The 6-week Edelman x 10,000 Black Interns internship has been an eye-opening experience for all of us so Damian Alvarez and I thought we'd share some of our initial intern thoughts from this brief period. Here are five first impressions we gained from our experiences at Edelman London.
1. IT’S VERY CORPORATE – NOT!
This is only partially true. The company has many elements to it outside of the ‘corporate’ dimension, so it feels more like an amalgamation of different operating styles. Sure, there are corporate sides to the business, but this only forms one part of the Edelman puzzle, with a variety of other teams, such as Health and Brand, making up the missing pieces.
2. A VERY SUPPORTIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT.
Following on from the first point, if you mistook the business to be very corporate facing, that might lead you to assume that working here feels ‘uptight’ or ‘cold’. That is completely not the case. Edelman is very inclusive and supportive of its employees; if you’re ever stuck you can easily ask anyone for help.
3. EACH DAY IS UNPREDICTABLE.
“I work for Edelman” doesn’t give much insight into your day-to-day schedule. Crisis, media, new business, product launches, in-house functions, client calls, integrated projects, and more. We always filled each day with something different (except maybe doing our timesheets daily).
4. YOU HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO DO MORE AND BECOME MORE.
There are many learning and personal development opportunities available. Do you have a particular skill set? Are you interested in a specific type of work or client? There’s potential at Edelman to put yourself forward for a variety of opportunities. Edelman’s global reach creates further possibilities. Not to mention over 400 courses on ELI, the company's internal L&D platform.
5. IT’S INNOVATIVE.
Edelman seeks to make significant headroom in business to consumer (B2C) relations, putting trusting and productive relationships first and foremost. With this, the company has made significant contributions in ensuring its workplace becomes more diverse. Edelman places a strong emphasis on its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), showing this through its partnership with the recently created 10,000 Black Interns programme, encouraging and innovating their workspace to become ever-more creative and productive.