The journey has just begun! My internship to landing a job...

Hi Fellow ICC Blog Readers,

My name is Emiliana, I'm from Indonesia, and I was a former intern at InterConnect Cafe (ICC). I'm presently working as a Digital Marketing intern for the NYC firm (Techolution - IT consultant & Software company). Today, I'd want to discuss how ICC has aided my professional development.

When I graduated from university in 2019, I had no professional qualifications that could help me get a suitable career, so I went from one location to another for interviews that didn't go well, and then I started working at a café to make ends meet.I chose Digital Marketing as the skill I wanted to master (I made a commitment to myself that I wanted to picture myself as a Digital Marketing specialist 5 years from now) and began to enrol in free online courses while working at the café.

After a few months, I finally understood the fundamentals of digital marketing, so I decided to put my limited knowledge to use. I applied to various internship programmes that I found on LinkedIn, both locally and globally, and despite the fact that my English was fairly basic, I forced myself to step outside of my comfort zone. I didn't get several good responses, and I was denied several times. I couldn't blame them; who wants to recruit inexperienced workers like me? I reasoned. Ayesha unexpectedly invited me to an interview; we had the interview, and she offered me a three-month internship. You have no clue how excited and nervous I felt at the same moment. There were so many things running through my head, like how am I going to accomplish this and that, what type of work am I going to undertake? Then I had my first meeting with another intern, Urvashi; before the meeting, I attempted to memorize all of the basics that I needed to learn, but they all faded; I was terrified and feared I was going to be fired on the first day.

However, the meeting turns out to be a training session for some marketing techniques used by ICC. During the first week of my internship, I learned a lot of tools and skills, how to create a blog, how to supervise a meeting in small breakout rooms every Thursday, and how to send a lot of emails to IB schools in Southeast Asia asking for collaborations. I learned so much while interning at ICC. I got to work with individuals from all over the world (India, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Jordan, and Lithuania). Most importantly, the link between the interns and the leader was really strong, and I was quick to connect with them. We did discuss many personal ideas and beliefs, as well as our personal lives. Working with the ICC teams makes me feel as though I had other sisters all around the world; it may seem dramatic, but that's how I felt. They treated me as though we'd known one other for years.

After completing my internship last year, I was offered several successful marketing jobs with some colleagues and worked part-time at a Canadian firm (Telus International) for a short period of time. Because of my skills at ICC and other projects, I felt confident enough to seek for another position at a large corporation; the IT firm was at the top of my list. I had the opportunity to do interviews at two separate firms three months ago (an IT company and Healthcare-startups). One thing that amazed me was that the healthcare startups offered me some incredible benefits (including an apartment) and I got to choose the salary (so I picked the big one), and they agreed in a without hesitation. As a human being, I was thinking that this must be some kind of swindle, but I did some research before the interview, and I knew the company was credible, and what they offered to me has been almost the same as what they offered to the other employees. So I asked the interviewer (he was the CMO) "why did you agree to my demand," and he said, "I looked at your CV, and I discovered that you wrote blog posts for a foreign company and your other skills with marketing tools that meet our requirements, which is why I hope you can relocate and work with us." I was taken aback by his statement; the blog post I wrote only for ICC provided me with a roadmap for my career; the IT firm also interviewed me because of my blueprint, and it was the first time I had the opportunity to select which company I wanted to work for.

After a prolonged interview process that lasted about a month, I eventually signed a contract with an IT firm a few months ago. That is why I want to thank Ayesha, the Founder & CEO at Interconnect Cafe, for giving me the opportunity to work at ICC considering my limited abilities and fluency in English. Perhaps the words "thank you" are insufficient, but I am eternally thankful for the time I spent at ICC. Thank you  Ayesha and the entire intern team for teaching me so many useful skills, and thank you for providing such an incredible opportunity for inexperienced individuals like me, as well as the incredible welcoming environment. The lesson I want to convey to everyone who reads this is that no matter how limited your knowledge of one subject is, you can aim toward expanding your horizons and pursue new interests. You should have the willpower and energy to seek out people who will encourage and support you; for me, this group included the entire ICC team.

Best Always, Liana

If you ever want to reach out to me, here is my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emiliana-samangun-506157159/

Thank you for being a part of Interconnect Cafe and contributing to the organization's growth & progress. We wish you only the very best in all your future endeavours! You will always be a part of the ICC Family. Love, Team ICC

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Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the blog post belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the organisation, blog owner and/or management. The blog owner and management take no responsibility for the material's authenticity and/or accuracy.