{"id":100366,"date":"2019-06-27T10:23:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T08:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=100366"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:22","slug":"i-never-had-to-do-groceries-or-make-coffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/06\/27\/i-never-had-to-do-groceries-or-make-coffee\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I never had to do groceries or make coffee\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Internships don\u2019t always run smoothly and there can be tensions \u2013 particularly if you\u2019ve never had a serious job before. Monique, Nhu Anh and Munther share their experiences as interns, and internship coordinator Annette van Ham offers advice on your options when things don\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n

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Well-paid internship at KLM<\/h2>
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Meet the King, and get to check out the interior of a brand new airplane. Nhu Anh Nguyen\u2019s internship at the Communication department of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines comes with certain perks. While the internship is compulsory in her programme, Nhu Anh (20, Communication Sciences) is delighted with the opportunity. \u201cI think it is important to gain experience before starting on your first real job. It allows you to face your strengths and weaknesses in a work environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nhu Anh says KLM is one of the best companies around for doing an internship: \u201cIn addition to a generous reimbursement of 500 euro per month, they\u2019ve given me a lot of responsibility. For example, I\u2019m working every day on a project aimed at improving KLM\u2019s internal communication processes, and I\u2019ve been asked to write articles and newsletters. I also got to meet King Willem-Alexander. And the interns from each of the departments were allowed to look around inside a brand-new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding the right company for your internship can be quite challenging, particularly if you\u2019ve never applied for a job before \u2013 apart from that stint stacking shelves at the local supermarket. Nhu Anh: \u201cLooking back, I\u2019m happy I started applying quite a few weeks beforehand: the early bird catches the worm. KLM is a large company with a strong corporate culture. Most of the employees have been working there for years, meaning that they have strong ties with their colleagues. Still, they made me feel welcome straight away. And I don\u2019t have the idea that I\u2019m treated less for not being a regular employee. My colleagues are very nice and also interested in me as a person. I\u2019m really enjoying my internship, but I do realise that it could have been a different story. That\u2019s why I think it\u2019s a good idea to also plan other fun activities besides your internship, to get you through particularly long days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Het vinden van een geschikt stagebedrijf kan nogal een uitdaging zijn, vooral als je nog nooit gesolliciteerd hebt \u2013 op dat vakkenvullerbaantje bij de Appie na. Nhu Anh: \u201cAchteraf ben ik blij dat ik een goed aantal weken van tevoren ben gaan solliciteren; beter te vroeg dan te laat. KLM is een groot bedrijf met een sterke bedrijfscultuur. De meeste mensen werken er al vele jaren waardoor de band tussen collega\u2019s sterk is. Toch voelde ik me meteen welkom en heb ik ook niet het gevoel dat ik word benadeeld omdat ik geen volledig werknemer ben, mijn collega\u2019s zijn erg aardig en ook ge\u00efnteresseerd in mij als persoon. Ik vind mijn stage erg leuk, maar ik zie wel in dat het ook anders had kunnen zijn. Daarom denk ik dat het goed is om ook leuke dingen in te plannen naast je stage, om zo door lange dagen heen te komen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working overtime until 10:30<\/h2>
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Munther Al Ahmad (21, International Business Administration) is also very pleased with the terms of his internship, although he does put in a lot of work in return. After earning his bachelor\u2019s, Munther decided to do a gap year to gain experience as an intern. He is presently well into his third internship \u2013 working as a product manager at HelloPrint.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work full-time \u2013 and occasionally even longer than that. I\u2019m paid 450 euro per month, but HelloPrint also covers my breakfast, lunch and dinner where required. On top of this, I have a free gym membership and get to go on company outings. At the Rotterdam office, you can find 120 employees from 23 different countries. What attracted me most in this company is the international aspect \u2013 since I\u2019m not from a Dutch background myself. I had heard that they have very strict requirements at HelloPrint as far as the applicant\u2019s personality is concerned \u2013 there are quite a few rejections. They\u2019re really looking for the right combination of personality and skills. What I would like to have told my younger self is that you should look for an internship in a profession that truly appeals to you. Only then will you really feel appreciated and enjoy going to work. It\u2019s also important to join in, take the initiative and speak up: these are all learning experiences. During my internship at HelloPrint, I\u2019ve never had to do groceries or make coffee. Everyone simply cleans up their own mess. One time I worked overtime until 10:30 p.m. \u2013 even though I was allowed to go home. The whole team had to do a ton of work that evening. But at the end of the day you achieve a certain result \u2013 and that feels great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sensitive topics<\/h2>

Monique Olde Engberink (23, Care Management) has already completed 544 hours working as an intern at Sint Antonius Ziekenhuis\u2019s Natal Care department. She receives some 350 euro per month in reimbursement. \u201cI found this internship together with my internship coordinator. While an internship isn\u2019t compulsory, I really wanted to gain a better understanding of the field. During the first few weeks, I was assigned more administrative tasks like sending out invitations, as well as tagging along with some of the team members. After I knew my way around a bit more, they gave me more responsibilities and I started feeling more valued as a team member. Although things could get complicated sometimes, since there would occasionally be discussions during the consultation meetings. As an intern, I couldn\u2019t really contribute to the debate. And a few times, I sat in on discussions about relatively sensitive and private topics. Times like these, I wondered if it wouldn\u2019t be better for me to step out of the room for a moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important to give careful thought to your expectations and discuss them with your internship supervisor within the company. And finally, it\u2019s a good idea to make clear what you\u2019d personally prefer to do: tag along with people and support them, or bear responsibility for your own project? You can already discuss this during the application interview \u2013 so you know straight away what kind of tasks to expect. Communication is the key: that way, you can avoid unpleasant moments or disappointments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s normal to pick up coffee every now and then\u2019<\/h2>

Annette van Ham works as an internship coordinator at ESHCC. She works with students to find the right workplace for them and supports them during their internship. \u201cI always check the company\u2019s website beforehand to see whether it\u2019s suitable. If that\u2019s the case, I\u2019ll talk with the student about his or her expectations. Unfortunately, the law doesn\u2019t say anything about internships, so which tasks companies should assign to students remains a grey area. If anything unacceptable occurs, we enter into dialogue with both parties. In the worst case, we cancel the student\u2019s internship. It\u2019s quite common for a student to feel unhappy with his or her internship \u2013 this isn\u2019t unusual. In that case, it\u2019s important to discuss whether anything can be done to improve the situation or whether it\u2019s better to quit with the internship.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course there are limits to what you can ask from an intern: it\u2019s normal to pick up coffee every now and then, but it shouldn\u2019t be your primary task \u2013 we\u2019re talking about university-level students here. The main problem I run into is that students simply don\u2019t know what they want, which creates tensions. That\u2019s why I recommend starting the application process as soon as possible, and perhaps talking with companies in a variety of sectors to get a good idea of your options. And don\u2019t be afraid to make demands of your own. If you really like working on particular tasks, feel free to ask whether they can be assigned to you during the application interview. Ultimately, your internship should be an educational experience \u2013 but there\u2019s no reason why you can\u2019t enjoy yourself too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t