Internship in Paris and Madrid at Lufthansa Cargo AG
1.
Acquisition
of the internship
Before
going to France’s capital for studying for one semester at our Partner
University I had already applied for the internship in the Marketing and
Communication department at Lufthansa Cargo in Paris. My first intention was to
work there for about three months but the manager of the department offered me
to join the team for six months. It meant I couldn’t participate in the winter
courses at university but I decided to take the chance to gather professional
experiences in a foreign country, to get an idea of the French working life and
to intensify my French language skills.
My boss was
responsible for the marketing and communication activities for France,
Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Promotions, media-events,
customer- and press-communications, adaptation of global and creation of local
campaigns etc. were planned and run by the department. I was in charge of different
projects either for the whole region or a certain country and supported the
management in their daily-work as well as in special projects. I had close contact
to colleagues in the five countries, the marketing team in Lufthansa Cargo’s
headquarter in Germany and worked with agencies and local journalists.
One week
before leaving Paris I got informed about an internship place at Lufthansa
Cargo in Madrid. Having still time till the beginning of the summer semester at
university I applied for that job and started my work in Spain’s capital two
weeks after leaving France. I was responsible for the project “Industry
approach in Spain and Portugal” which was placed in the strategic department
and supported the local team.
2.
Leonardo-programme
I have got
the first information about the Leonardo-programme in an intercultural-skill-course
at university. I asked my professor for detailed information and applied for a
scholarship. Leonardo sponsored my internship in France – unfortunately it isn’t
possible to apply twice.
3.
Professional
and personal profit
It was
quite interesting and challenging to work in an international and
cross-cultural surrounding. I didn’t do any work without thinking of cultural
differences, because the success of a campaign, a promotion, press releases,
events depends on the language correctness and on the awareness and adaptation
of small tricky cultural differences. And there are many of them!
During my
internship I learnt a lot but could also benefit from my theoretical knowledge.
I like communicating in a foreign-language even if it makes things more
complicated. I have got to know two different cultures and people from other
countries. And I learnt: I will work in an international surrounding. Working
abroad is more than just a job. It demands basic professional qualifications,
foreign-language skills, social commitment and above all a high flexibility.
4.
The
social environment
The
property market in Paris is characterized by extremely high prizes. After finishing
my courses at Paris University I stayed in the international foyer in the
centre of Paris. Although I shared my room with another person and it took my
80 minutes to get work (because the office was at the airport Charles de
Gaulles) I didn’t want to move to another place. I liked living in an
international surrounding and was quite glad that my Spanish colleagues
organised a room in a nice apartment with mates from Switzerland, England and
Spain.
Useful hint
for outgoings