As I pass the halfway mark of my three-month internship at BIG Partnership, I thought I’d share my thoughts on starting an internship from home.
When I sat down at my desk on the morning of my first day at BIG Partnership, I faced a three-month internship with a team I had never met before, and I was doing it all from my laptop.
Since graduating in a year that many would call unprecedented, I had been fortunate to gain previous experience via an internship with another agency before starting at BIG. Albeit, an agency I had previously met in an office. My internship with BIG, however, has this far been completely virtual, where I work with colleagues I have never had a chance to meet in person.
I won’t lie, there are some perks to starting an internship from home. I was quite happy to miss out on the first-day outfit stress the night before and the challenge of where to sit in the office when I got there. (Just imagine accidentally sitting in the boss’s seat?!) These are not the type of problems you encounter when you begin an internship from your family home.
Instead, I worry if my brother’s Netflix use will overwhelm the Wi-Fi, or if my dogs, as cute as they might be, will bark when the doorbell rings, or if my dad will stomp into the middle of the room whilst I’m in a meeting. All three of which can already be ticked off the list.
As daunting as a virtual first day could be, this proved not to be one. Even with some IT-shaped bumps in the road, my first day, as well as the rest of my first week, was smooth sailing. I was met by smiley faces from friendly colleagues that are only a Teams call away and was quickly brought up to speed with the exciting projects and campaigns that were in the running with clients. Despite the distance, I couldn’t be more appreciative of how quickly and effortlessly the Edinburgh team has brought be into the fold.
Although I can’t easily give someone a quick (physical) nudge to ask a question, the team are incredibly approachable over email and Teams chats when asking for help. I feel I have equal opportunity as a virtual intern to attend client meetings, conduct media sell-ins, write press releases, work with influencers, as well as attending, which one can only describe as a very different, Company Christmas Party!
A recent highlight has been working on Simon Howie’s launch of the first ever haggis in space. We were very proud to have secured fantastic coverage of this launch across social media, national and regional coverage, with the Simon Howie Space Haggis even travelling to CNN in the US!
I feel very fortunate to joined the Edinburgh team at BIG during this time, and I’ve loved working on a superb range of clients. It is inspiring to see how successful they have been despite the challenges of the past year.
My experience as an intern may be vastly different to previous interns, but I’m certain that I am enjoying it just as much as those who interned in the office. I believe starting an internship at BIG is seamless, whether it is in person or over a computer screen, given the friendly nature of both the Edinburgh team and the whole company. Though, I must admit that getting to see wee Henry, Sarah Robertson’s gorgeous puppy, during calls is definitely a bonus of working from home!
Niamh Frizzell – BIG Intern
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