With both my internship in the Netherlands & Italy finished, I thought I would take some time to look back and reflect on the two companies I worked for: Bookingpetz.com & Alteredu. It's not just the companies themselves I will be reflecting on but also looking on what is was like to work for the companies and judging the approaches taken.
Bookingpetz.com is a start-up company that aims to develop the best online platform in the Netherlands to display pet owners and pet boarding services at a discount, like Booking.com with hotels. The platform was still under development and a marketing campaign had yet to be launched. Alteredu has been operating since 2018, created by the parent company Futuro Digitale. Alteredu develops digital material and assists in marketing strategies for other local companies in the Calabria region. It also offers courses to develop specific skills, aiming to deliver accessible IT skills to anyone who wants it. The business is well established in its respective region and yet still offers plenty of roles for Erasmus interns.
For the work of Bookingpetz.com it was mostly independent from the co-founders as they were balancing other jobs. It allowed me to create a stronger working relationship with the other interns for the tasks sets. Whilst it would have been ideal to have better communication from the co-founders it did in turn strengthen teamwork skills with the other interns, allowing us to learn and strategise together. On the contrary at Alteredu the co-founders were highly involved in the activities of the interns as it was full-time jobs for some. Whilst it did reduce teamwork opportunities with other interns it did create a stronger working relationship with my line-manager, enabling me to learn from his experience and guidance with personal communication.
As for ideas and strategies to implement, Bookingpetz.com as it was very new did allow for more freedom in formulating ideas. Most of what I put forward to help improve the company got approved and developed. Creative input was unrestricted and although there is a risk of incomplete tasks being published, there is definitely the feeling of having a major contribution in breakthrough progress of the company. At Alteredu ideas needed more regulated approval which I am guessing is to do with upholding the company's reputation. Whilst it did restrict creative freedom it helped perfect tasks as it was agreed and overlooked before being published.
Both companies have potential to expand and become successful but the right approach with critical in-depth thought process was key to the success. I only just left Alteredu and with the SEO guidelines being well followed and the company already having a famous reputation in Calabria, I think Alteredu will continue to earn the trust of customers whilst ensuring interns have a fair contribution. As my internship at Bookingpetz.com ended in early December I was able to see the progress of the company as it has been roughly 5 months since. Unfortunately, when I visited the main website I was greeted with the message: "We will be back. Stay tuned for 2020" with links only to the social media pages. I don't know whether the rise of the novel coronavirus has affected business or whether the business has been affected prior to the rise, but even the social media activity has halted so I'm not sure whether it plans to resume.
I applied my current skills to various tasks for both companies and I also learned about new useful tools I can apply for my University and career. At Bookingpetz.com I learned from the interns, for example I was introduced to new camera shooting and editing skills from a fellow photography graduate. I could apply these new-found skills into promotional material for my final year at Coventry University. I was also introduced to SEO and Elementor for WordPress which have been used for the main website but could also be something to apply for my portfolio website. At Alteredu I learned from my line-manager. I learned new thought processes to take into account when strategising, for example marketing environment to help meet demands, practicality of certain ideas and ensuring a thorough structure was taken into mind before developing ideas.
Working at both of these companies have helped me better understand certain international environments. It has given me not only practical skills to apply but also new strategies to implement when conjuring ideas. Working with people with different skills, talents and experience from across the globe has enriched my learning and has given me valuable contacts to improve my portfolio when pursuing a career, a career that could be in the UK or overseas with my Erasmus experience.