An internship at UY: what are you getting yourself into?

Why Unmute You?

Wietse first came across marketing in highschool. It interested him enough to keep busy with it in his spare time, but not enough to study it. He chose computer science instead. Over time, however, he found that this was not his thing. Marketing, on the other hand, kept piquing his interest. He decided to change things up and study Marketing and Communications at AP Hogeschool, leaving computer science behind. Since the course requires students to do internships, Wietse went looking. The combination of his experience with computer science and marketing, though, turned out to be a perfect fit with Unmute You! So, when we got to talking and the match was clearly visible, the game was on: Wietse would be our new intern.

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Why marketing?

For Wietse, marketing is about delving into new topics and customers and finding solutions for them based on analysis. He enjoys setting up campaigns, but even more so researching and understanding a company. To thoroughly investigate what a company needs to carry out its vision and mission. Needless to say, such a mind fits our team perfectly and we were happy to have him!

The only thing Wietse occasionally struggled with was doing research for a company’s companies. Some lean close to your personal interests, others are completely out of your comfort zone. However, we soon saw that even then, he is fully committed to the work, because getting to know new companies and their mission, along with the rest of the marketeers, sparked his dedication. In turn, he discovered that we didn't just leave that work to him. As our marketeer Elisa would sing, "We're aaaaall in this togeeeether..."

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“It was incredibly refreshing to witness that the other marketeers were doing the exact same thing as me. We were all working towards the same goals, together.”
-Wietse

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Why he would(n’t) do it again

What struck us was that Wietse describes us as ‘a group of friends who happen to work together in the same company’. It's an affirmation we honestly didn't ask for, but that flatters us to no end. He also said that the flexible hours and the easy-going atmosphere in general made him forget about time. Like any student (we seem to remember this from long ago), he usually has a hard time getting up in the morning, but for Unmute You he happily jumped out of bed.

When asked for a tip for future interns, Wietse had the following words of wisdom to share:

"Just go with the flow. Don't resist the way things work (because you will probably clash with your colleagues) and let it overwhelm you. You will learn so much. Yes, you will have to work hard, but you will get a lot of perks, relaxing moments and serious fun in return. I highly recommend this internship. Scout’s honour."
-Wietse

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What Wietse’s future holds? That's up to him, but we’re excited to keep an eye on his endeavours!

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The fun stuff

So, what was the most fun for Wietse? For example, he participated in workshops and meetings with customers. That really excited him, as it was exactly such interactions he was looking for. Moreover, he was assigned a complete project: a client for whom he had to set up a thorough report on their online marketing. Wietse started by reading up on the company and its mission. Then he started inspecting: how many followers did this client have on their platforms? How often did they post on socials? How successful were those posts?

Wietse learned to document his findings and articulate them the best way possible. He regularly reviewed his work with one of us and took our feedback to finetune where necessary. His goal was to eventually present the client with a clear document both visually and verbally. The client would know where they stood and what possible steps they could take to improve their online marketing processes. He even set to work on developing a content plan. To Wietse's regret, his internship is ending soon, but he has been given the opportunity to come back for that meeting and to present it to the client. Something to look forward to!

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What was it like working at Unmute You?

When asked, he says the first days consisted of a lot of 'trial and error'. He attributes this to the way Unmute You works. In fact, it is something that took him completely by surprise. Some explanation is in order: at Unmute You, we start each week by going through everyone's schedule for that week. We check in with each other daily to see how things are going, but otherwise we are all independent and take responsibility for our work and how we distribute it throughout the week. For Wietse, it meant a complete switch from the mentality of his previous internship. There, he had been given daily tasks within the hours of nine to five. Here, he was suddenly given the freedom to decide for himself how to fill his schedule.

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"I am most proud of the way I learnt to be self-reliant. I didn't fall back on Sarra or Jeroen too often. The only reason I was able to do that is because they clearly trusted me. I appreciate that because it allowed me to grow."
-Wietse

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Wietse also stated that he learned to communicate with (future) team members. A valuable aspect of his internship, according to him. We made him feel included and he quickly started to blend in. By the end of his internship, Wietse was laughing along with us, sharing funny stories at lunch and engaging in multiple conversations. We are glad he felt so comfortable, because to us he definitely felt part of the crew.

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Would you like to be the next Wietse? Check our vacancies to see if we’re hiring interns! No? Still reach out, because you never know. We’re always open for new talent!