What are the dynamics of a consultancy agency like Globally Cool and what do they actually do? For many people, this remains a question. Even our own employees struggle to explain the elaborate portfolio of services and projects to friends and family. Luckily, there’s one team member with a fresh from outside in(tern) perspective. Preslava Ivanova entered Globally Cool as a digital marketing intern and is now- part of the team permanently. Curious about how she expected Globally Cool the internship to be like and how this evolved over time? Find out!
Not your average company
Before I started my internship, I expected employees focussed only on one field. Contrary to my expectations, Globally Cool occurred to not be per se a ‘normal’ company. The team has a rich experience in multiple sectors and fields. From website development to SEO and social media marketing, to effective trade fair participations, market intelligence and training. Who could have thought?
Multiple teams and lots of knowledge
Clients and outsiders are often confused about what the company does. Obviously, this is because you cannot describe it as ‘selling a product’ or ‘fixing cars’ and due to the fact the services cover quite a wide spectrum. To elaborate, I will explain: Globally Cool has 4 teams in total- digital marketing, market research, trade consultancy and IT. Some consultants are part of more than one team because their expertise covers multiple fields. Before my internship, I thought departments worked autonomously and separate from each other. That’s not the case at Globally Cool! All departments work together and support each other in achieving optimal project goals. I presume this is why Globally Cool manages to continuously grow by conquering new markets, expanding to different countries and extending its knowledge. A solid foundation for a strong and experienced cool team that goes the extra mile!
New country, new beginning
Entering a world of experts can demand courage and confidence from an intern. Luckily, I have courage in abundance, especially when it comes to stepping out of my comfort zone. This all started four years ago. I left my home country – Bulgaria – and dove into the – for me – unknown the Netherlands, marking the beginning of a new era in my life.
The internship journey
Before I continue, you must know confidence has not always been my best trait.
“Don’t expect you will be independent”
“Don’t hope for a big project contribution”
Two of the most common pieces of advice I received when I contacted fellow students from my programme regarding internship experiences. It turned out this was exactly the opposite for me! From day one, I developed content marketing and social media products for our training and coaching programmes, created new content for Globally Cool and its clients and supported the implementation of marketing, matchmaking and sales activities. For me, a small – yet international – company hides immeasurable opportunities.
Biggest takeaways
Seven months of internship can encourage, inspire and motivate or either, dispirit and oppress a student’s potential. For me, Globally Cool revealed and fuelled my desire for growth. I consider two leading takeaways. First, not only learning to share something- nobody had thought of yet, but also overcoming this fear. I grew up as a shy girl and, here, I changed from a listener to a speaker. Step by step, I took the floor and shared ideas, thoughts and opinions. Undoubtedly, my younger version would look at me with wide eyes if she saw me speaking in front of that many people. And secondly, the gratitude for the opportunity to work on my personal and professional development. I put the theory from my education to practice by advising more than 150 SMEs on their digital marketing strategies, planning more than 500 engaging social media posts and developing a unique LinkedIn engagement strategy. Marketing is a continuously advancing world and Globally Cool helped me make the first steps in the exciting field.
Team building activities in the spirit of Globally Cool
The office of Globally is a place where you develop and, yet, you have fun as well. As part of my Graduation Portfolio, I worked on my planning and organising skills thus I organised 4 team building activities. The Whisper Challenge, Christmas trivia game and ping pong tournament were games to show the competitive team spirit. The chance of winning a prize encouraged the players to fight for the first place. The last team-building activity, a dinner with a glass (or, maybe, even more) of wine, was the moment to unite as a cool family. An evening filled with laughter, positive energy and international cuisine marked, on one side, the end of my internship days, but on the other side, the beginning of my after-school life.
From outside in(tern), I entered a beehive of hard-working people and over seven months, two main outcomes took place. From a student and active learner, I became a professional and trainer. New goals, challenges and achievements are on their way.
