7 Ways How My Internship In Asia Kickstarted My Career
I still remember my last summer break like it was just yesterday!
The memories of my internship in Asia that I undertook the previous summer are still vivid and fresh in my mind.
When I signed up for a marketing international internship in Thailand last summer via Asia Internship Program, I knew it would be something special but I didn't anticipate it to be such a transformative experience.
But now I see it; the way my career in marketing has taken off after my internship Asia.
I feel like applauding myself for making the right career decision back then.
International internship in Thailand helped me in several ways in putting my career wheels into motion, in addition to being instrumental in getting me my first fantastic job in marketing.
Here I'm sharing the most important of them.
1. Learned Key Marketing Functions
International Thailand internship seemed to me like a school of teaching in its own right, but a fun one at that!
The internship took me to the core of marketing, teaching me its various key functions.
Some of the most interesting marketing concepts that I learned about deeply during my internship in Asia were market planning, research and analysis, product pricing management, product designing and development, consumer interests, etc.
These were my favorite marketing subjects in college too and I was more than thrilled to understand their practical implementations.
2. Showed the Difference Between Theory and Practice
Reading about marketing in books is one thing, but actually watching marketing being done in practice is another thing altogether.
There are many layers to the theory that we read in the marketing books in our curriculum.
Different variables, contexts, and situations affect the marketing processes that take place in real life, my internship in Asia clearly showed me that and even prepared me for it.
As I now navigate through my first job, I'm finding this learning from my internship in Asia to be very useful in the course. I can customise strategies, predict the outcomes and risks, and plan for contingencies.
3. Provided Various Training Sessions and Seminars
Any typical international internship in Thailand is targeted to offer a complete learning environment for the participants.
My marketing international Thailand internship was no different.
The entire internship period, especially the first few weeks, were filled with intensive training sessions.
These were mainly about marketing in general, about the company-specific marketing practices, and local cultural training.
Apart from these training sessions, there were also seminars organised to enhance the professional learning experience of the interns.
I feel lucky to having heard so many marketing experts deliver excellent speeches and share their knowledge.
It certainly got me a new perspective to think from for my first and even future jobs.
4. Faced Real-life Business Challenges
My internship Asia definitely gave me a reality check on what I thought I knew about marketing and what I actually knew about marketing!
Why? Because until then I had only worked on dummy and simulated marketing assignments.
Now these are good for concept understanding, but once you’re through with the concepts you need to test your understanding at advanced levels.
Throughout my internship in Asia, I got opportunities to work on real-world marketing projects.
The problems were real and how I solved them actually mattered.
As overwhelming as it was initially, it was certainly a push I needed for the sake of my own development.
5. Offered Insights into Upcoming Asian Markets
You know marketing doesn't identify geographical borders.
In the globalized world that we're living in, we look for potential business opportunities everywhere.
So it doesn't matter where you choose to work, you still need to be aware of what's going on on the other side of the world.
My internship Asia was a revelatory experience in this sense.
In addition to Thailand's emerging market, the internship also exposed me to other upcoming Southeast Asian markets.
This knowledge is already coming in pretty handy in my current job.
My company is currently looking into Asian regions for the launching of a new product and I am chosen to be in the dedicated team because of my prior work experience in Asia.
This is just another advantage of my internship Asia that's worth mentioning, the way it is proving helpful in getting me interesting assignments in my current work.
6. Experienced Incredible Networking Events
I was always told that the more people you know professionally, the more support you're likely to find in your career.
And it's true. You can only get so far solo. International internship in Thailand allowed me to meet and network with a variety of people, since Asian workplaces are quite eclectic.
I'm still in touch with most of the people I met during my international Thailand internship.
We try to help each other out in whatever way we can.
Some of these friends of mine even suggested me some job offers that I could pursue when I was fresh out of college.
7. Gained Valuable References And Contacts
Thanks to Asia Internship Program, I was placed at a fabulous company for my internship Asia.
It's a prestigious marketing firm in Thailand doing some awesome work.
I was confident that doing internship from here would count for, well, a lot!
When I finished my internship with the company, I was presented with wonderful reference letter from them.
They highlighted all my achievements during the internship and talked about my potential as a valuable resource.
It felt good to be acknowledged after all the hard work I had put into the internship, but more than that, the recommendation letter was a great addition to my credentials.
It was something that I would proudly showcase to my prospective employers when I was on the lookout for my first job after college graduation.
Your turn to have an experience in Thailand, get an internship in a field of your choice: Apply Now!
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