By Ellia Marton, Student at the University of Amsterdam and EMEA Intern, Summer 2021
A nurturing and supportive culture
So, what is it like to be the first Intern at the Splashtop Amsterdam HQ?
From the very first interaction, I was welcomed with open arms by the founders of the company who initiated a personalized message on LinkedIn. This was followed by a warm welcome by every member of the team who wished me luck in starting this new role. I also got some pretty cool gear!
I witnessed this nurturing culture every day in the office, which I found a key influencing factor in motivating the whole team.
Let me explain. Despite being the most inexperienced in the office, the Splashtop team was incredibly accepting of me and my role in the company and gave me the opportunity to take on responsibilities from day one.
From reviewing social media strategy, landing pages, and marketing events, to optimizing the whole customer journey, I was giving the opportunity to contribute and make an impact.
And this goes beyond just your usual marketing projects. The team took interest in who I was outside of a communications student, and when they discovered my passion for music (singing), they suggested to showcase my passion in an upcoming education webinar. How exciting!
Challenges, and key highlights
Being the first intern at the EMEA Splashtop office, there were definitely high expectations of my capabilities as a communications science student.
One of the biggest challenges was to conquer the uphill battle of getting familiar with new tools required to communicate and work on projects and quickly get familiar with the acronyms and software packages referenced in the day-to-day company life.
The supportive office environment enabled me to overcome them and thrive.
I was able to design graphic visuals, efficiently present my ideas, learn to source potential webinar attendees via LinkedIn, research relevant events in the industry, and work closely with the marketing team to come up with webinar and social media ideas and ways in which the company could grow their brand awareness.
Additionally, as Splashtop is currently expanding in the EMEA region, I was able to witness firsthand the growth of a company that really believes in putting its customers and employees first. It was particularly surprising to see how quickly collaboration can begin when people are working towards a common goal. Things moved pretty fast, which could be a bit challenging.
Work hard, play hard? Yes!
Despite the work-hard behavior of the team, we also made some time to have fun!
Whether it was spontaneous table football games or racing each other up eight floors of stairs and recording our fastest times in a team table, we have definitely made the most of finally being back in the office after COVID.
I particularly enjoyed the pizza evening where we discussed the customer journey and actively participated in suggesting our ideas for improvement in the form of sticking notes on the wall.
Other fun moments I enjoyed with the team have been birthdays when everyone gathers around to chat and eat cake together and having casual lunch outside in the sun on the rare occasion that the weather in Amsterdam behaves! There was rarely ever a dull moment in the office, and even with a small team, there is always laughter filling the corridor.
Closing thoughts
The team spirit at Splashtop is outstanding and it has been a pleasure to see how driven everyone is to support the goals of the company.
It felt wonderful to be seen as an equal in the team and to be embraced not only as a colleague but also as a friend!
I have learned a lot from working closely with the marketing team to come up with ways in which a company can grow brand awareness and improve the customer journey.
Having gone from studying full-time and hardly leaving my apartment due to the coronavirus restrictions, to Splashtop Amsterdam - a vibrant and fun office environment - was also a welcome change!
Ultimately time in the office allowed me to discuss job roles with colleagues and to see how they overlap and integrate in real-time. This has been helpful in helping me navigate my career choice, and I think I have a much clearer idea of where I want to be in the future.
One thing for sure is that having this internship has made such an impression on me that I will be following with huge interest Splashtop success in the future!
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