Reports
BUSINESS & MARKETING
Reese Isacson @ Tubics Spring 24
Background
I am studying Economics, Political Science & Law. The reason why I chose this internship is because of my love and background for YouTube, and as I mentioned to my mentor in the job interview, whilst I have never produced a YouTube video, my childhood best friend (a film student in San Diego) has, and I have been the “star” in many of them.
Internship
As a Marketing and Sales intern, I had numerous responsibilities which will prepare me as an individual for my future careers. In short, through working in the tubics database, as well as being present in meetings within the sales team, I saw how the backend of the salesforce operates, which provided me with much needed insight into the industry, and helped prepare me for my summer internship.
Takeaways
I would say overall, the workplace experience here was much more focused on helping and nurturing me with my needs, whereas in America, sometimes employers may not care much about your personal life or busy schedule, they just want to see the task at hand be completed. Here however, there is much more of a balance between work and personal life, and it is rewarding as an employee to feel that radiated from your bosses.
Advice for future Vienna Plus students
I would suggest trying to get on a set schedule early on, as to which days you will be completing your work. You should also try to go into the office, instead of opting for hybrid work, as comparing my experience with those of my peers who worked in a hybrid-online environment, I believe I was able to take away much more than they were.
Nina Velasco @ Sindbad Fall 23
Background
I was drawn into working with Sindbad due to their mission to help the youth with guidance during such an important time in their lives. This program isn’t only for disadvantaged but for all students which I think is valuable to everyone involved. I personally am passionate about this type of work because I was in foster care for a year during high school, so it is important for me that students who need advice on how to proceed with their lives receive it. The other reason I was drawn to Sindbad is because I was looking for an internship similar to film and television and social media and marketing was the closest option. I was intrigued by the marketing side of a business since it is useful knowledge to have and helped me understand how to market films better.
Internship
During my time in Vienna, I was a social media and marketing intern at Sindbad, a social business that focuses on pairing young students with young adults to help them with their future endeavors. The program lasts for one year at a time in which the mentors and mentees get to know each other, attend life skill-building workshops and decide whether they want to continue with their education or join the work force. My responsibilities as an intern were to capture photos and videos of the various events they hold to be posted as Instagram reels or stories. This included working with the mentors and mentees and conversing with them in German to take photos and videos of them.
Takeaways
My time at Sindbad allowed me to become more adaptable as I needed to adapt to any conversation topic in German or executing a video or photo shot that was unplanned. This internship also helped me improve my communication skills since it was crucial to ensure no information was lost in translation. Both skills will be useful to me as a screenwriter since I will need to have thorough communication in a writer’s room to make sure everyone understands how a storyline or scene should be written along with adapting to any new ideas or working around plot holes.
Alex Lukas @ Eaton Spring 22
Background
I chose this internship because of the opportunity it had to diversify my marketing background. Eaton is a B2B company in terms of marketing (business to business), and I had only worked with B2C (business to customer) marketing before. I saw an opportunity to expand my background, as well as network with others in an international setting.
Internship
My first project, which has been ongoing since the start of my internship, involves gathering information to update Eaton’s SharePoint. I work in the Electrical Systems and Services Division (ESS), and my role has been meeting with different department leads.
Another project that I worked on was developing blog articles for Eaton’s re-issue of transformers. I believe that this blog article helped me improve my critical writing abilities as well as learn how to market from a B2B angle. I believe that I was able to enhance many skills and develop completely new ones during this internship. The first main skill that I developed was a strong “elevator pitch.” Over the course of my internship, I had a multitude of meetings with department heads and employees in different roles. Another skill I developed was cross-cultural communication. I met with colleagues from the Netherlands, South Africa, Vienna, Turkey, and the UK to name just a few countries. Everyone has a unique working style and approach to our meetings. I was able to adjust and adapt during these calls, and it taught me the value of being open minded during all meetings and approaches to working internationally. I am grateful to the Illinois in Vienna Programs and Eaton for giving me this fantastic experience. I know now that I would love to work abroad, and I am hoping to be back in Vienna one day!
Advice for future Vienna Plus students
Have guidelines set in the beginning meetings with your internship mentors to make the most of your semester.
