Internship is your first step to career heights

When you are a student, the biggest headache is internships. And it doesn’t matter what year you are in or what you are studying – we start thinking about them in our first years. We are usually afraid to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way the earliest. We think, “I’ll wait a bit longer, maybe something better will come my way.” While collecting these stories, I realized that the most important thing is not to be afraid and to take risks. Sometimes those first opportunities that come your way can be your greatest adventure and a good start to your journey. And sometimes it’s just important to show more enthusiasm. 

Miglė Galvonaitė VU Journalism 2nd year

At the end of the first year of journalism at VU, you must complete a mandatory internship in a regional periodical. You can choose from all cities, except Vilnius. This is, of course, not very convenient for Vilnius residents, but even for them it opens up the opportunity to travel around Lithuania and its smaller towns. Usually, students choose towns where their relatives live, but there are also those who rent apartments or get a dormitory from the university.

I chose to do my internship in Anykščiai because my grandparents live there. Before that, I worked at the Anykščiai radio station “Nykščiai” for three summers, so it was interesting to try out another means of public information – the press. In addition, I have been visiting that city since childhood, spending my summers and major holidays in Anykščiai. It was interesting to get to know the city from a completely different – journalistic side.

The greatest experience is working in the editorial office, when you need to combine your own interests with those of the editor-in-chief, listen to the comments and suggestions of the editorial staff, but at the same time maintain your own style, which, I think, is very important for a journalist. I really liked the fact that I always received help in the editorial office, we analyzed the texts with the editor, she provided comments. I also gained other knowledge - the basics of press photography, text and illustration composition.

The biggest challenge was vox populi (interviewing people on the street). I had already experienced this when I worked in radio, but I hoped that people would gain more courage over the years. I must have been dreaming too much, because as soon as passersby saw me with a camera and a recorder, they would cross to the other side of the street. Even if I managed to get an answer, people would not agree to introduce themselves or take pictures.

During my internship, I realized that you can't have a preconceived opinion about a topic. Every topic, even if at first glance it doesn't seem like it's for you, is interesting. I got a wide variety of topics - I talked to a child and adolescent psychiatrist about suicides, with famous artists from Anykščiai, a traveler from Anykščiai who lived on the island of Bali with her family for several years, and a local beekeeper. They were all very different. I had great doubts about some of the interviews, but now I don't regret anything, because such conversations enriched me as a person.

The internship also helped me to firmly decide on my specialty, because in the first year I had doubts. However, it was during the internship that I realized what field I wanted to work in and that I liked this kind of work. Cons – the town is small, so people are interested in intriguing things, sometimes I just wanted to write beautifully, because even when looking critically, it was not possible to see the problematic in some topics, but the editorial staff encouraged me to look at even such topics from a not too positive angle.

In general, I am satisfied that I completed my internship after the first year, because I don't know if I would still be studying otherwise. In addition, it is during the internship, especially in my specialty, that skills are acquired. You can study the theoretical foundations as much as you want, but you will find your own style and get into shape only by picking up a pen and writing (nowadays - a computer :D).

Jovita Liutkutė KK Greenery and its design 2nd year

I didn't have to look for an internship for a long time. The faculty coordinator gave a lecture about internship opportunities abroad. I just went to the department and was told what would be best. I could choose between going to Portugal or Hungary, because there were already more than one student there. I first chose Portugal, but they didn't need students there, so I sent my documents to Hungary and I'm really glad they didn't accept me to Portugal.

I did my internship at the Experimental and Research Farm of Corvinus University of Budapest. It lasted three months. We worked on plants: planting, propagating, and caring for them. I gained a lot of very useful and valuable practice. I lived near Budapest, in the same area where we worked. The living conditions were bearable – it was livable. I met many interesting people, some of whom I still keep in touch with. Eventually, I got to know and fell in love with Budapest, more and more each time. After my internship, I have been here more than once and plan to visit here many more times. I felt really good while I was there, personally, I didn’t even feel like I was somewhere far from home. When I went to Hungary, I had plans to gain new and valuable experience, get to know a new culture, meet new people – I accomplished everything in spades. It was the best decision of my life.

Austė Telyčėnaitė VU Informatics 4th year

I did a few internships, but I didn't have to look for them for a long time. I didn't search much, I knew where I wanted to go, so I sent my CV, when I was invited, I went for interviews and got the position. I did the internship Danske Bank in the social responsibility department. And also in the RSV agency Nova media.

My activities at the bank were very diverse - I prepared reports, led "Get to Know the Bank" classes for students, participated in the adaptation/testing/revision of an educational game, made phone calls to schools, prepared various presentations, and participated in social responsibility conferences.

At RSV agency, I prepared presentations about social networks, performed their monitoring and analysis. I also contributed to other projects – I recorded events held by clients, participated in business breakfasts, and got to know the life of the agency. I really liked both internships. The most important thing is to look for a place where you really want to work.

Rimgailė Daukšytė VMU Creative Industries 1st year

How did I find my internship opportunity? Several “Introduction to Creative Industries” lectures were given by the well-known producer and showman Gediminas Jaunius. He made an offer to anyone who wanted to – write motivation letters and try to do an internship at the creative house “ELITAZ”. This is probably how 20-25 people were selected and received this opportunity.

We were divided into several "files":

1. Audience animators (from 10 to 20 people)) – these are the people who manage reserved seats, regulate sectors and supervise them during live broadcast;
2. Props (3-5 interns)) – all the things that have to be on stage at a certain time and in a certain place. This is a fun thing to do – to take out all the scenery of the show in three seconds and remain unnoticed;
3. Backstage assistants (4 - 2 girls and 2 guys)) – the girls make coffee and tea, the boys carry sushi, water, and help with props. It seems like a poor position, but they probably made the most acquaintances J;
4. Camera Assistant (1 intern) – runs after the cameraman and holds his cable so that he doesn't trip over it. Cruel, but interesting.
5. Assistants (3 girls)) – Two work with the participants to ensure that they are in the right place at the right time, take care of them and other problems on the air, and one is the producer's assistant, also runs around with a walkie-talkie and script, monitors the time, order and smooth operation of the performances, and helps ensure the quality of the air (for example, a sector "D" sheet can be seen hanging behind Donatas Montvydas' head. My job was to ensure that it disappeared from there in a second. You have to see everything and everywhere, be everywhere and always, know everything about everything and at the same time remain unnoticed. You had to cram so much into your head that it seemed impossible, but you managed).

We worked on Sundays, had to travel Kaunas - Vilnius, Vilnius - Kaunas all December and January 1st (we had to be at the Theater Arena at 11 am, so the train was at 08:09, the day started at 6 am, and after work, the "after", after which we returned at 7 am. A day without sleep, without energy and with an indescribable number of impressions that need to "lie down" in order to be able to describe them. Inexplicably full of the most interesting adventures, emotions, energies, acquaintances and experiences, the practice that will remain in the memory for a long time. Not in vain #visosemocijos

Žydrūnė Rukuižaitė VMU Public Communication 3rd year

When I started looking for an internship, I was just finishing my second year, so no one helped me find an internship, because officially in my specialty, two internships are only done after finishing the third year. But after returning from Erasmus in Turkey, I didn’t want to spend my summer doing nothing. So, I found the five best public relations companies in Lithuania online and simply sent them a cover letter with my CV. A few days later, one company wrote back – VRP "Hill+Knowlton strategies". At first, I tried to negotiate to be accepted as just an intern, because I knew that I wasn't allowed to do an internship yet, but the company demanded a tripartite contract, so while I was still in Turkey, I made arrangements with both the university and the host company. When I returned, all that was left was to sort out the formalities.
How was the company itself? The first impression was confusion. There are ~25 people working in the organization, all busy with different jobs and it seems like they manage to do everything and don't get confused about who is responsible for what, but the point is very simple - all employees have their own team, consisting of 4-5 people, and sometimes one person, and each team has its own separate clients with whom they work. So, the entire organization consists of many small teams. I got into a team with one person for my internship (as I later realized, she works alone because she is competent enough to do it). In addition to me, 7 other interns were doing their internship in the organization, so it's easy to calculate that even a quarter of the company's employees are interns J.

Did the internship meet my expectations? It definitely did, because I saw the whole kitchen, how everything works in the field of public relations, I was given unimaginable tasks, because of that I felt like a very important part that month, well, at least in the projects I contributed to, and it's even more fun when now, half a year later, I can see what I contributed to on television. Another great thing was that a lot of attention is paid to the interns. Every week, we, the interns, had meetings, during which we could ask the managers about the specifics of their work, about the difficulties they face while doing such work, about everything. This only proves that they pay a lot of attention to the interns, as it turned out later, even a third of the employees stayed here after the internship. Wow, sum of sums, I was lucky with my internship, maybe because I found it myself, maybe because I just got into a good company, but I'm not complaining, and although I only interned for a month, it's possible to get to know the job that awaits you in the future in that amount of time.

Rūta Mejerovičiūtė KTU Human Resources Management (Leadership) Graduate

Well, I started thinking about internships when I was already “back against the wall”. What does that mean? I knew that I would have to do it in my final year while writing my bachelor’s thesis. I had just recently returned from Erasmus and was seriously considering doing it abroad. I knew from the very beginning that internships were the biggest investment in my future career path (now I really know this). So, I purposefully chose a country – Ireland. It is a country that speaks the most beautiful English, so I started my search there – I found a couple of serious companies, one of them Proctor Gamble. Of course, I always dreamed of Microsoft and other big names – just think what my CV would have looked like! However, life determined that during my studies I came across an unrealistic team, opportunities and the best university, which gave me the opportunity to go to the USA to present my team’s business idea. It was that project that determined that I stayed in Lithuania, missed all the selections for Erasmus internships and, of course, those wonderful internships that could have been. I really didn’t get upset and started looking in Lithuania, simply rearranging my life plan. So what’s this? A great website – “gerapraktika.lt”. I registered and found a bunch of internships. My studies at the time revolved around Human Resources, so the direction was appropriate – the Personnel Department. I found an advertisement that Omnitel is looking for an intern in the HR department. I sent both my CV and a cover letter. I found their ads on other portals, I applied to the same place through other portals - I stubbornly wanted to get there!

Why Omnitel? Of course, I had other options, such as internships at a university and at one of the largest aviation companies, but Omnitel I've been really fond of them for a long time. I'm a loyal customer and I've always admired them. Plus, I was already writing my CV in my imagination: "Who doesn't know Omnitel"? ". I tried to write down the university in the same place, but let's think about what it looks like here? "You didn't find anything, so you "wrote down" an internship at the university."

I was in several interviews. They were held in Vilnius, so I had to drive around. My HR colleagues conducted the interviews very professionally, and when asked where I would like to be in 5 years, I smiled and replied that I would be in her place. While still participating in the interview, I realized that I wanted to work here, to learn everything she knows. I wanted to be a true professional, and where could I learn that? Only by being together in the HR department.

My enthusiasm and initiative captivated Omnitel the HR department and 20 minutes after leaving the office I was invited to do an internship Omnitel In the personnel department.

Location – Vilnius. I didn't have any more lectures because I was in my final year. I agreed with the company that they would release me when needed, so there were no problems. I also quickly found a place to live, so the investment in my future began.

I was a full-fledged employee, I was definitely not a messenger. My colleagues were friendly, they constantly took me with them to interviews and meetings, taught me, trusted me, and brought me coffee (after all, interns Omnitel coffee is not brewing).

During those 3 months, I not only learned what the HR department was, but I also learned a lot. I saw the entire kitchen. I fell in love with this company, its employees, and the job itself.

And what happened after that? I stayed working. After the internship, I was offered to stay and help my colleagues with their work. I agreed without hesitation – there was still something to learn, and during the internship I saw that this kind of work simply reveals me, I want to grow and improve here. And an international company is simply that “mother” that tends to raise you!

In the summer, I selected students for internships myself. I admired the students who came to interviews, who agreed to “sacrifice” their summer for the sake of finding out who they wanted to be, what suits them and what they like. According to their CVs, I saw that there were some who had been doing internships constantly during their studies. Perhaps skeptics will say: “so why work for someone here for free if you can get paid?”. A voluntary internship looks much more serious on your CV than a waitress’ job (as a girl from HR who reads over a hundred CVs a day will tell you). It all depends on your motivation and your attitude towards internships. Of course, if there is no opportunity to do an internship in another city, you can always find one in your city of study – after all, there are internships that you can come to from time to time, not for a full-time job. An internship is your first step to the heights of your career.

Tip – don’t be afraid of an internship that lasts 3 months. The first month you learn, the second you work, and the third month you show initiative and can notice processes that you can improve. That 3rd month is your “time to shine especially”.

 Author: Paulina Rugyte