As a student of a business school in my native country of France, I have been learning marketing and sales through many different courses. Having an internship for this summer was a top priority for me. It’s the difference between the theory and practice. The internship at Interpro was an ideal opportunity for me to learn new skills and how theories I have learned in the classroom would apply to a real business.
When I first came to work at Interpro I was worried about the following:
– Do I know enough about marketing and sales to be helpful?
– Do I know enough about Excel to be effective with data projects?
– Do I know enough about Interpro and its services?
– Is my English level good enough to be understood?
I realized that the theory is only something on paper. Things move much faster in the business environment. You learn a lot more when you are directly in a company, and all those questions were answered pretty quickly- I have a lot left to learn!
Hands on experience
This summer internship at Interpro has been a really good experience for me. I have been learning about all aspects of how a professional translation company operates. I realized my concerns were just normal things to try and not to dwell too much negative focus on them. My coworkers are very encouraging. They explained to take things one at a time and focus on the best we can do at Interpro. This is helpful.
One of the main things I have learned was how to use Salesforce.com online software which is a customer relation tool and is really helpful in the data management for the sales team. I never used it in France, because at the moment it’s not really known there, but I’m sure it will expand. This software can be very useful to any company I believe.
Working a trade show booth
Next, a key thing that I have learned was how to interact with potential clients and explain who Interpro really is. This I learned from my colleagues. One of the first weeks of my internship was a large trade show called the IRCE, which is a show that appealed to customers looking to translate their website into multiple languages. I was very excited to prepare and go to this big show with the sales team. It was impressive, in fact in France our shows are a lot smaller than that from my experience, and our approach is different of the American one. It was a great experience, I loved it, and the fact that I experienced how to deal with a potential customer in a different way, than how I was taught in school gave me a lot more perspective about how to do it in the best way possible.
How about my English skills? I can’t really judge by myself on that point, but everyone is really nice here and has provided constructive feedback to me. As for a social life outside Interpro, I have gotten some comments on my English accent. Some people ask where I am from to have this accent. The comments I get are mostly really positive though! It is a good conversation starter at the very least.
Final thoughts?
Overall, I feel I progressed a lot in every aspect during my internship. This is due to the nice staff and ability to help in many areas of the company. I feel like a big part of the team and not just simply an intern, and this is a very rewarding feeling!