Life as a TEGEMEA Intern
About a week after lockdown started in the UK, I was scrolling through LinkedIn and came across an internship posting for a Business Support and Development Assistant. For those that know me personally, they know that I try to make the most of any situation - and what better way to spend lockdown, as a university student interested in business, than to apply! So I applied, got an interview, and was offered the Intern role. I could easily say that this was one of the happiest days I’ve had this year, since finding a job or work experience has been difficult.
The last three months at TEGEMEA have gone by so quickly. Everything I have learnt and experienced at TEGEMEA is beyond what I initially imagined when I clicked on the ‘send’ button to put in my application. Despite the current pandemic that has unfortunately led many to become unable to carry out an internship with major companies, I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity. In the next few paragraphs, I’ll summarise my experience and what I have learnt in the last three months.
Working for a new business is both exciting and rewarding
Working for a big renowned company can be great, but I have found that working with TEGEMEA has given me responsibility that I may not have been able to have in a bigger company. I have been able take on creative tasks, contribute to TEGEMEA’s marketing strategy, learn about invoicing, and conduct research for an options appraisal report amongst many other things. As a student, this is helpful to me because I am slowly learning what tasks I find most interesting.
Working for TEGEMEA is rewarding because any ‘victory’ for TEGEMEA (whether that be on-boarding a new client or receiving good feedback from the client after completing a project), feels like a personal victory! It is really rewarding when you know that the work you do, even as an intern, can make a big impact on the company and the clients that you work for. While some people may feel that this means a lot of pressure and requires constant multitasking, for me, this is what makes my role at TEGEMEA exciting.
Be curious, do your research and be agile
My internship at TEGEMEA has helped me to develop my independence and initiative when completing tasks. However, it is so important to be curious and ask questions when appropriate - and Abisola has been supportive in answering my questions during our weekly meetings. When completing client work, I have learnt that it is important to be agile - you must be able to quickly adapt to any changes and the feedback given by the client. Agility is also important within a new business as you trial different systems and products, before eventually finding systems that suit the needs of your business.
Knowing that the client is happy with the work produced motivates me to keep working hard on tasks. I initially thought that I wouldn’t need to do as much research after University, but this internship has shown me that thorough research is an important in producing accurate information for the client.
I now value the analytical skills I have been able to develop when reading through hundreds of journals for my University essays!
Organisation is KEY
I have become more organised through this internship as I have learnt important formulas and shortcuts on Excel, how to label emails, and effectively take meeting minutes. Spreadsheets and Google Drive have become so essential to my role as there are lots of different tasks that have to be completed and documented. My internship has shown me how important technology is in shaping a business, especially because connectivity has become more important as more people work remotely. Through the Excel and admin tutorials that the Managing Director has provided me with me, I have been able produce my own personal budgeting table, and I also now use spreadsheets to manage projects outside of TEGEMEA.
Working with REAL Data Means Being Part of the Big Picture
As I progressed through this internship, I was slowly given more responsibility and the opportunity to handle direct client tasks. As someone who’s experience has been mainly within Retail, it took me a while to realise that being part of TEGEMEA meant doing tasks that would also impact other companies. Yes in my sales assistant roles it was important to reach sales targets and increase sales to increase company revenue.
However, being part of TEGEMEA means that my actions won’t only impact the company I work for, but also other companies that have their own values and targets to meet.
Moreover, as a University student, I had only ever looked at case studies and hypothetical business projects. So, although working on real cases added more pressure, it was an exciting new territory for me.
Knowing that the work I do can have an impact on our clients makes the work worthwhile and motivates me to provide the best work I can.
I have been given so many different types of tasks that have taught me important skills as a virtual assistant, but also skills that I can use in my daily life. I am overjoyed and thankful to announce that I have been given an opportunity to learn and experience more with TEGEMEA as an official Virtual Business Support Assistant at the end of July. I’m looking forward to working with clients more closely and supporting their businesses to help them achieve their goals.
Hello, I am Shelby Dosdos, a Virtual Business Support and Development Intern at TEGEMEA, soon to be a Virtual Business Support Assistant.
I have just finished my second year at King’s College London studying Global Health and Social Medicine BSc. I look forward to more demanding and challenging tasks as a TEGEMEA VA!