within the marketing department, his current focus being on social media. He analyzes the type of content that works best for YouTube, analyzes past Facebook ads and improve future campaigns based on that, comes up with new content ideas, and works on his leave behind project for the university which would entail a guide for everyone that starts working into the marketing department at the company.
He is satisfied with the knowledge he gained at Creative Business, and the practical projects he worked on in the past two years because he learned how to have the right mindset to solve problems. Nowadays he uses much of the information from courses like Marketing and Research, and his colleagues at the company appreciate the different marketing tools he presents. In the photo, you can see Mihai’s office space.
Being in the working environment is one thing Mihai was looking forward to since the first year at CB. Applying his knowledge and receiving real-time feedback from his colleagues at work is one thing he particularly likes as he can better understand the different marketing concepts and best practices in the field. At the same time, it allows him the space to fail, learn and succeed again.
When asked about his most rewarding experience so far, he told us that “people accepted me really quickly – they accepted my ideas and I managed to see the success of ads I created and learn from experienced colleagues”. He also really enjoys the team building activities, such as planting trees together with his coworkers.
We asked him for a piece of advice for the students that are now preparing for their internships: do your research a few months in advance, know the requirements from CB, and then it will be easier for you to find a company. Put yourself in the mindset of finding a company and looking around you and imagine yourself how you would help the people working there. Try searching for a company you’d really like. Maybe this internship will be the start of your working years. Try to always aim as high as you can because sometimes you’ll be surprised with the results you can have.
