What inspired you to do a remote internship?
I decided to do a remote internship because we have been in lockdown due to COVID-19 for quite a long time and I felt frustrated not making the most of my time. I began thinking about ways I could improve my CV through courses and then I found out that remote internships were an option.
Completing an internship is more hands-on than just doing a course, you have more responsibility and you really get to understand how a company works. I did some research into options that were available and the more I looked into it the more I felt like it was the best option for me.
At the end of my programme, I have an up-to-date and hugely improved CV as well as more confidence and knowledge about the workplace and industry I am interested in.
Why did you choose Intern Leaders?
I chose Intern Leaders because a close friend recommended the programme to me, as she knew I am always interested in receiving coaching, and I had told her I was thinking about getting some relevant work experience.
I have had other jobs before but nothing related to what I want to do, so although I included all my work experience in my CV, I wanted to have experience that showed what I am capable of professionally. The Intern Leaders programme really prepares you for the internship and the team made that clear during my initial calls with them.
They don't just find you an internship—they work with hundreds of host companies and they want you to be the best you can be because it's good for you but also good for the company and for Intern Leaders. So before the internship starts, they set up workshops and online coaching to get you as ready as possible for your first day.
It made a massive difference actually. I can't imagine starting a remote internship without their help, I think I'd feel really lost. They were definitely incredibly helpful and kind during the first couple of weeks especially. They know what they're doing and they know it's when I would need them the most.
They then stayed in touch with me throughout the programme and encouraged me to join the online workshops, helping me create a good CV and LinkedIn profile. It's so important to keep your profile up-to-date with all your experience and connections and Intern Leaders helped me a lot with that too.
What was your work set up at home? What was the best part about working from home?
As it was a remote internship, I worked from my family home every day. I have a desk in my room that I used, but I also moved around and worked from our home study and also the kitchen sometimes. For calls and online meetings with my host company, I would stay in my room so that I could focus.
The best part about working from home is that it saves the commute, you can easily take a break if you feel a bit stuck, and when you have finished your work for the day then you're already where you want to be. It feels like quite an efficient way of working!
Of course it would be nice to meet my colleagues at least once, but I think that once lockdown is over many people will continue to work remotely as it has many benefits.
What made your experience unique?
My experience interning remotely was unique given that the entire company was working remotely. We are all living through the same experience, we are all in lockdown because of COVID-19, and we are all learning to navigate through this change in our lifestyle.
Because it was new for everyone, not just me the intern, the CEO made a big effort to organise fun things for us to do online—we had a quiz night one week and a kind of karaoke online party another week. I think remote internships will become more and more common, so I am glad I bit the bullet and did one now.
How did the program staff support you throughout your program?
Pretty much the whole team at Intern Leaders were in contact with me at some point throughout the programme. In the evenings they would often check in and my coach set me tasks to challenge myself during the internship, and when I had problems or felt frustrated I was able to write to him and clear my head.
They gave me a lot of tips about how to behave during a remote internship, things that I might not have thought of myself, or advice that might seem obvious but that actually really helped.
For example, if you are interning in an office, your boss can see you and can see you're working. If you are interning remotely, you really have to make an effort to check in with your boss, keep him updated with what you're working on, what you've finished and what you have left to do.
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your remote experience?
When I look back on the remote internship I completed, I can already see how much I changed from the first to the last day. If I could go back, I would go back to my first two weeks and be more proactive.
Intern Leaders helped me communicate with the company and gave me advice about problems I faced, but I was nervous, and speaking up during online meetings was quite nerve-wracking for me. Over time I improved and by the end of my internship I felt relaxed and I was giving ideas to my manager.
My advice to anyone doing a remote internship is to try to overcome feeling shy as soon as possible.
It doesn't help you, your team, or the company, so the sooner you use your voice the better. And if you have any doubts, then ask questions! They know you're an intern and they do want to help.
Describe what a typical day during your remote internship looked like.
A typical day doing a remote internship didn't really exist for me as I was working in Entrepreneurship as my chosen industry, which meant I really had to work with everyone on the team and each day was different.
Normally we would have weekly team calls to discuss goals and individual objectives and then I would be assigned tasks. My tasks really varied; at the start I did a lot of research and market comparisons, then I worked on outreach and business development, and towards the end I created presentations and PDFs about our services and products.
My manager would check in with us to see how things were going and if I had a question regarding something I was working on, I usually went straight to the person with the answer. That was good as it meant I got to know the CEO, CFO, and CMO as well.
I usually worked from around 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a break for lunch and a break for some exercise. If I finished my tasks for the day, I would let my manager know and she either said I could stop until the next day or she'd have something else for me to do.
What did you enjoy the most about your remote internship?
The part I enjoyed most about my remote internship was getting to know the team at Intern Leaders and the team at the company I was interning with. I think it's really important to make as many connections as possible and the closer I became with them the easier it was to not only ask for help when I had questions, but also to just learn about what they were working on even if it wasn't related to my tasks.
I have learned that people are generally happy to talk about what they're working on and it's such a good opportunity to learn. I have friends who aren't sure yet what they want to do and I am encouraging them now to do a remote internship as we are still in lockdown; they might be able to discover a passion that they don't know they have just by doing an internship.
What was it like working at home?
As I was doing a remote internship, I didn't have to travel or stay in organised accommodation. I was working and living at home with my family which was an interesting experience.
My siblings are used to me being available, so I had to make it clear what my working hours were and that if they saw me with headphones or my laptop then it probably meant that I was working and didn't want to be disturbed.
In my household we tend to eat at different times every day, so working from home actually helped me get a good routine and added structure to my days. Before the internship, I felt that all the days were blurring into one because of lockdown, but during the internship and since it's ended, I have tried to maintain structure each day.
What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins?
If you are going to do a programme with Intern Leaders then you should know that you do have to pull your weight, stay focused, and work hard, not just on your internship but on yourself.
If you don't know what you want out of life professionally, then your coach and the other experts will help you ask yourself key questions, so be ready for those questions and don't be worried if you don't have answers yet.
Be ready to see and speak about your weaker professional areas, but know that the result is worth the work you need to put in.
Would you recommend Intern Leaders to others? Why?
I would definitely recommend Intern Leaders! The team is made up of experts in really interesting areas such as recruitment, international business, and mentorship; they really know what they are doing and it's obvious how much they want to help you. They listen to your needs and they focus on you becoming the best professional you can be.
From the first call all the way through the programme they stayed in touch with me and made sure I participated in the workshops they offered, especially the ones that they viewed as my weaknesses.
It isn't just an internship that they offer, it's an entire course that felt like it was focused completely on me.
When I ended the programme, Intern Leaders made it clear that I am part of their team for life. I'm looking for remote jobs right now and my coach from Intern Leaders is still working with me on my cover letter and online interview techniques. My programme end date has been and gone but they're still there for me. I really recommend them.
What do you feel the biggest benefit of a remote internship is?
There are quite a few benefits of doing a remote internship. Basic benefits such as not having to waste time commuting, not getting distracted, being able to be at home and focused on your tasks, but also benefits that will help me in the future.
For example, I think that remote work will be more and more popular after this year, so thanks to my remote internship I have learned loads about the skills needed to work remotely. I think that will help me stand out amongst the crowd.
The way you communicate remotely, the way you present ideas, the programmes you use online, etc. They are really good skills to have, so for me that is one of the biggest benefits of doing a remote internship—it gets you using skills you will definitely need in the future.
Now that your program has ended, how has your experience impacted your life?
Now that my programme has ended, I would say that the remote internship has impacted my life mostly in terms of my next objectives. I knew what I wanted to do before the programme with Intern Leaders, but working with them on my professional development means that I now have clear next steps and a time plan.
I feel like I can get the result I am looking for more quickly. It's great to have a general idea of what you want to do, but my coach and I created attainable goals. That is going to have a huge impact on my life.