Newsflash: an internship is so much more than just a university requirement! For many, it’s your first taste of how the real world works. Out you go under the comfortable confines of school and org work, and in you venture into the hustle and bustle of real-life work. It’s an exciting opportunity to put the concepts and ideas you’ve learned in class into practice, as well as to network and make meaningful professional connections along the way.
Also up for grabs in the internship sweepstakes: your first post-college job? If you play your cards right, then you’ve got it! Need convincing? We speak with four Brevo interns-turned-employees about their first internships and how it has enriched their current flourishing careers.
The following interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
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Back in June 2019, I was looking for an internship to fulfill my college requirements. Thankfully, my brother used to be co-workers with Brevo’s senior designer Gab, who shared an open call for graphic design and copy interns. This caught my brother’s attention, and not so long after, I applied.
I consider Brevo to be my introduction into the world of advertising. Before my internship, I had zero knowledge about writing copy. Most of my experience with writing had to do with making thought pieces for Young STAR or feature articles for The GUIDON. I wanted to expand my horizons and try something new.
Previously, I heard a lot of bad things about agency life, especially regarding the workload, the hours, and the horrible clients. I’m happy to say these were things I never experienced in Brevo! I saw it for myself how this agency valued proper work hours as much as they valued having fun.
This is what I loved most about my internship experience: it changed my perception of agency life and taught me a lot about what an ideal agency can be. Moreover, I loved being exposed to a group of hardworking, extremely creative, and crazy fun people!
I did face a few challenges in my internship, especially when it came to getting into the copywriter mindset. Coming in, I barely had any idea on how to write proper copy. This made me feel incompetent and a bit like an impostor at times, but I kept reminding myself that I chose to intern in Brevo to learn and hone this specific skill.
What really helped me overcome these feelings were Brevo’s Bootcamps, a series of short-but-fun tasks that really challenged me to think outside the box. Apart from that, everyone in the office was so accommodating and inspirational, and all this really helped me become the copywriter I am today.
I remember Bettina, one of my supervisors, told me that Brevo wanted to recruit me as part of the team as soon as I graduate, and I kept that in mind. After grieving my last few days of school (and my youth), I shot my shot and DM’d Carissa on Instagram to ask if there were any job openings.
A month later, I had my interview with (Brevo’s CEO) Imran, which honestly felt more like a catch-up than a job interview. Lo and behold, by August I spent my days on my desk writing copy for a leading cake company. The rest was history!
If we’re talking numbers, quite a lot has changed in Brevo since I’ve joined as an intern. I’m happy to see new faces and new talents in the team, even if it’s just through my computer screen. I’m very proud of the agency’s efforts to expand and still maintain the same warm company culture from my intern. Most especially, years later, I still love seeing my concepts and copy come to life once our artists apply their magic.
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During my junior year as a Computer Science undergrad, I was looking for a company to intern in for my practicum semester. My best friend, a previous Brevo intern, recommended the agency to me and said many nice things about their work culture. Although they didn’t really have any openings for tech-related positions, I took a chance and sent in my resume.
After my first interview with Imran, I could tell that Brevo was different from the other companies I interviewed for. During our meeting, we talked about not just the value I could bring to the Brevo team, but also what value this internship would bring me.
Thanks to the pandemic, I had to complete my internship from home. Admittedly, I was pretty disappointed at first. But after getting to know the Brevo team through my laptop screen and countless Skype messages, I felt right at home. I loved how everyone was very welcoming and fun, proving that the warm work culture I heard so much about existed beyond the four walls of a physical office.
I did face a few challenges as an intern. As I haven’t met any of my coworkers in person, I found it challenging to coordinate with everyone for my daily tasks. At the time, Brevo didn’t have a resident web developer, so I was hesitant in asking anyone for help for the longest time. Eventually though, I fell in love with learning on my own pace and terms, which made me comfortable enough to talk to my co-workers and ask how I could help them too.
Towards the end of my internship, I saw that my load for the next semester was pretty light and that I’d have an ample amount of free time. So I took my chance and asked Imran if they were open to hiring me as a part-time web developer for the next few months. Although they generally didn't hire part-timers, he told me it was something he and my other supervisors were already considering! And that’s how I got my first real job.
It didn’t take much convincing for me to believe each Brevo team member had their own unique and charming quirks. The cherry on top is really how easily we seem to work together even during the new normal. I fell in love with the company’s innate system of collaboration during the lockdown, and how they provided clients with well-thought-out, top-tier creative work. I was stuck in a technical mindset care of my course, so being surrounded with all this creativity while I practiced web dev is incredibly refreshing.
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Looking for an unforgettable creativity-filled first internship? Shoot your shot and send your resume and portfolio to [email protected]o now!
