Marketing & Communications Semester Internship in Korea

Hi, we are Jury Choi and Jinyoung Koo and this has been our semester internship at the Marketing & Communication department of TÜV Rheinland Korea! Hope you enjoy!

Our ideas of a semester internship

Jury:
I major in Chinese Literature & Language and Business Management. I always wanted to work at an international company to see what the career world is (really) like. So when I saw that TÜV Rheinland Korea was looking for a Marketing intern, I signed up right away. I hoped to learn more about international marketing and to get to know the real atmosphere of a workplace.

Jinyoung:
My subjects are Media and Marketing. When I was searching for the internship program, I had the two most important questions for me in mind: 1. “Is the internship Marketing related?”. 2. “Is it a Global Company?”
TÜV Rheinland matched the criteria perfectly. I was attracted by the job description tasks such as writing white papers, making brochures, supporting events and seminars and managing social media activities.

Starting to get the hang of this marketing thing!

Jury:
Marketing & Communications (M&C) does a number of different things. Simply put – M&C is responsible for everything that represents TÜV Rheinland externally. The M&C-team writes and reviews all the PR materials, makes and designs flyers introducing our services, and constantly updates the latest TÜV Rheinland news on multiple marketing channels.

As an intern, my main responsibility was to translate global news into Korean. So Korean customers could access the regulatory updates and other important news as fast as possible.

Another task of mine was to create service flyers based on TÜV Rheinland templates using design tools. Through this process, I learned that a multinational company has a significant branding philosophy, implemented through detailed requirements on company colour, logos, phrases and design. At school, I only could grasp a vague idea of ‘branding’. But in my internship I could see how the brand philosophy comes to life through the many brand specifications.

Jinyoung:
Folks you have no idea – SO. MANY. TRANSLATIONS! Jury and I used the term ‘infiltration’ because there was so much translation even during other tasks. In Korea, the native language isn`t English, so all content must be translated again. Those contents were published and sent via newsletters and SNS channels (Social Networking Service) like Blogs and Facebook. Also there were many tools that I experienced for the first time. Particularly, I have never heard of Search Engine Marketing before, so it was great to see how the Google Sponsorship Program is organized.

Our gain after the internship: Knowledge and good contacts

Jury:
In my four months here, I gained a better understanding of B2B marketing and of being a co-worker. My idea on marketing in practice was to develop one idea after another and making creative materials. But there is so much more to marketing than that. I could see the wide range of the marketing spectrum. Through my internship, I could specify what kind of marketing I am interested in. I am considering my future career path in sales marketing and data analysis marketing.

I also learned how to get along with people as colleagues, not friends. It was a new experience for me to have a working relationship with fellow interns, my supervisor, and colleagues from other teams. The six interns that worked together this semester were all great, and we actually ended up as good friends.

Jinyoung:
I’m very happy that I was part of a global company! It was great to experience how the company, departments and people from different countries work together. Cooperation was especially encouraged by team projects, where we had to introduce particular business topics. My team held a presentation on ITE/AV services of which I had no expertise and knowledge. Other than the team project, me and Jury also worked on presenting what we did over the past four months as marketing interns. I think this project helped me to understand the company structure and work style. Jury helped me a lot when we were struggling through unfamiliar work tasks and I established good relationships with other interns, too.

One of my highlights was when one news release I wrote was actually used by reporters for an article. I still read that article over and over again! I think my experiences at TÜV Rheinland Korea will be an important corner stone for my future career.

Our next steps after the internship: to become a professional marketer

Jury:
Next semester means going back to school for me. After a year in China as an exchange student and four months at TÜV Rheinland as an intern, it has been a year and a half that I spent away from my university. Honestly, I am a bit nervous since it is also my last semester in school, but there is no better way but to just power through! After graduation, I will focus on pursuing my career as a marketer in a global company.

Jinyoung:
My decision to work at a global company became stronger. I like the business culture, where everyone respects each other and problems can be clarified openly and systematically. I always wanted to be a ‘global something’, and the internship program in TÜV Rheinland gave me the certainty to pursue my dreams.

After the internship fortunately I am off to Germany as an exchange student. Thanks to the experiences in TÜV Rheinland Korea, I am looking forward to the next term in Germany so much more. It may sound a little ridiculous, but I dream of visiting all the cities that have the names of the meeting rooms in TÜV Rheinland Korea!