By Laura Thomas, Intern for the Australian Businesswomen’s Network If you would have asked me a year ago where I would be during my summer break 2010 (Northern Hemisphere summer is June – September), there’s absolutely no way I would have answered ‘Australia’. I have been fortunate enough to participate in a ten-week international internship since June with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. I always knew I wanted to travel abroad in college, so I figured, ‘What better time than now?’ I am a senior business management/financial management major from the United States, and I will be graduating in December. Basically, it was now or never! I have already reaped so many of the rewards from participating in an international internship (and I still have two weeks with the company). For starters, I am working at a smaller organization. As opposed to working at a larger corporation, the ABN gives me meaningful work that directly affects the company. A few of the tasks I’ve participated in include:
- Proofreading and editing blog posts, eNewsletters and email announcements before they are sent to the ABN community.
- Learning and using the program Hootsuite, a website that manages social media. Through this website, I send ‘tweets’ to the ABN Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages.
- Leading the Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame update project. I researched contact details for the past 150 inductees, contacted those I could find and organised the information as they responded. This project gave me a chance to work with the other interns in a team setting.
The opportunity to strengthen my transitional skills is another huge advantage I’ve acquired from working at the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. In the not-so-far-away future, I will be out in the ‘real world’ looking for a job. The skills I’ve accommodated from this internship will be evident when glancing at my resume, especially if I get an interview! Skills I have strengthened through the ABN include:
- Communication – written, verbal and nonverbal
- Leadership
- Office
- Planning/Time Management
- Technological/Social Networking
Every year, the ABN takes in international interns from the United States and Hong Kong. Li Lilly Kar Wan (Lilly) was one of five interns at the ABN during summer break 2010. Lilly is a recently graduated marketing major from Hong Kong, who decided to conduct an internship in Australia before starting a graduate program in the UK. When I asked Lilly if she has been enjoying her internship at the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, she replied: “Spending my two months this year being an intern at the ABN is absolutely one of the most memorable moments in my life. The internship has always been rewarding and fruitful, as it has enriched my mind and broadened my horizons. Above all, I get to experience a very different working culture as I am from Hong Kong. My job tasks in the ABN are diverse and varied. From every single one of them, I can immerse myself into different roles, while learning different skills and techniques to help build my future career path. I treasure these learning opportunities a lot, and hopefully they will be the bridge that transforms me from a student to a professional. People at the ABN are truly nice and helpful. The atmosphere is always relaxing and enjoyable. This adds up to make the whole internship more joyous and memorable for me. All in all, I really love this country, this company and everybody I have met during this trip!” I fully agree with Lilly, so a big THANK YOU goes out to the Australian Businesswomen’s Network for taking me in and helping me grow.
