01. 08. 2018
The majority of internships tend to follow a similar design: join a company, have your expectations shattered (negatively for the most part), bring some coffee here and there, print a document or two, and go home.
This was not one of them. This internship was an eye-opening experience in the technological start-up world. From the beginning, I was told SKOUMAL is not your typical company and while I wanted to believe it, I didn’t. After all, isn’t every company supposed to think highly of themselves? Still, I had my doubts as to what would be so different. Wow, was I wrong…
Easy beginnings
From the first e-mail, I felt welcomed. It was Zuzana, or just Zuzka for us, who assured me that the process of recruitment and selection is quick and easy. And it was. Maybe a month after applying the company confirmed their internship offer and that was it. We agreed on a starting date and one month later my internship began.
Throughout our e-mail communication, Zuzka tried to establish the difference between most companies. It wasn’t a hierarchical structure which required ideas to go through a number of people before being implemented a year later. It was the opposite.
Work, freedom & fun
Communication was easy and implementation fast. More importantly, it didn’t feel like work. It was more like productive fun. The meetings in the office weren’t boring, time-consuming and ultimately useless. They were engaging, fast-paced and incredibly effective. It was all fun discussions between friends who wanted to do something interesting for themselves and for others. Plus, office meetings usually started or ended with us having lunch somewhere or ordering in. Yum!
What impressed me most, and I highly appreciate this, was their consideration of my opinion and ideas. The easy access to everyone in the company and their support was very welcome. This pushed me to speak up and offer help in areas which might not have been included in my “job” description. Sure, I had my daily responsibilities. But I was also given the chance to expand both my personal and the company’s horizons in various fields. The freedom with which I was provided was unexpected but well-received.
Flowing from the above-mentioned aspects, I really felt like part of the team. Internships are short by nature and being welcomed with open arms from the first day is very important for building quality relationships with your colleagues. I can gladly say I made a few friends during my short time there.
To wrap up, I believe I learned a lot during my internship and if I could choose – I would happily do it all over again.