Text and photos by Elizaveta Andreeva

Third year European Business Administration student at Metropolia

If you are a student in the University of Applied Sciences you know that as a part of your studies you need to find and complete an internship. This part of the degree always seemed to me the scariest. You have to put yourself out there, towards the new and the unknown, and even if you fail, you must try your best to succeed.

Being dramatic yet very determined I started searching for any opportunity. Rather quick I was lucky to find a position in Nissan, an automobile manufacturing company, where I would be involved with launching a new car. I had no idea what I would be doing as an LCV Product Marketing trainee, I didn’t know what LCV really was and I had no expectation or realization of my responsibilities.

But fake it ‘till you make it. Fast forward 2 months, I have nearly entire picture. LCV team is the one that takes care of bigger cars such as vans (big cars without rear and rear side windows), big family cars (same cars with all windows) and cars for SMEs (any modification of a van). Marketing team is responsible for success of vehicle that is measured in profit and market share. Competition is fierce and it drives nearly all the decisions about the market. Marketing in Nissan is very technical. We don’t do social media or digital marketing that much. Rather we rely on the tactical decisions, data and smart industry guesses. So, if you feel like your future is in more behind the scene marketing I suggest to pay attention to Mr. Simcoe’s marketing classes, and perhaps take an option course in Contextual Decision Making (which was one of my favorite).

The company culture is important, and it is harder to guess than you may assume. It defines the way people communicate, the personality of the community and the way the decisions are being made. In a big and international company all the decisions are made by the waterfall way. So working in such big company, I am at the very lowest of the company’s hierarchy. If you are struggling in knowing what company you want to work for, you can have a look into what you want your everyday environment be like. And when having an interview, drop a question to HR asking what kind of company culture they have.

What tips do I have for others who are searching for traineeship? Firstly, everyone around you will be a day, a month or many years smarter and more knowledgeable than you are. You will do many inevitable mistakes, and you’ll be put in the positions of awkwardness and responsibility. The best thing is to be proactive, not to be afraid and just keep on trying. Secondly, with hybrid workstyle when sometimes everyone’s remote and sometimes not, it is important to get to know your team and people around you. It will give you confidence in communication and lower the chance of imposter syndrome that many of newcomers might get. It is important to remember that you came for the “learn” and not the “earn”. Lastly, even if the company has a lunch benefit, be mindful of how many times you eat out – it is expensive.