Think you know everything when you really know nothing? Do you think every task is a piece of cake and then you want to bang your head against the desk? Is that what my experience was like at DMK? No. Not all of it. 
How did I get here?
I could say by accident, but that’s not entirely true. I’d better explain. First year of college, second semester. Everybody was stressing about “where do I do my internship?” I wasn’t, I thought by the end of the semester I’d have time for that too. But what do you know? The opportunity to intern at a marketing firm came up. It seemed like a good idea, especially since I wanted to work in that field in the future. It really was.
I applied quickly, I wanted to make sure someone didn’t get ahead of me. I didn’t have high hopes, I had heard there would only be 4 places available for trainees. The surprise came a few days later when I got an email: ‘see you Thursday at the firm’s office’. Hmm, did they get the wrong recipient?
The traineeship passed quite quickly, and the idea that I wanted to work here was growing in my mind: relaxed atmosphere, friendly people. It seemed like the place you really go to.
As you might expect, I was accepted into the internship program. How was my experience? You’ll see in the lines that follow.
It’s not just the beginning that’s a challenge
I could say that nothing in college helped me for this job, but let’s face it, a year of college that isn’t even in marketing doesn’t make a difference. So, of course, I started from scratch.
I have to admit, the first week was the hardest. I’d open my laptop, read the tasks, I was determined to get started. A market analysis and two articles, what could be so complicated? I’d read them again, and all that echoed in my mind was “What do you know about air compressors? What about Scandinavian style and positioning of light fittings?”. Basically nothing. But there’s Google. And there’s a willingness to learn. Were the articles any good? Eh, let’s not talk about that.
The next few days, weeks, months passed as quickly as they could. As clichéd as it sounds, each day brought a new challenge. And new things to learn: how to make posts for social media (no, you don’t pick a Dalai Lama quote and post a picture), what SEO and User Experience are made of, design tips (what do you know, much harder than I thought), how to write an article for real (yes, I thought I was an expert at that too).
Learn to be wrong and take criticism
When I got a job, I thought I knew how to do everything: write articles, make presentations, communicate with people. Haha, what a good joke. I didn’t know how to do any of those things. The bigger shock came when I realized that what I learned in high school didn’t help much either. What do you mean, I can’t use the pompous language of literary commentary in an article about landscaping? Ironic, but no.
But, I’ve been told to err, not to try to make everything perfect. And, let’s face it, without any experience, it couldn’t possibly be perfect. And I was wrong. A lot. Did that help? More than I thought it would. Because the most important thing I learned here, although it initially demotivated me, was that praise isn’t as important as criticism.
Yes, you read that right. Criticism. As you might expect, and for me, every criticism was a disaster. Did I let that get to me? Yes, at first, especially since I was under the impression that everything I did was amazing. However, I thought it was better to listen to the opinions of people who actually knew what they were talking about and get out of my bubble of perfection.
That’s how I began to evolve, step by step. I was gradually giving up the stiff language, taking my eyes off my laptop when giving a presentation, writing better articles. Was it my merit? Moving past hubris, I have to admit that no, it wasn’t all my merit. Yes, it was also my desire to evolve, but more importantly I was pushed from behind to do things better. For that, I can only thank them.
Short question and answer session
Yes, that subtitle sounds very protocol. But I’m in a hurry, because I still have a lot to learn. So if you’ve asked yourself, throughout the article, some of these questions, be prepared to find out the answers:
Is there anything I didn’t like about this internship? – Yes, that it only lasted 3 months.
Would I do it again? Of course, even if I knew what was waiting for me.
Would I want to continue working here? You still ask?
Article 3 month internship at DMK or “How to learn to grow?” appeared first on Outsourced Marketing Department.
