My first week in Berlin treated me better than I could have imagined. I tried many new foods and drinks and saw many different places. I had Currywurst for the first time this past week, and it was delicious! During our orientation, we visited many historical landmarks and even some companies based out of Berlin. Two tours that we took which I found particularly fascinating were a tour of the company, Zalando, and the new Amazon building that is under construction in Eastern Berlin. The employees of Zalando showed us all around their innovative building and educated us on the environmental regulations that every company in Berlin must follow. It was interesting to hear about how important being green is for companies, especially compared to businesses in the United States. As for the Amazon tour, we strapped on our boots and tightened our hard hats to be lifted over thirty floors. While riding an elevator strapped onto the side of an unfinished building was pretty nerve-racking, it was unlike anything I had ever done before. We went all the way to the roof, which presented us with a breathtaking view of Berlin. It was genuinely fascinating to see what daily work life looks like in Berlin.
My internship with Kietzee officially starts tomorrow morning, and I cannot wait to get started. While I do still have some nerves about beginning my first internship, this opportunity will be one that I will remember for the rest of my life. Kietzee is a web-based company based out of an office called the Impact Hub here in Berlin. The Impact Hub is an office center that hosts many different start-up companies, including Kietzee. I will be working as a part of their marketing team to help with market research, developing marketing strategies, and keeping track of their effectiveness. A significant factor in marketing is communication. Most marketing projects require collaboration between colleagues, which can only be done with effective communication. During the next eight weeks I will be working, I want to focus on improving my communication capabilities, as these skills will help me immensely with my future positions.
Another strength that is quite crucial to completing projects is organization and time management. I will have to manage my time wisely to finish projects within a reasonable time frame. Outside of work, I will also need to practice my time management. I enjoy lifting, and if I intend to get in a workout every day, this will require me to wake up early in the morning before my internship begins. Additionally, Berlin is a very large and spread-out city. I have many different places I want to go and sites that I want to see. I will have to manage my weekend time and time after work wisely if I intend to go to all the places I hope to see. Germans are known for punctuality, which means being late for anything is unacceptable. To avoid this scenario, I plan to leave extra early tomorrow morning to avoid any issues that may arrive, such as a late train.
The last skill that I want to develop further over the next two months is my ability to be adaptive and flexible to changes. Marketing has become a primarily digital industry which means advances and new technology is being developed daily. So far, living in a foreign country, which is a significant change, has helped me improve this skill. Since arriving, I have had to face many changes, such as language barriers, unfamiliar locations, and even learning how to use the train. All of these challenges I have overcome so far make me confident that I will be able to adapt quickly to any new changes thrown my way. I intend further to develop this skill with the help of my internship by constantly seeking out new ways that I could improve Kietzee’s marketing. I plan to practice taking initiative in the work environment and making suggestions when possible.
Overall, I am very excited to begin my journey with Kietzee. I feel as though my nerves will be put to rest after I develop my daily routine and see what work life at Kietzee consists of day to day. I intend to be very involved and learn as much as possible from this experience. I know that there will be many challenges I have to face, but these obstacles will only help to develop my skills further and make me a more assertive business professional.