My name is Simran Bherwani, I am a Marketing Ambassador at Glion and today I will be sharing with you another successful internship story. This time, it’s Lauriane Lager, a Glion Master’s in International Hospitality Business student who undertook an exciting and challenging internship in Glion’s marketing department and succeeded very well!
Glion considers real-world experience a very crucial component of learning, and because of this they offer internships too! That is how Lauriane found hers.
“I was still in the beginning of the process of applying for internships when the first Covid-19 wave hit in March 2020. But in July 2020 I went through the recruitment process for the position of marketing intern at Glion, in which I did my internship!”
“I saw the offer I received in marketing as a chance to discover and develop my skills in a different area…”
It is well said that knowledge is power! Lauriane grabbed the opportunity she received and made it a great learning experience. At times, we do not receive the exact thing we are looking for, but that can help us unlock new interests and career lines.
“I first looked for programs and internships in revenue management! But my curiosity always pushes me to grab opportunities when they present themselves. I saw the offer I received in marketing as a chance to discover and develop my skills in a different area than the one I looked at in a first place. I am convinced that everything we learn is useful and transferable. If a beautiful opportunity presents, even if it is not your first plan, grab it! You’ll see it always leads to positive experiences.”
What inspired Lauriane to work in the marketing department?
“I was never looking for a particular place for my internship. I was above all looking for an internship experience that would bring me opportunities to grow professionally and on the personal plan. For the organization, since I have previously mainly worked in small organizations, I really wanted to go for a large company with an international set up, to learn how to deal with collaborators from all over the world and have missions which would expose me to work with different departments.”
It is evident that through this internship Lauriane got to encounter the work culture and routine in a different department than the one she originally aimed at working in. Additionally, as she was given the opportunity to collaborate with different departments within Glion, she enhanced her communication and collaboration skills.
What are her thoughts about this internship?
“My internship was the perfect wrap up to my Master’s in International Hospitality Business program. I had the chance to work with a highly professional team, which gave me autonomy in my projects and a plurality of different tasks. I discovered and learned a lot, in the best conditions I could wish for. In my internship at Glion, my main responsibilities were to:
- Participate in social media community management
- Manage updates and improvement of existing content on various digital properties including the brand website, glion.edu
- Coordinate video filming and editing, photo shoot
- Create copy and visual assets for printed assets
- Foster the student engagement on both Swiss campuses
- Liaise with faculty, staff (i.e. internship & career departments), students and alumni to generate content opportunities
- Leverage relevant campus events to create stories and interviews
- Support the planning and organization of online and physical events such as webinars, open days, graduation ceremonies
- Analyze the data of student satisfaction end of semester surveys
- Coordinate with a team of 13 ambassador students, assigning them projects, supporting their learning in marketing by providing them with training and feedback, and following their progress.”
“No day looked like the previous one.”
Let’s look at the challenges, as well as at the most enjoyable parts of Lauriane’s internship. “One thing that was very challenging at first was to assert myself in my position of staff, after being a student. The most enjoyable part of the internship was to be given so many different tasks in marketing, enabling me to discover and learn. No day looked like the previous one. Seeing the projects I was given succeeding was highly satisfying.”
Support from Glion
Glion had helped prepare Lauriane for her internship in several ways, practical and academic. Applying the knowledge learned at Glion to her internship made her more efficient and confident, while simultaneously, helping her to impress her employer!
“The thing that I learned during my studies at Glion that I applied the most during my internship is actually a soft skill, which is highly important in my opinion: time management. Also, the customer focus: you need to be able to understand the customer, what their wants and needs are and how to accommodate them in the best manner. One thing that I have learned in a more academic side, is how precious data is, and how to analyze it in the most efficient way using the right tools. I had to apply that during my internship, and this takeaway from my Master’s was a precious one.”
“…it made me understand what components I will need in my job to wake up being happy to go to work.”
The marketing internship enabled Lauriane to further explore her career aims. “My internship gave me a better idea of my future career aims and it made me understand what components I will need in my job to wake up being happy to go to work. Regarding the tasks, to have interactions and human contact is highly important to me. In terms of organization, to be part of a company with which you share values and to have a manager valuing your work and supporting your growth and work/life balance are also key points.
“During my internship I discovered that I want to work in a field where human contact is omnipresent. I need these interactions to be passionate about my job. Thanks to my boss, I have also discovered the type of manager I would like to be in the future, and the importance of emotional intelligence to manage well. My internship taught me so much in terms of both marketing and soft skills that it changed my career goals. It also led me to find my current job as PR Coordinator at Sommet Education, the parent company of Glion!”
