Internship Reflections
Successes
Throughout my internship with Chrissima Tours I have found success in many of my projects that I feel will ultimately prove beneficial to the business. The business expansion and marketing documents will act as a reference for Anna Maria that she can look back on for reference to utilize social media to its full benefits and find advertisement campaigns that she can engage in to find new customers. The videos developed for the Youtube and Instagram page will be a great reference that she can direct her clients towards to gain an idea of what their trip may look like. These videos help visualize and implant good ideas with clients that will encourage them to book a tour. Lastly, the itineraries being updated and populated with proper grammar create a solid representation of the business that will assure English speaking customers that Anna Maria is qualified to handle the booking of their trip.
Challenges
The challenges that have occurred in this past week have been empowering in how I have been able to overcome them and succeed at my job. These challenges range from understanding my position in the company to simply communicating with one another. These issues can provide for big obstacles in the work environment especially when adjusting to a new position. Trying to understand your place in the work environment can be frustrating, however, it only takes a simple question sometimes to figure out what your boss wishes to see from you. This can be intimidating at first but it’s expected that a new member of a company has a few questions or doesn’t fully understand the workflow right away. This is why communication is key in any work environment and for overcoming issues that may arise.
Future
The work experience gained during my time working with Chrissima Tours will remain as an invaluable experience where I was able to expand my knowledge of international business, develop my intercultural communication, and increase my overall worldview. Seeing how Chrissima Tours operated allowed me to utilize my business expertise to assist with adapting the business to modern ways of operating as well as new, unexploited strategies to increase outreach. Experiencing this international business environment I was forced to adapt to many unfamiliar practices that I had not been previously exposed to. One of the biggest adjustments was to the language barrier that inherently existed between many parties in the workplace. Overcoming this challenge taught me the importance of communication and that being precise and patient are key element that must exist in the workplace. I was also able to expand my worldview during my time working at Chrissima Tours. The experience of being in a foreign environment with different practices and cultural norms gave me a more rounded perspective on how life differs outside of the United States. Working through these differences gave me more knowledge and skills that I will be able to use in building networks and developing businesses internationally which is crucial during today's age of global enterprises.
Covid-19
The pandemic has effected the operation of many businesses and their ability to succeed to the same level that they may have previously operated at. This is more so true in the travel and tourism industry which has taken a large hit throughout this time. In many instances I was made aware of this apparent struggle that Chrissima Tours was facing. This made my job seem even more urgent to assist in bringing in new customers during such a slow period of business. I was able to see the transition first hand as more travelers began to leave their homes I noticed an uptick in work. This was a unique period for any business, however, overcoming these obstacles will prove to be a benefit as it creates more dedicated and committed workers.
Describe 3 values that you have learned during your internship (STAR)
Communication, Friendliness, Adaptability
These three values have been engrained into the work, culture, and experiences I have had during my time in Italy. Communication is one of the key values of a good work relationship and can be especially challenging in a foreign work environment. Working in different settings throughout my career has given me the opportunity to realize the importance of good communication to succeed at your job. Good communication applies to any work environment, however, while working with an Italian company I have realized that this aspect can be a challenge when a language barrier is in place. This may pose as an obstacle in many scenarios, but that does not decrease the importance communication holds in the workplace. Communication must be at the forefront of any project in order to ensure that members of the executive team are content with the outcome. This key value has shown to be even more important in an international work setting because there may be a discrepancy in understanding between colleges and myself. Understanding this is crucial because while communicating with other collages I must ensure that I make myself clear and there are no misinterpretations.
Friendliness is a key value that extends further than simply workplace environments. This is a value that I hold dear when approaching any situation. When working in an international work environment there may be preconceptions that individuals conceive about certain groups of people. It’s important to discern between these presumptions and to keep an open mind in order for new connections to be made. When approaching this new work environment, I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that if I approached the situation with confidence and friendliness I would be able to succeed at any task that came my way.
Finally, adaptability is a value that can be applied to almost any work environment to ensure that you can be a multifaceted member of any team. This skill come from reaching out of your comfort zone and attempting things that you may not be entirely familiar with. Allowing yourself to be adaptable truly helps in an international environment because there may be many scenarios that arise that you do not fully understand or different cultural norms that you have not experienced before. Being adaptable in these situations is truly necessary in order to succeed in unfamiliar environments.
SMART Goals
1) I wish to create an outline detailing multipole advertisement routes to steer Annamaria’s business in a positive, growth-oriented direction by researching multiple opportunities for advertisement to be completed by mid-July.
2) I will complete my deliverables (all videos and business expansion doc) by the end of the following week in order to provide Anna Maria with value to improve her business.
These goals were created to ensure that my deliverables would be completed in a timely manner as well as provide value towards the business. The promotional videos will allow Anna to showcase how the tours may look with a visual representation. The business expansion doc will give Anna a reliable reference that she can utilize to try new marketing campaigns or add new social media outlets to her business. Ultimately these goals will be completed by the end of the following week by adding more work hours to the schedule each day in order to finish by the deadline I have set for myself.
3) I will engage in meaningful conversations to expand my relationship with Anna Maria and the coworkers in the office in order to create a deeper connection within the workplace.
By engaging in more meaningful conversations I will be able to increase the relationships created within the workplace. These conversations can pertain to the work at hand or simply about personal life, interests, and hobbies. These types of conversations will kindle a new dynamic in the workplace that will lead to more open communication and interaction. This goal should be improved on immediately in order to begin creating this deeper connection and will be continuously improved on to maintain this strong relationship.
1. Can you tell me about a recent challenge that you faced at work (or school)? How did you handle the situation? What were the results? How did you feel during and after the situation?
The language barrier definitely shows its challenges at times at the work place. Because I hold no proficiency in speaking Italian, my coworkers are forces into utilizing their English skills with me while I am in the work place. The problem with this is that it can create less of an opportunity for communication and making a connection with one another. I now understand that when speaking English, they are not always going to understand what I am saying and I will have to adjust my words or the rate that I am speaking at. A recent challenge that I faced in the work environment has been overcoming the ambiguity of the internship. I have been placed in unfamiliar situations where I needed to learn new skills and utilize them for different activities such as video editing. These new skills have been developed slowly but i feel confident with the products I am creating and I feel that I am adding value to the business through this.
2. How do you handle pressure?
The pressure of entering a new position with unfamiliar requirements it may be uncomfortable at first but I have adapted to these challenges allowing me to expand my skillset and rise to the challenges. In general, I am very collected in times of pressure. I have performed well under times of duress and sometimes the pressure is the boost that I need to perform above and beyond. With this being said I have not felt pressure at the workplace, but this does not mean it keep me from performing well. The pressure of time management has been fairly difficult as I have been very detail oriented in my video creation as well as additional pressure to provide an eloquent product that will represent the business in a positive light. Overall this pressure has allowed me to give more attention to my production of deliverables that will ultimately benefit the business. I believe the work I am completing will be very beneficial to the business and will assist in attracting new customers.
3. How do you measure success?
Success can be measured in many different ways. In mainly depends on the context of the scenario. In life I do not measure success based on one’s wealth and or fame but instead the quality and significance of their connections and achievements. At work I measure success by how much I assist Annamaria in improving her business and creating helpful or productive outcomes within the organization.
4. Have you gotten angry at work? What happened?
In the past I have been frustrated at work, being in a much higher pace environment. The only scenarios I can remember is when I would have to do someone job especially If they had already attempted to complete it. Because now not only did they fail at completing their job but they are also wasting my time so that in order for it to get done. Even with this frustrated state of mind, I never allowed my emotions to overcome my mindset. In this current work environment, it would be difficult to foresee a situation where my emotions get the best of me.
5. How would you handle it if your boss was wrong?
It is hard to dispute your supervisor or boss being that they are your boss however I will always rely on the truth. If I knew my boss was wrong then I would speak up and correct them or explain my side of the story to share why someone may have a different perspective.
6. What challenge(s) do you expect to face during your internship abroad?
On top of the language barrier I feel that I am taking on many tasks that I don’t have much experience performing in the past. From the social media video filming and editing to the creation of google ads I haven’t done much of this in the past if at all. However, I am eager to embrace these new experiences and challenges. The work I have done in the past has paved a way that will allow me to complete these tasks with proficiency.
7. What personal/professional skills are you aiming to improve during this experience?
The personal skills I’m hoping to improve on range from interpersonal communication to problem solving by putting myself in uncomfortable and unfamiliar situations here I am forced to overcome many barriers to achieve what I desire. The professional skills I will build on are marketing, advertisement, business growth/expansion, and so much more.