My Internship at Xport: Fun & Learning Outside of my Comfort Zone

Six weeks passed quickly. A fun, informative experience is sadly coming to an end. As a guy, who had no experience of sales and marketing at all, I was worried that I would not match the requirements of the role, during this internship.

When I started to work on my first project, I had no idea where to start and where to finish it. After completing the task I had a better understanding of what Xport actually does. In addition with my increasing knowledge, the complexity of the tasks also increased. After finishing a few tasks, I realised I didn’t need to be afraid of not matching the requirements. Even though there were sometimes little language problems, because I’m not a native English speaker, the team was patient to ensure I understood what was required of me.

Meet Xport’s Winter Intern: Robin, Germany

Hi, my name is Robin and I’m from a small village near Hannover, Germany. I’m currently in an apprenticeship at a Local Government as an administration employee and will finish it in June 2017. I take part in the “Erasmus”-project of the European Union, which offers students to go to a different country of the EU and gain experience in working abroad.

I will be working at Xport for six weeks in January and February. I came to Finland, because I want to improve my English and office skills. In addition, I like Finland’s landscape. In my free time, I love to meet my friends, listen to music and reading novels.

Robin Schnelle, Germany

My Internship at Another Place on Earth

My time as being an intern at Xport eventually has come to an end, and I have to say that these 2 months feel just like 2 weeks. During my internship, I got a little insight into the Finnish business working life and their particularities in Finland. I enjoyed it pretty much. The number one reason I enjoyed it so much was the international Xport team.

Meet Xport’s Summer Interns: Benedikt, Germany

Benedikt getting onto the swing of life at Xport

 

Hello, my name is Benedikt, and I’m from Leverkusen, Germany. This is a little city approx. 15 km outside of the world-famous Cologne. I attend the Georg- Simon-Ohm Vocational College for Media Production and Information Technology in Cologne, where I’m doing a 3-year professional training. I’ll finish in July 2016 as a qualified “state-certified IT specialist,” and an entrance degree to go to a university of applied sciences.

Working in Finland to Learn About International Business

Janine enjoying her last day at Xport!

My internship at Xport eventually comes to an end and I have to say that time went by way too fast. Although my time here in Finland was very short, I was able to gather a lot of valuable experiences

During the last 6 weeks I was able to learn a lot about office work in an international company, which will really help me in my future working life.

It was really interesting for me to do different tasks varying from Amazon research, translations or contacting German companies. Besides these, I had the opportunity to attend some meetings with Finnish companies. It was nice to see how these companies and their employees work, compared to those in Germany. What I really liked about my internship is that I was able to use my German language skills to help and support the company with their work.

Being an intern very often implies doing tasks without having too much responsibility. Xport however gives you the chance to work independently and self-reliantly, but that doesn’t tarnish the feeling that I could ask for help whenever I needed it.

Because of the friendly team and the resulting relaxed atmosphere, I automatically felt welcomed. It’s obvious that the whole team really cares about the well-being of their interns, which in my eyes says a lot of positive things about a company.

What stands out immediately is that the Xport team is very motivated and dynamic in their daily working routine. Teamwork is especially important here. I had the impression that the employees are working hard to achieve their goals and to bring Xport further forward.

Looking back on my 6 weeks in Seinäjoki, I know I made the right decision in choosing Finland and, of course, Xport for my internship.

I am very grateful that I had the chance to join the Xport team for six weeks. I wish them all the best.

 

Janine Gerling, Germany

Outside Looking In: A German Intern’s View Of A Finnish Company

Kerstin, enjoying her time at Xport

My four months internship at Xport is already over, and the time has truly been flying.

During the last few months I have been introduced to a lot more impressions of Finland than in my previous nine month stay here as an international student. The people from Xport and BSTR are an incredible team; their group dynamic is infectious and you feel welcome right away.

Having studied here during my Bachelor degree, I felt fairly capable in dealing with Finnish people and culture, but I found that studying in an international degree program does not compare with Finns and the Finnish culture in a working environment. Their companies’ culture is unlike any other I have ever seen before, which is in part due to the international mindset of Xport, but also because they are still a young company with a tight-knit team.