Intern to employee: A learning path that stays with us forever

November 26, 2024

I am Frescia Mogrovejo, and I work in the area of Demand Generation for the Hispam region. A little more than 3 years ago I was looking for a job in a well-known platform in my country and I never imagined that I would end up growing in such a well-known multinational and with the ability to enrich my knowledge in the B2B sector, train as a leader, which allows me to show my multifaceted skills and where I have met so many important people.

In Peru, professional internships are divided into pre-professional internships, which are done during the last cycles of university, and professional internships, which are internships that are done after obtaining a bachelor's degree. Each university has its own job board, but there are several platforms that support job searches.

“Helping someone else to be successful will allow us to be successful too” is a phrase that my brother says a lot and I always try to put it into practice. Although each person must live their own experiences, sharing our experiences and making our decisions known can help others to have a clearer perspective, add nuance and inspire each person to form their own opinion.

Being a trainee or intern is a transformative experience, both personally and professionally. This growth is key to lay the foundations for a solid and successful career.

My access to an internship position

When I applied for the Telefónica Tech position, the call for applications was identified by a leading recruiter in its field. Therefore, the name of the company itself was not displayed, but they did notify me that it was a multinational technology company. Of course, I added the position to my list and applied. I was contacted, went through a series of interviews and was selected for the position of professional marketing intern.

It was three years ago when the job was done remotely. Even so, the first days were a roller coaster with a good dose of nerves, but with the happiness of feeling part of a large and recognized company in the country. The connection with my boss was amazing, and in less than 6 months I learned a lot from her and my colleagues. Not only academically but also about the values and ethics as a Telefónica Tech employee.

Within days I received a beautiful merchandising set that accompanied my remote workdays. The distance definitely did not prevent me from easily integrating into the Telefónica Tech family. I felt proud to share in my social networks my new job and the motivation inside and outside my work environment was increasing more and more.

The long path of learning is a gift that stays with us forever.

There are also challenges, of course. Every day is a challenge as I feel that I am working with highly skilled people. This motivates me and encourages me to continuously strive to meet expectations. To this day, I feel that, with my experience, I can contribute a little more to the company, which I also see as a challenge.

Learning and growing in Telefónica Tech

During the internship my responsibilities were diverse. Although I had previous work experience, this professional experience after high school was unique.

You feel a little more pressure to apply everything you have learned in the 5 or 6 years of college. To tell the truth, it is more the learning obtained than demonstrating the academic part, and not only the marketing work in my case, but in many more areas that complement each other for any action.

The learning and skills acquired during my experience as a trainee are innumerable between soft and technical skills, but I keep these ones in mind:

Be proactive. Don't just do what you are asked to do, give a touch of vision to your work.
Be versatile. Learning from different areas will broaden your professional skills and make you more competitive.
Get more and more experience on the job to acquire a higher level of expertise, responsibility, and authority within an organization.
Teamwork. Develop the ability to collaborate with others to achieve common goals. Solve problems in limited time.
Acquire skills to solve unforeseen situations, adapt to changes efficiently.
Knowledge of the industry and, in my case, handling new marketing tools.

One of the biggest changes for me was working in a multinational company, having a global reach and presence with internationally aligned strategies and decisions. Having coworkers in different countries has made the culture diverse and allowed me to pick up a global mindset and integrate with everything culturally. The opportunities for growth are also greater, as at Telefónica Tech I have been able to train in an international environment and this enriches my professional profile.

My recommendation to anyone who is on an internship is to take advantage of every opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge from all of your colleagues, in any area.

Thanks to the support received from colleagues and managers I have absorbed a lot of technical knowledge, but what I value most and will always carry with me are the soft skills I have learned from them. These are qualities that reinforce my qualities as a person and contributed to my experience, professionalism, and ethics.

Challenges and expectations

As it was my first time as a professional intern in a full-time company, my challenges were daily: from sending or answering a simple email, to entering a meeting in a listening mode. At the same time, I felt like a sponge that absorbed each day as new learning.

Fortunately, I have overcome these challenges keeping in mind that I am employed in one of the leading companies in the country, that I was selected among numerous vacancies, and being aware that my potential will gradually be reflected in my job performance.

From intern to Telefónica Tech employee

Thanks to the internship I gained confidence in my skills. I always had the expectation to learn from my peers, prove my capabilities and fulfill my expectations, which was always to learn from my peers and prove my capabilities.

Responsibilities increased as I gained more experience and started leading projects. When leading, the work became more independent, and decision making was challenging.

After a year as an intern, I was hired. The process was easy because I always felt supported by my colleagues. I quickly gained experience leading projects in the regional area, which was crucial to develop new competitive skills.

Professional growth

The experience as an intern had a great impact on a professional level, one of them the confidence in my abilities, the optimization of time and being a multitasker. Knowing how to work in a team and developing a governance model with my own projects means gaining new skills at a professional level. In short, being an intern in a multinational is a crucial formative stage that lays the foundations for my professional success.

Talent is a person's natural or acquired abilities that are expressed through skills. I believe that everyone has one or more talents.

My professional goals now are to learn and train professionally in the B2B world. The learning path is limitless, and the technology sector evolves rapidly, so we have to be in constant training at a technical level.

My recommendation for anyone on an internship is to take every opportunity you have to acquire new skills and knowledge from all your peers, regardless of area, and to build networking relationships.

Accepting feedback from your colleagues helps you improve every day.

Conclusion

My internship lasted one year, and it was full of learning both technical and soft skills. As an employee, the responsibilities are greater, but the transition helps you gain leadership skills and autonomy. So, at each stage I have always found new things to contribute on a personal and professional level.

The learning path is unlimited, and the technology sector evolves rapidly, so we have to be in constant training at a technical level.

The process of being an intern is a transformative experience both at a personal and professional level. My greatest skill that I have enhanced is self-confidence, as well as improving my organizational and adaptability skills. Professionally, I have gained several technical competency strengths that will make me a competitive professional in the workplace. This growth is key to lay the foundation for a solid and successful career.

The long road of learning is a gift that will stay with me forever. Telefónica Tech has facilitated my adaptation in these three years. I enjoy working in an innovative environment and learning from technology experts. I keep the soft and interpersonal skills that will be valuable throughout my career.

I am deeply grateful for the trust and support received, as this opportunity has brought me one step closer to achieving my goals and growing as a professional in such a dynamic field as technology.

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