Marketing Guru to be

Wuhooo, I found a great internship (the actual reason why I’m here in Barcelona :P ) and I’m already starting next Wednesday!

When I decided I wanted to go to Spain for my internship my student counsellor recommended me “Alumno Astralis”, this company specialises in finding internships or placements, summer jobs, traineeships and work for (foreign) students across Spain. So I had contact with them, but since I wasn’t speaking any Spanish yet it was difficult for them to promise me an internship already, but because of their “we will keep searching for you till we found you an internship that actually suits you” attitude I was confident enough that they would find me something before the first of September, as long as I was motivated to learn Spanish!

And last Tuesday, after six weeks of Spanish classes I had my first interview…. at an English company! :D

The first thought when I heard that I would have an interview at a really great company was “Ow shit, what do I have to wear?” Offices here in Barcelona are not really formal, actually not even business casual, like Carlos & Robbert sometimes wear shorts & sandals or flip flops to their office! So I didn’t want to go overdressed, like in a suit, but since I knew it’s an English company I certainly didn’t want to go underdressed either! Fortunately my fashion expert “Dragana” was up for a shopping session, I already had a really nice skirt, black/grey, very elegant and stylish, and I found a perfect black really simple but elegant shirt! Combined with black half open shoes, with about 3 cm heels it was a perfect outfit!

So that problem was solved, the next thought was; “where am I going to talk about?” I didn’t want it to be like a boring interview like they asking me stuff about me and I would answer, but I wanted to be able to have a nice conversation, with me having some knowledge already and so being able to ask some intelligent questions as well! Thus I did a lot of research after the company, and the more I found out the more enthusiastic I got! After the research and thinking of some good questions I called Dirk, my brother (he’s studying Human Resource Management) for some last advice, and he told me “Janneke, if he asks you something, think about that question first, then think of an answer, and after you did that you can respond. It’s not a bad thing if there’s a short silence, they will only think that you’re serious and thinking carefully about what you want.” It sounds really simple, to just think, but it was the best advice ever, I know from myself I really can get carried away in the moment when I’m very enthusiastic about something!

The interview was at 16:00, but Carlos (he always has 2 hours siesta/lunch time) and I went there around 14:00 to find out where the company is located and to have some lunch there in the area. And I was getting more nervous every minute, Carlos was making all kinds of jokes, and telling about random stuff to make me more comfortable, which kept me sane a bit. Exactly 4 minutes for four I was about to ring the bell when at that moment a guy walked out of the door and recognized me from my picture on my resume, and he was like “hey, you must be Janneke, I’m so sorry but I haven’t eaten all day, do you mind if we’ll go to that bar over there to have coffee?” And from that moment it was really relaxed, and we were talking all the time, about everything first about the company, about the job, about my interests and experiences, passions… It was great, not scary or uncomfortable at all!! We were talking for about an hour in that bar, and then he showed me the office (they have air conditioning!! ) and the people working there looked really nice, stylish and young!

So after 1 ½ hour I left their office really happy, I made my point, told them I was very motivated and interested, because the internship seems fantastic and perfect for me, and I had the feeling that they were rather interested as well. They would call me the next day, and even though I had a good feeling the day before I was pretty nervous, you never know if something else came up. But he called me and was like “yeah we were very enthusiastic, so when can you start?” I was so happy!! Next week is my last week of school, I’ve got a final test on Wednesday, and if I pass that one I’ve got officially the “intermediate” level. And then at 14:00 I start working! :D

I will keep you informed about my adventure from newbie to marketing guru!