Office Antics - Year Abroad #4

My next article for Inter:Mission about the fun of an inappropriate office... 

Upon embarking on a 6 month placement in a French marketing and PR agency in Bordeaux, I was fairly confident of what to expect; lots of coffee-making, plenty of scanning and many embarrassing language-barrier moments. Officially only an intern in the ‘Community Management’ department (my job description in French … really), my expectations of tedious and trivial tasks were quite wrong.

It goes without saying that the communication issues were incredibly prevalent at the beginning of my placement, often leading to hesitant nodding in the affirmative to tasks even if I didn’t have a clue of the instructions. However, the scanning and barista tasks were few and far between. Instead, I was treated like a fully capable employee, reflected in every part of my life at the agency, except rather unfortunately, by my salary (a big thank you to the European tax payers, the Erasmus grant is a wonderful thing when your salary just about covers your rent). This means that although I only earn about 2 euros an hour, doing ‘real’ work means that I am getting to know my colleagues quite well. Perhaps too well.

An eclectic group of personalities, made up of more interns than full-time staff (no, I’m actually not joking), by the end of the first week I realised that formality was not necessary in this office. The telling moments included being added on SnapChat by more than one colleague in week 1, over-hearing someone in the creative department ask someone on the PR team if she was pregnant in front of the boss and a client (she wasn’t) and being offered something quite strong at our first work soirée. Needless to say I am always on my best behaviour, much to their disappointment and often pretend to find understanding French a little harder than it is.

Although my first few weeks were made up of memorable and fantastically inappropriate moments, my most amusing occasion in the office so far has to be the day when I stumbled across the profile of one of my colleagues on an online dating website (I know you’re wondering what I was doing on there myself, well you can read all about my online dating experiencein France in my previous article). Thinking of this as the perfect way to contribute to lunchtime conversation and get a foot on the banter ladder, I prepared to bring it up over a baguette-induced silence the following day. I perfected my speech, ensuring I had the right vocabulary to hand…their response? “Oh, of course we know all about it, our previous intern found him on there too!”

I could not have asked for a better year abroad job, and I’m not just saying that through fear that my boss will read this article. My colleagues are patient with my language gaps and encouraging of initiative and responsibility. Usefully for me they don’t speak any English (except the mandatory Friends quotes) and they are rather keen to teach me both formal and informal French. Although I do make plenty of cups of tea every day, they are mostly for me and, as of yet I have never been asked to photocopy anything. 

'20 Things 20-Year-Olds Don't Get' - A Response

I recently read the most fantastic article by Jason Nazar on Forbes about young people and their attitude to business. The no-nonsense style of the article was a change from the molly-coddled, spoon-fed and watered-down approach of treating young people in the 21^st century, especially by career professionals (Huffington Post recently argued, rather mockingly, that always being told we are special is ultimately making us unhappy). While I wouldn’t personally like to work under Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Nazar’s example of the most valuable boss, being told off for my future mistakes before I make them could be useful. Business is not about Miss Honey telling us what to do and giving us a big cuddle if we don’t succeed, it’s about pro-activity and initiative. I imagine it’s also about having a thick skin too.

Nazar talks about the emergence of social media in the business world and its longevity, or lack thereof. Although many would be offended at his suggestion that ‘social media is not a career’, his point is clear. Social Media is unreliable and may disappear as quickly as it arrived. Reports suggest that Twitter has already reached the top of its graph and is now on the decline and even Instagram feels the need to introduce advertising to prevent social media mortality being a reality. As Nazar states, Social Media is a tool for marketing that should be adapted to other business, rather than be the business itself. Social Media is simple, it is isolated and above all, it is unreliable. Business may not be reliable either, but it involves interaction with people and the formation of business relationships that can’t be acquired from posting on a Facebook page a few times a day.

Would we ask to go home if this happened?
Image: WeBlogCartoons

His comment, ‘Stop hiding behind your computer. Business gets done on the phone and in person.  It should be your first instinct’ is of particular relevance to my generation. We don’t pick up the phone anymore and many don’t even bother with email. In order to contact the Graduate Recruiters for the Big 4, it seems as though my comrades simply head to the Facebook page and add a comment to the long list of obvious and unnecessary questions before them. The way I see it, hiding behind our computers is making us anonymous, uninteresting and ridding us of all initiative. Asking questions has its time and place, but working something out for yourself is invaluable.

While I don’t agree with everything Nazar says, such as his rejection of tweet reading, the overall essence of his article appears to be a comment on laziness. Lack of networking, hiding behind social media and sending blanket emails; it is all easy. Picking up the phone, meeting business professionals and taking responsibility for our own mistakes may be tough, but it is rewarding. The Co-Founder of Docstoc has certainly persuaded me of one thing, there’s a lot more to business than sitting in front of a computer.

I urge you to read the original article, ’20 Things20-Year-Olds Don’t Get’ on Forbes.

Using Vine To Fill My Time

As you may know, I am currently in Bordeaux working in a communications firm that specialises in quality food brands. Although only an intern, I actually get to do some interesting work, especially with the English press and the brand, ‘Instant Naturel’. 

However, when there is a little time to spare...we like to make videos!

(with minions...)

Instant Naturel's Cake Decorations:

Instant Naturel's Flavoured and Coloured Sugars:




Instant Naturel's Vinegars With Fruit Pulp:

The University Debate- is the First Year of University a Waste of Time?

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have rather brashly put this blog under the title, ‘The University Debate’ not because I believe that one already exists but because I think it should. I have to admit that more than once during my first year at Bristol I asked myself why I was spending money to do not very much there rather than earning money to do a lot somewhere else. What’s more, I am constantly struck by the fact that it appears a lot of people feel the same, but no one seems to be doing anything about it.

With the first lot of high-fee freshers already struggling with freshers' flu, more than ever students are feeling the financial strain. These students, (most of whom, understandably, see the fee rise as education being more expensive, rather than less subsidised) will start to feel like customers. Customers who when they pay more, expect more.  

During my first year at Bristol, my French degree had me in the lecture theatre a total of 8 hours a week. That is to say, the equivalent of one adult’s working day. Of course I was expected to do work outside of my contact time, but with no repercussions for your results providing you can manage the 40% required, it doesn't exactly encourage people to adhere to these expectations. I understand the theory; we are supposed to spend our first year adapting, finding our feet, joining the tiddlywinks society and learning what it is like to be independent. But when, particularly with an Arts degree, your studies aren’t really directed towards any job sector, you can’t help thinking that it is not very useful.

The pressure on students during this financial crisis is immense. We are told constantly that we should wave goodbye to the idea of a paid internship and that there just simply aren’t any jobs, especially if you don’t have a 2:1. This leaves two options: stay in education forever or be as prepared as possible for the outside world. In my eyes, 8 hours a week doesn’t fit into either category.

I must admit that I enjoyed adapting, finding and growing this year- but should a £9000 first year at university only be about fun? And that only takes into consideration the cost of tuition, students have to pay for halls, food, transport, books and even a drink or two at the pub as well. I would suggest that this luxury of requiring a year before the hard work starts, while being nice, is a teeny tiny bit outdated as future students may be reluctant to take on debt that they will resent paying back for the whole of their working lives.

How to Avoid Being the Subservient Intern

When applying for work experience or short internships in an office, we all know that however fantastic an opportunity it is, we will be expected to make endless cups of tea (or coffee, if you’ve secured a place in a particularly fashionable company) while photocopying 100 pages of something dull all while you organise the entirety of their intern inbox. Well, having done two, two week slots of internships this summer and discovering that I genuinely wanted to be useful, here are my top tips for persuading the company (or just the most junior person who is currently teaching you how to scan and then email it to yourself) that you’re capable of much more.

1.       Do your research. It may sound obvious, but knowing their ethos is not enough. A sure way to impress on your first day is to know their clients, their history and any important people in their company who helped make it happen.

2.       Make suggestions. At one of the agencies I was working at, I noticed that their website was littered with typing errors. Apparently I showed initiative in offering to make corrections. I was very happy to discover that this appeared to impress them- which is always a nice feeling.

3.       Be proactive. If you hear mutterings in the wind of an onsite meeting or a conference call, muster up the courage to ask if you can join. You will feel much more included in the company (and you won’t have to flip the kettle on for at least an hour).

4.       Network. Although you’ve probably been assigned to a specific department or area of the office, don’t feel that you are unable to circulate occasionally. You never know, someone downstairs might be your brother’s girlfriend’s dog’s uncle (or they might just find you impressive and offer you experience in the future).

Whatever the work you’re doing, make sure you feel valued. When you arrive you are just forgettable free labour to them, but a bit of (that magic word) initiative and you don’t have to stay that way.