Hello! My name is Liana, and I am a third-year exchange student from the US currently studying at National Taiwan University.
As a new intern for applemint, I’m looking forward to entering the digital marketing world and gaining experience in a variety of fields. I hope that reading about my perspective will help other international students gain some insight into interning abroad!
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Why I chose a startup in Taipei
After receiving a scholarship that required me to secure an unpaid internship in Taiwan, I started applying to companies where I could see myself expanding my skillset.
I felt that my background in communications and administrative work would put me in a strong position to learn digital marketing methods for the first time. In addition, I hoped to experience working on a smaller start-up team after my previous internship at a larger national nonprofit in the US.
While students may have varying priorities while searching for an internship placement, an overarching important factor is the ability to gain meaningful experience in the position rather than simply running errands or completing mundane tasks. Another factor that most would take into consideration is the presence of a structured internship program with mutually agreed upon goals.
Choosing applemint
In my first email exchanges with applemint, we established learning goals and possible assignments, which made feel confident in believing that this internship was one of substance. It was important to me to choose a position where I knew that the team would be dedicated to my learning and helping me reach my short-term learning goals for my long-term career.
My interview with Leo, the CEO, reaffirmed my interest in applemint. I learned more about specific tasks and softwares I would become familiar with, such as engaging in event promotion, contacting KOLs, and creating short videos.
As a Global Studies major, I was particularly intrigued by applemint’s presence in Taiwan as a Japanese marketing company. I felt reassured that I would be able to conduct the internship in English, as the office is multilingual and also speaks Mandarin and Japanese.
What I expect to learn from my internship
The contract for the position outlined many learning goals that I could pursue at the company, including practical digital marketing training, market research, and social media post planning.
The CEO also hosts case studies for our learning; I was able to offer suggestions on a client’s UX design and learn about their registration process in the most recent case study. While I may not yet be able to name what specific skills I will gain, I expect to become more confident with my professional development and collaboration skills as I familiarize myself with various digital marketing operations.
applemint’s smaller team builds an environment where I feel comfortable asking questions and learning step by step.
How this internship will shape my future career
Because I’m still unsure about what I’d like to pursue after graduation, any experience that I gain at an internship helps me narrow down the specific direction of my future career.
However, I am especially excited to intern at applemint because the skills of digital marketing can be applied to many different endeavors. As I discussed with Leo during my interview, short-form video content is an asset to many companies nowadays in terms of advertising and publicity.
He placed a lot of emphasis on gaining practical experience that would help me in my job search after college, which I greatly appreciated. The concrete skills and knowledge gained from actively engaging with marketing tools and learning from my senior coworkers on a weekly basis will equip me for my future pursuits, not only within digital marketing but also within many other possible fields.
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