How An Overseas Internship Became A Career Starting Point For Linh

When An Opportunity Dropped In

Being an about-to-graduate Marketing student with 2 years of experience in the industry, I was demotivated about jobs relating to my major. My working environment hasn’t been giving me a sense of learning or creating values. Hence, I realized that I had only been doing the things I could do, not necessarily the things that I love and I’m good at doing. 

Then one night, my friend sent me a JD post from AIESEC. I felt like an exciting, brand-new opportunity was coming my way. Not being able to resist the urge to move, I created my CV and portfolio right at the moment. 

Fortunately, my CV got accepted, and they invited me for an interview. I wasn’t the type to prepare every single possible question before an interview. But that time – not only did I prepare all kinds of questions, I also practiced answering them repeatedly. That’s how much I wanted this opportunity. 

On the following day, I received notice that I was accepted into the Business Development Division as a Branding & Partnerships Intern. That was one of my brightest moments in 2021, knowing that my childhood dream of working for a foreign company has come true. My little world has grown a bit larger.

Getting To Know Krona, A Home-Like Marketing Agency 

I don’t have many reminiscences from my first day, to be honest. There wasn’t much. My manager wanted me to take it slow so I wouldn’t get overwhelmed, which was very considerate of them. Then the exciting things started to kick in for the next few days. I was assigned more challenging work, where there was also clear guidance and occasional training from my team.

Before joining the internship, I was worried about how I would blend into such a foreign environment and whether my leaders would be super strict. Surprisingly, my friends and I were all taken aback by the friendly, welcoming atmosphere of Krona.

It’s not the kind of friendliness that we encounter socially. It’s more authentic and sincere – as people in Krona can always figure out a way to make you feel cared for and appreciated. There were tasks that I thought weren’t much of a big deal. But the positive way everyone referred to my work seemed like it was of such value.

The cultural differences weren’t much of a problem as well, nothing like I expected at all. We have the same time zone and also a similar working mindset. Remarkably, the only unaligned thing was our holidays, leading to different holiday breaks.

The Ups and Downs, But Ups Took Majority

My scope of work has an ideal range of tasks, which can help me learn new skills and experience executing them.

One part of my job was branding for Krona, including visuals, blog content, case studies, and social media posts. It’s basically anything that helps people recognize Krona more distinctively as a brand.

The other was to take part in partnerships. I had the opportunity to contact different people from different companies and countries. I’ve joined meetings, learned about the usual meeting flow between two parties.

The branding side seemed easier and gave me a sense of familiarity. I thought that I would be fine since I’ve done this before. But if there’s something I’ve learned here at Krona, it’s “every feedback counts”. I can indeed design and write, but I didn’t have a good enough standard for my creations. My team’s feedback made me realize that I should have higher means and better judgments to acquire the best results.

The task which made me have butterflies in my stomach was conducting meetings with partners. It was brand-new and outside of my comfort zone. I got anxious, not knowing what and how to do things properly. But after trying it out a few times, the sense of adapting came in for a visit and eventually set in.

Now I feel more at ease having small talks at the beginning of the meeting. I can smoothly present the company’s profile, and follow up with the partners afterward.

Personally, I think the hardest thing while doing branding and partnerships is to keep the spirit high. Branding is a foundational step – vital for other activities to function effectively—the same with partnerships.

However, the results are not always immediate. It’s more steady and gradual. You don’t feel the same excitement as successfully signing a contract. Therefore, I had to remind myself about the small but in time impactful results that my creations can bring forth.

Working with my teammates also helped me learn how to plan posts evenly. From creating content to using the google spreadsheet to collect ideas. From making specific schedules to keeping deadlines into account – everything ended up looking immaculate like a white suit. 

Thank You For The Experience

Being an intern for 3 months at Krona gave me attractive prospects for my career. I found two crucial must-know work preferences for me:

• I love including foreign languages in my jobs as much as possible.
• I prioritize a professional yet inspiring and appreciative work environment.

With these two elements, I know that I can perform to the best of my capabilities, willing to devote even to the most frustrating tasks.

Most importantly, I came to realize that I can stay happy while doing work. It shouldn’t be something I have to endure 8 hours per day, longing to go home. Instead, it’s most meaningful when we constantly add value through work and enjoy ourselves simultaneously.