Anne Rinket is a third year IRIO student who has been doing an internship during the first Semester of the academic year 2022/2023 at the NGO Street Child Netherlands in their office in Barcelona.
Could you give us a short introduction about yourself?
“My name is Anne, I come from Groningen, am currently in my third year of my Bachelor's, and I am doing an internship at the NGO Street Child here, in their office in Barcelona. Originally, I decided to do an internship because it is important to me to gain a lot of practical experience. I have to mention, that I am doing this internship for five months instead of the typical two months during the Minor. That does mean that I am only gaining fifteen ECTS with this internship, so I will have to do fifteen ECTS later in my studies. However, this is an investment I am glad of making. Even more now, that I have stayed here for 5 months and still wish it would have been longer. Especially when you are in another country, five months makes it easier for you to really adjust and arrive fully in the new surrounding and even culture. I decided to spend five months in my internship to get more experience, to have time to get used to working at an office, gain more skills, and be able to use them to a greater extent.”
What does your job entail? Why did you choose it?
“Street Child is an NGO with projects in over 22 countries across Africa and Asia. I am working at Street Child Netherlands, which means that my job is concerned with Dutch companies and projects. I would say that more than 60% of the time I am in contact with foundations and corporates in the Netherlands and asking them if they want to support any of our projects. Therefore, I am e-mailing a lot with them, writing project proposals and the reports our cooperators get after a year of them funding us to show them what the project they are involved in has achieved.
Besides that, I also have many administrative tasks, including the track-keeping of donations and other organizational work. Another aspect of my responsibility is communication work, concerning the website, social media, newsletter, etc. of Street Child Netherlands. Furthermore, I’m often organizing files and trying to improve the information-sharing process within the organization. So, you can see, that there is a big variety of different tasks that fall under my “jurisdiction” – making the job challenging but also even more interesting.
I chose this internship because I have always been interested in NGOs, as I want to improve the lives of others, whilst still reflecting on the position and life that I was born into. When looking for an internship, I found myself agreeing with many approaches and values Street Child is representing. Aspects like the localization of their projects, meaning that local teams with local staff are running them, were very important to me. I wanted to be part of something that is helping others to the outcome of them being able to help themselves in the long run. Ideally, I think one should not interfere with other countries apart from their own, however, there are beautiful organizations that help other cultures and countries respectfully, who establish projects with the incentive of leaving the people with tools to continue their work on their own. I found this in Street Child Netherlands and am very glad about that.”
How did you find this opportunity? Was the application process difficult?
“The Career Website brought me to this internship, funny enough. During my first two years of Uni, I was part of the Support and Photo Committee of CLIO, which is how I knew about cliocareer.
No, the process was very comfortable. First of all, it is run by interns. There is a manager overseeing the recruitment, but the application processes for interns is mostly done by interns themselves, creating a very nice atmosphere. It was less intimidating than I imagine other interviews to be. The first interview was therefore just with three interns to get to know one another. After that interview, I received a one-page assignment in which I had to write an e-mail draft to a foundation I had to find myself. In this email, I was supposed to introduce Street Child to the foundation and the project I would like them to fund. Then I had a second interview and was accepted afterward.”
How relevant do you think previous experience (internships / IRIO courses / etc.) is for the position?
“I did not do any internships before but had some work experience where you had to think about planning and time management. I gained some know-how in customer service, and this turned out to be very convenient. The keyword at the internship is time management. Notably due to the broad variety of topics I have to cover it is crucial to be able to prioritize and time the tasks that have to be done.
The courses of IRIOhas helped me a lot in my way of thinking and approaching other countries, cultures, and/or organizations. I am working FOR the people I represent and not the other way around. I want to contribute to their story without making it my one. In today’s world, it is often a difficult topic, since you have to be careful with what you say or not and how you say it.. Self-awareness about my western cultural upbringing is essential in working with other cultures. It is important to find the best way to help others and put that into practice – without neglecting their norms and values. Critical thinking and courses such as history have taught me a lot about how countries cooperate. This knowledge comes in handy.
Working at an NGO is often romanticized and topics such as self-awareness are often overlooked. But of course, it is not as perfect as you might expect as -especially with quite a young NGO like Street Child- it is hard work. But what in life is? I just found an NGO that I mostly agree with and whose values and norms I support.”
Do you believe platforms such as LinkedIn are a good resource for students to find internships or do you prefer other channels when looking for a job?
“LinkedIn is beyond important. NGOs like mine use it for recruitment just like other companies do. It is a way to connect with people which, right now, might not seem like something important but believe me, in a few years the connections you make now and until then are going to be fundamental for working. It is not only for companies being able to reach out to you, but LinkedIn also publishes a lot of vacancies! I recommend joining an Alumni group after your graduation and to stay connected to people in your field to receive vacancies that be interesting for your work.
A tip for how to handle this is that you can do workshops by the Career Services of the RUG, for which you can sign up via Brightspace. I found them to be effective.”
Could you describe what a typical day at work looks like?
“In general, I work from nine to five. At first, I check my email and respond if necessary. During the day I have a couple of meetings, for example, check-ups with my manager to give them an update on contacting organizations and making a plan of what still has to be done. Extra tasks like social media or translating documents can also take place throughout the day, together with moving things around – it is still a job where you have to cooperate with a lot of people, ergo a lot of different time schedules. This brings me back to time management. I cannot emphasize how important it is to be able to compute your tasks.”
What do you like most about your work? And what were its challenges?
“That’s a difficult question because it is very difficult to pick just one. I would say it is several things: one is for sure that I get to have a lot of responsibility. As I am using my E-mail for communication with organizations, I am the only one responsible for this information and duties. That is amazing but challenging at first. You need to be proactive a lot even though in the beginning you might not have the tools yet . So, it is important to ask questions. With my job, it is even more important to ask these questions immediately and not wait too long. As said, time management is of key importance. If you have it down, it is very helpful for you to know how you are doing with time and how you work with it.
Another thing I had to get used to is interdependence on others and yourself. What you do, meaning the amount, quality, and effort you put into tasks, of course, determines the outcome. Just like when writing a paper or studying for an exam, but at work, other people depend on your work, and you depend on others to do their job well. Another thing that comes to my mind is the internationality of the job. Entities from all the different countries make it even more entertaining and interesting to work here. “
Did this opportunity give you an idea of what you want to do after graduation? If so, how?
“For my thesis and further minor courses, I have more of a direction for where I am headed. And also, for my occupation later; I might not work in an NGO for the rest of my life, but for right now it is perfect. I am continuing to work for Street Child next to my study next semester and hope on doing so for a longer period. Working with people who do not work for NGOs themselves and getting into contact with a lot of companies gives me insights into more fields of IR and creates a new path in my mind of things that I originally did not think of yet. It has narrowed down my ideas concerning future job possibilities, making it easier to choose which options are still open. For now, I know that I do not want to work for a company that is doing unethical work. For you, it can be anything else. But knowing what you do not want helps you figure out what you do want. It is an investment worth taking”
Is there any advice you would like to give to students who are trying to get internships/jobs?
“A couple of things I have learned might be helpful, but most importantly: start building your network now and always send a quick-follow-up email. For me: after getting the interview, they send the assignment I mentioned so it was even easier to answer them. But in general, be thankful for the opportunity, that shows that you are communicative and most importantly, the interviews feel appreciated as well. Another tip for the process of applying to internships, which is not easy. Rank your internships from one to twenty. Start applying to your least favorite internships first and if you get rejected always ask for feedback. So, once you apply for your dream internship you already have all the feedback from the previously failed internships!
Anyway, my conclusion is: doing another fifteen ECTS for this time gained is worth it. I am not getting Erasmus but took up a loan that I will have to pay back later. But the skills and work-life skills you gain will help you in relevant jobs you might take on later on: How you work at an office, how you work in teams, how you deal with stress and responsibility - I always thought I knew these things about myself, but it turned out I did not. You get to know yourself outside of university deadlines but in a work field. “
“My name is Anne, I come from Groningen, am currently in my third year of my Bachelor's, and I am doing an internship at the NGO Street Child here, in their office in Barcelona. Originally, I decided to do an internship because it is important to me to gain a lot of practical experience. I have to mention, that I am doing this internship for five months instead of the typical two months during the Minor. That does mean that I am only gaining fifteen ECTS with this internship, so I will have to do fifteen ECTS later in my studies. However, this is an investment I am glad of making. Even more now, that I have stayed here for 5 months and still wish it would have been longer. Especially when you are in another country, five months makes it easier for you to really adjust and arrive fully in the new surrounding and even culture. I decided to spend five months in my internship to get more experience, to have time to get used to working at an office, gain more skills, and be able to use them to a greater extent.”
What does your job entail? Why did you choose it?
“Street Child is an NGO with projects in over 22 countries across Africa and Asia. I am working at Street Child Netherlands, which means that my job is concerned with Dutch companies and projects. I would say that more than 60% of the time I am in contact with foundations and corporates in the Netherlands and asking them if they want to support any of our projects. Therefore, I am e-mailing a lot with them, writing project proposals and the reports our cooperators get after a year of them funding us to show them what the project they are involved in has achieved.
Besides that, I also have many administrative tasks, including the track-keeping of donations and other organizational work. Another aspect of my responsibility is communication work, concerning the website, social media, newsletter, etc. of Street Child Netherlands. Furthermore, I’m often organizing files and trying to improve the information-sharing process within the organization. So, you can see, that there is a big variety of different tasks that fall under my “jurisdiction” – making the job challenging but also even more interesting.
I chose this internship because I have always been interested in NGOs, as I want to improve the lives of others, whilst still reflecting on the position and life that I was born into. When looking for an internship, I found myself agreeing with many approaches and values Street Child is representing. Aspects like the localization of their projects, meaning that local teams with local staff are running them, were very important to me. I wanted to be part of something that is helping others to the outcome of them being able to help themselves in the long run. Ideally, I think one should not interfere with other countries apart from their own, however, there are beautiful organizations that help other cultures and countries respectfully, who establish projects with the incentive of leaving the people with tools to continue their work on their own. I found this in Street Child Netherlands and am very glad about that.”
How did you find this opportunity? Was the application process difficult?
“The Career Website brought me to this internship, funny enough. During my first two years of Uni, I was part of the Support and Photo Committee of CLIO, which is how I knew about cliocareer.
No, the process was very comfortable. First of all, it is run by interns. There is a manager overseeing the recruitment, but the application processes for interns is mostly done by interns themselves, creating a very nice atmosphere. It was less intimidating than I imagine other interviews to be. The first interview was therefore just with three interns to get to know one another. After that interview, I received a one-page assignment in which I had to write an e-mail draft to a foundation I had to find myself. In this email, I was supposed to introduce Street Child to the foundation and the project I would like them to fund. Then I had a second interview and was accepted afterward.”
How relevant do you think previous experience (internships / IRIO courses / etc.) is for the position?
“I did not do any internships before but had some work experience where you had to think about planning and time management. I gained some know-how in customer service, and this turned out to be very convenient. The keyword at the internship is time management. Notably due to the broad variety of topics I have to cover it is crucial to be able to prioritize and time the tasks that have to be done.
The courses of IRIOhas helped me a lot in my way of thinking and approaching other countries, cultures, and/or organizations. I am working FOR the people I represent and not the other way around. I want to contribute to their story without making it my one. In today’s world, it is often a difficult topic, since you have to be careful with what you say or not and how you say it.. Self-awareness about my western cultural upbringing is essential in working with other cultures. It is important to find the best way to help others and put that into practice – without neglecting their norms and values. Critical thinking and courses such as history have taught me a lot about how countries cooperate. This knowledge comes in handy.
Working at an NGO is often romanticized and topics such as self-awareness are often overlooked. But of course, it is not as perfect as you might expect as -especially with quite a young NGO like Street Child- it is hard work. But what in life is? I just found an NGO that I mostly agree with and whose values and norms I support.”
Do you believe platforms such as LinkedIn are a good resource for students to find internships or do you prefer other channels when looking for a job?
“LinkedIn is beyond important. NGOs like mine use it for recruitment just like other companies do. It is a way to connect with people which, right now, might not seem like something important but believe me, in a few years the connections you make now and until then are going to be fundamental for working. It is not only for companies being able to reach out to you, but LinkedIn also publishes a lot of vacancies! I recommend joining an Alumni group after your graduation and to stay connected to people in your field to receive vacancies that be interesting for your work.
A tip for how to handle this is that you can do workshops by the Career Services of the RUG, for which you can sign up via Brightspace. I found them to be effective.”
Could you describe what a typical day at work looks like?
“In general, I work from nine to five. At first, I check my email and respond if necessary. During the day I have a couple of meetings, for example, check-ups with my manager to give them an update on contacting organizations and making a plan of what still has to be done. Extra tasks like social media or translating documents can also take place throughout the day, together with moving things around – it is still a job where you have to cooperate with a lot of people, ergo a lot of different time schedules. This brings me back to time management. I cannot emphasize how important it is to be able to compute your tasks.”
What do you like most about your work? And what were its challenges?
“That’s a difficult question because it is very difficult to pick just one. I would say it is several things: one is for sure that I get to have a lot of responsibility. As I am using my E-mail for communication with organizations, I am the only one responsible for this information and duties. That is amazing but challenging at first. You need to be proactive a lot even though in the beginning you might not have the tools yet . So, it is important to ask questions. With my job, it is even more important to ask these questions immediately and not wait too long. As said, time management is of key importance. If you have it down, it is very helpful for you to know how you are doing with time and how you work with it.
Another thing I had to get used to is interdependence on others and yourself. What you do, meaning the amount, quality, and effort you put into tasks, of course, determines the outcome. Just like when writing a paper or studying for an exam, but at work, other people depend on your work, and you depend on others to do their job well. Another thing that comes to my mind is the internationality of the job. Entities from all the different countries make it even more entertaining and interesting to work here. “
Did this opportunity give you an idea of what you want to do after graduation? If so, how?
“For my thesis and further minor courses, I have more of a direction for where I am headed. And also, for my occupation later; I might not work in an NGO for the rest of my life, but for right now it is perfect. I am continuing to work for Street Child next to my study next semester and hope on doing so for a longer period. Working with people who do not work for NGOs themselves and getting into contact with a lot of companies gives me insights into more fields of IR and creates a new path in my mind of things that I originally did not think of yet. It has narrowed down my ideas concerning future job possibilities, making it easier to choose which options are still open. For now, I know that I do not want to work for a company that is doing unethical work. For you, it can be anything else. But knowing what you do not want helps you figure out what you do want. It is an investment worth taking”
Is there any advice you would like to give to students who are trying to get internships/jobs?
“A couple of things I have learned might be helpful, but most importantly: start building your network now and always send a quick-follow-up email. For me: after getting the interview, they send the assignment I mentioned so it was even easier to answer them. But in general, be thankful for the opportunity, that shows that you are communicative and most importantly, the interviews feel appreciated as well. Another tip for the process of applying to internships, which is not easy. Rank your internships from one to twenty. Start applying to your least favorite internships first and if you get rejected always ask for feedback. So, once you apply for your dream internship you already have all the feedback from the previously failed internships!
Anyway, my conclusion is: doing another fifteen ECTS for this time gained is worth it. I am not getting Erasmus but took up a loan that I will have to pay back later. But the skills and work-life skills you gain will help you in relevant jobs you might take on later on: How you work at an office, how you work in teams, how you deal with stress and responsibility - I always thought I knew these things about myself, but it turned out I did not. You get to know yourself outside of university deadlines but in a work field. “
" 1. start building your network and always send a quick-follow-up email
2. doing another 15 ECTS for this time gained is worth it!
3. you get to know yourself outside of university deadlines but in a work field"
SideNote:
The Internship Anne is doing right now is still available for after the Summer of 2023 - you can check it out on this website or text her via: +31 6 150 220 28
The Internship Anne is doing right now is still available for after the Summer of 2023 - you can check it out on this website or text her via: +31 6 150 220 28