Absolute Internship

One piece of advice that I would give is to go alone and not go with friends that you already know. By going alone, you get to meet many people and make amazing friendships. As such, if you go with a friend that you already know, you are less likely to step out of your comfort zone and make new friends.

When you undergo an internship abroad, there are no average days. Every day you do new and different things, by making every day exciting and amazing. You do, however, have a routine.

What my friend and I would do is wake up early, have breakfast together and then go to our internships; in the evening, after we finished working, we would all meet up. Every time we would do different things, in the afternoon, like go to the city or the beach, go shopping or go to a museum and so on. I honestly can’t wait to do it again!

My biggest fear before going to Hong Kong was traveling alone. I often fly from the UK to Italy or other European countries, but I never traveled alone to literally the other side of the world. I was very nervous and scared, but thanks to the people working at Absolute Internship, I was able to overcome my fears.

They helped me arrange transportation from the airport in Hong Kong to the hotel, and they also sent me a link to search for a cheaper flight. As such, I felt way more comfortable.

If I could go back in time, one thing that I would do differently during my internship in Hong Kong is applied for a two months internship in Hong Kong instead of one month.

After spending one month in Hong Kong, I felt that I did all of the things on my wish list. However, I enjoyed the experience so much, that I would have loved to stay more, especially since all of the friends that I made a life in different parts of the world, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to see them again.

I believe a combination of communication, transparency and passion are the key to being a successful company. As people in the top section of the hierarchy, it is important to communicate important decisions to the lower parts, meanwhile, lower-level employees should be able to voice their opinion to the higher-level employees. This, together with transparency, creates an open work culture which has been proven – as I learned in business school – to positively affect the output of the business. Additionally, people should not start packing and get their keys out to be ready to leave when the clock strikes 5. If the employees really enjoy what they do and have a passion for their work, they will be willing to work more hours to achieve a certain goal or simply to deliver the best service and in this way allow the company to grow.

In the short time that I have worked at Absolute Internship I have become more confident, a better communicator and learned what it is like to start and expand a company through the behind the scenes exposure to this successful and exciting start-up. From the start, my co-owners really involved me in every decision and made sure I knew that my opinion also matters. I am given a lot of responsibilities, which is challenging to handle when you are new to a job, but that is what I was looking for. I came here to learn and that is exactly what I am doing, every day. Moreover, my ultimate goal is to be an entrepreneur, and working at an international start-up like this, that just keeps growing yet continues to deliver outstanding services, has given me a taste of what it is like running my own company.

The main thing that stood out to me from the beginning was how much each employee loves what they do, as well their ability to motivate their colleagues. Everyone knows the name and interests of each applicant and they all support each other and work incredible hard to find the best internship for every candidate, even if this means working many over-hours.

This is definitely one of the best work environments I have been surrounded by and it is what allows us to provide this unique service the way we do.

It may sound cliché, but to be honest I am always proud to say that I am working at Absolute Internship. Within five years this company has grown immensely, and it continues to do so, with an additional program in Madrid which was only recently created, and the co-owners looking to expand further. To be able to grow so quickly, yet keep improving the service that is delivered is very impressive to me. Yet, if I would have to mention one moment that made me particularly proud it would be when I received a message which mentioned that Absolute Internship is part of “The 10 Best Sites for Finding an Internship in 2016” according to Forbes. But then again, I have not been part of this team for long, and to me the thing that would make me the proudest would be when a student says that we made a difference in their career path or even life, and from what I have heard from my colleagues, this happens often. I could not ask for more.

To be honest, I have heard a lot of stories that brought a smile to my face. One student was talking about how clear it is to her that we love our job and really care about the students. Another student is currently working in a reputable firm and told us how grateful he still is for the opportunities we provided him with. Lastly, it is always awesome to hear when a student is asked to stay at the company after completing the internship and the student accepts, as this means we have done our job well; the student was happy with the internship and we were able to have a positive impact on his or her career path.