Openess the key to enjoying your internship abroad

 

Dora Salemi, 27, is a member of AIESEC – the world’s largest student driven organization. Last year she joined an AIESEC international internship. 

–  What did you study? Which university did you attend? I graduated in Business and Finance at the University of Palermo.

– What kind of internship did you choose and why? I chose a management internship, a business development position in a start up. I chose it because I am attracted by challenges and I love working in start up projects. I was looking for a small company in order to be able to learn more and faster than what you normally do in a multinational company. My long-term career goal is also to own a business and this internship was a great learning opportunity for that.

–  Which country and which city did you go to? I went to Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

– How long did your internship last? My internship lasted one year, after that I was offered a new contract and stayed longer than planned.

– What was your internship about exactly? My internship was about supporting the creation of a new business and lead the expansion of the brand in Italy, my home country. I was working as country manager for Italy being responsible for sales and marketing strategy in my market and at the same time supporting the expansion strategy in other countries. When I started the company had just been founded, at the moment we managed to enter the Italian market and more than seven other countries.

– Five things you learnt during the internship? 1.I learned about marketing strategies in the context of a new company on the market. 2. I increased my knowledge on  sales and customer care. 3. I learned to work with people coming from different countries and with different backgrounds. 4. I learned a lot about my limits and myself. 5. Then I learned about how to deal with stressing situations when you are out of your comfort zone, as living in a different country can be.

– Why did you choose to go to The Netherlands in particular? I didn’t choose to go there, I was actually looking for a great opportunity to learn, to grow and develop my knowledge. It just happened to be Holland and Amsterdam. I was ready to go anywhere.

– What was the best moment of your experience? The best moment was probably also the worst one. It was in November, a few months after my experience started. After the initial excitement I realized what I was doing, standing on my feet and having control of my life, of my future and of what I really wanted to do. It was the turning point in my experience and I found the strength inside me to pursuit my dreams, despite difficulties.

–  Would you change your experience in any way? I think my experience, as any other experience, is made of good and bad things. I am really happy and satisfied about it, I learned every day something different, professionally but also personally. This is why I would not change anything about it.

– Any suggestions for students who are about to leave on an AIESEC internship? Just be open. Be open to what is new, to what is different, to people. What I think really helps in living fully these experiences is to enjoy every single moment, to share it with new friends and build great memories. It was probably the most important experience in my life so far; I never learned so much and I wish everyone who is leaving for an internship to have the same luck I had.

www.aiesec.org/italy