The first month - English

After catching my breath, new impressions were already waiting for me. When I first arrived at my internship, I was very curious but also a bit uncertain about what the days would look like. After all, you spend 5 out of 7 days a week at your internship, and in my case, in an office.

In the first week, the woman who was supposed to supervise me wasn’t present, but an IT team helped me set up some shared documents on my laptop, which turned out to be their folder structure. That week, I started by getting to know my colleagues, figuring out my school assignment, and setting up this blog.

Tip: Really give yourself time to settle in so you can start your internship with a clear mind. Also, take plenty of rest, as working 40 hours a week in an office can be quite an adjustment and tiring during the first weeks.

I was very excited to learn about being a wedding planner and all the things that come with it. However, I found out that all the wedding planners at my company, Vara Wedding, have their own clients, making it difficult for me to take over any tasks. I felt more like a helper than an intern, and after a month, there hasn’t been much improvement in this. I don’t know if it’s necessarily their fault, but this seems to be their usual working method. It’s not possible for me to take on an entire client since the process of planning a wedding takes longer than my internship period. I’ve asked multiple times for more or different tasks, but unfortunately, there were not many to be given. So, it’s time for action. This didn't mean that I did nothing, because I definitly helped all the wedding planners, attended meetings and attended weddings, but most of my days were just not filled the entire day.

This kind of situation can happen abroad and is not unusual. Many fellow interns face this issue, and you’re never alone. It’s frustrating because it can feel like a false start, and it certainly does for me. In terms of quality, internships abroad can sometimes be less fulfilling than those in the Netherlands, but when it comes to personal development and world knowledge, you are definitely more stimulated. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any challenges in your internship tasks, so it’s very important to stay on top of this and always stay in communication with your academic supervisor and internship mentor.

Tip: Ask for the contact details of previous interns, as they already have experience with the company and can often give you lots of tips and tricks. This can be about anything, from communication to internship tasks, and they often have a lot of information that can be useful for your internship report.

Better to borrow good ideas than to come up with bad ones, and it will save you a lot of time! 😉

Aside from the somewhat slow integration, I’ve definitely seen and learned some interesting things. I’ve attended meetings with clients along with other wedding planners, spoken with external parties, and attended a wedding. During the wedding, I worked from 10 a.m. until 1 a.m. Of course, this is more than the 8 hours you’re officially supposed to work each day, but sometimes your internship may require this of you.

Tip: Always make sure that overtime is discussed properly with your internship supervisor. Also, keep a detailed record of your hours, as it may be possible that if you reach your 800 hours (100 days) sooner, you can finish your internship earlier. Always discuss this with student affairs, your academic supervisor, and the internship coordinators.

During my internship, I’ve immediately encountered one of my weaker "Professional Skills"—Excel skills. As a student, you’re used to everything being on Blackboard, but once you start working at an internship company, you’ll have to work with completely different programs. I can already tell that I’ve grown in this area. So if you’re not great with technical stuff like me, don’t worry, because I already know more than ever! Additionally, communication skills, cultural skills, and presentation skills are being put to the test. Personal growth is definitely there, and maybe even more so in an internship abroad than in a familiar country. On top of that, everything is in English, so your language skills will also improve.