How did you end up working in international education?
I ended up working with Intern NZ and Intern OZ because I found them while I was doing research for an internship abroad. I applied for an marketing internship with their office and was lucky enough to be employed subsequent to that.
What does a typical day of work look like for you?
First thing in the morning is to check the emails and provide professional correspondence. Other than that everyday is different. I am predominantly involved with Inbound Marketing Techniques and also with increasing Search Engine Optimisation. Also I am jointly responsible for our social events, such as the Orientations for our new interns as well as bigger weekend trips.
Getting drinks with some of our lovely interns in Auckland
How do you use your own international experiences in your current role?
The advantage of bringing international experiences, to an organisation in the field of international education, is to be able to provide bilingual correspondence. So whenever we have interns or partners from Germany, I can make sure that the communication works well in either language.
What is the most frequently asked question you receive from prospective interns?
I guess the most frequently asked question is whether our internships are paid or not. To answer that, all our internships are unpaid. An internship is a good opportunity to gain work experience in your field of interest.
Completing an internship abroad is a good step into the working world and every employer in your home country will appreciate that you took the step to leave your comfort zone at home and move to another country which is full of new challenges that you can grow with and surely will solve with confidence.
July Weekend Trip to Rotorua
How do you overturn the common fears and challenges interns face?
With almost 10 years of experience in this industry, we are aware of the most common fears, such as homesickness or culture shock. We want to provide our interns with as good an experience as possible, by providing information packages containing knowledge not only about new cultures, but also the day to day business, like how to organize your own living in a new city.
We are in close contact with our candidates and are here for them whenever they need assistance. It is not only on a business level that we want to make sure they have the best possible internship they are looking for, but also on a personal level. We want to let them know that we are there for them, no matter what problems they are dealing with. As we know how hard it is to be away from family and your usual reference persons, we want to compensate for this temporary loss as best as we can.
Thermal Wonderland in Rotorua
What is your best piece of advice for prospective interns?
Take the step and do an internship abroad! You will meet a lot of people, not only while interning but also while traveling. The most awesome side effect of interning in New Zealand is the breathtaking scenery waiting to be explored by people from all over the world.
Why is interning with Intern NZ different from interning abroad with other organizations?
We are a multicultural team with roots all over the world. Most of our staff left their own comfort zone by deciding to leave their home country and move to new Zealand. So we have first-hand experience of what it is like to get into new environments and how to cope with new cultures. With this in mind, we are able to provide high quality assistance when it comes to help with any insecurities or struggles regarding a new chapter of your life in a foreign country.
In your opinion, what are the best fields for internships in New Zealand?
I think it depends on what the intern is looking for. We customise our internships to find what they are looking for, so the best field is the one that will help them with their future careers or their university courses.
Going bowling with some of our Wellington interns
Why do you think international internships are important in the world today?
It as an experience which lets you grow, not only through gaining work experience abroad, but, more importantly, to either find out or to strengthen who you are as a person and to figure out where you want to go in life.
Is there anything exciting in the works that we should look out for in 2018?
Wellington is going to be taken over by the International Festival of the Arts so there will be exciting things happening in the city and lots for interns to explore.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The thing I enjoy the most is that every day is different, but still alike. I have a variety of tasks that I have to complete. But the most fun part about my job is traveling! Once a month we fly to Auckland to support our on-site staff and provide a range of events for our interns, such as orientations or socials. Even more fun than that are our weekend trips to Rotorua or Taupo, where we invite all our current interns to have a great time full of fun activities.
