How to use the summer break to get out of your comfort zone
Why?
My name is Ariana Rodrigues, and I am studying economics in Faculdade de Economia da Universidade do Porto. This summer, I decided that I wanted to do something that would prepare me for my future, the job market, and somehow give me some experience. It was in search of a company that could help me in this challenge, that came the NQ Digital Agency. And you think: but you’re an economics student, what are you going to do in a digital agency? I know, it’s not very related to my area! But now that I’m finishing the internship I can tell you: I’m glad it’s not related!
The college years formatted me for a particular type of internship, company, and job type. NQ helped me get all these preconceived ideas out of my head. I realised that the course we took in college is just a guide, and it doesn’t need to define our future and the kind of work we’re going to do.
I had no expectations about the company, the work environment, or the people I would meet there. But from the first moment I walked through the door of that cosy office, I realised that this month of the internship was going to be a great learning experience!
How do I get out of my comfort zone?
This month when I was an intern at NQ, I had the opportunity to do several things that put me to the test every minute! They presented me with several challenges, and I decided to accept them all, as time also allowed me to do so.
First came the biggest challenge, the one that put me to the test: making a company Playbook. I started with intensive research, where I analysed several companies and their respective playbooks to figure out what would be the best approach for NQ. Then I started with the hard work: beginning to gather information, understand processes and talk to the team. It was undoubtedly my biggest challenge because I was suddenly dealing with entirely new concepts, with processes I didn’t know. But it was surely an essential part of my internship because it was where I learned the most and where I began to understand the dynamics of the IT sector.
In parallel to this, I had the opportunity to work on other topics. One was the profiling of team members. I could get everyone thinking about themselves, which is quite challenging to do, and it was interesting to see how much effort everyone put into that task. From the information I collected, I was able to profile each one and still manage the qualities and difficulties of the whole team. It was here that another of my tasks arose, the creation of an internal training event to try to combat some of the difficulties listed by the team. They let me think about the theme, the speakers and organise the logistics of the event, which gave me a great sense of responsibility and autonomy.
Finally, my last task was to think of content for the company’s new website. It was the part where I could give my imagination more wings, which is something I don’t do every day. I also started with a research work, which gave me new knowledge about the IT sector and the companies present in it. The next step was to unleash my imagination and start writing. And I can only say that I loved it! I would never say that I would be able to write things so funny and so relevant to the company at the same time.
Parallel to all tasks, I was constantly challenged to talk to the team and present my work to everyone. Being a person who doesn’t feel very confident in public speaking, this part was essential because it allowed me to work on my communication skills.
As you can see, this was a constant month of learning and leaving the comfort zone. I realised that within the technology area, there is much more than programming and design. There is room for students like me from a completely different area to work in marketing, human resources, etc.
What are the final thoughts?
Now that these four weeks are coming to an end, I can confirm that it was indeed an experience I can never forget. I always had the support of the whole team, fantastic and dedicated people!
Now I have to thank and hope that the work I have done in these four weeks will be useful for the whole team! I will be eternally grateful to everyone for welcoming me so well (and for making me delicious mixed toasts at lunchtime).
And you know, if you have ideas of getting out of your comfort zone or your course area, don’t be afraid! You’ll love it all and enjoy every second of learning!
