The Intern Life

Interview With Groupon
Tell us a bit about
the type of internship you're on at Groupon
I have been working as a visual designer for the Consumer Marketing Team on a six-month internship since January.  I’m now five months into it and I’m excited to say I have just accepted the offer of a permanent position at Groupon!
Why did you decide
to go for an internship at Groupon?
I have always had a keen interest in the IT sphere. Having said that, I have always had a keener interest in design and Groupon has allowed me to be part of both worlds, which is one of the main reasons I applied for the internship. Added to that, after arranging my interview I went on a researching ‘binge’ to find out more about Groupon. I was taken aback by the sheer size of the company and, having grown up in Zambia, I knew that the international aspect of Groupon appealed to me.
What did you do for a living before joining Groupon?
Before I started working for Groupon I was fresh onto the job market. I had graduated only three months previously with a BA (Hons) in Interior Architecture from Griffith College Dublin and started doing freelance work as a 3D Visualiser creating computer generated images for prospective building projects. I heard about the internship when a recruiter from Groupon emailed my colleague upon hearing about the college’s design faculty. They, in turn, emailed me knowing I would be interested and six minutes after submitting my CV and portfolio they got in contact with me to arrange an interview!  Needless to say I was more than a little surprised but I was soon to find out that Groupon operates in this speedy way in general. Although my background is different from what I am currently doing in Groupon, the skill set is the same but with a different focus. This has helped me learn a new area of the design industry, which is invaluable.
What does a typical day,
if such a thing exists, look like for you?
I can’t say there is a typical day at Groupon. The company is so fast-paced, I always think of going to work as dipping your foot in a river – the current sweeps you away! Generally speaking, my team and I deal with the online marketing assets for EMEA so this means we have a lot of different languages and legal issues to deal with. I work closely with the CRM Marketing Team based here in Dublin and the wider Consumer Marketing Team in the US. We have also become an in-house design team for the Dublin office and have a constantly shifting source of work, from engineering to affiliate teams.
Is the reality of your work at
Groupon different in any way to what you expected?
Completely! When I applied for the internship I fully expected to be a ‘pack-mule’ of sorts – helping with filing and getting coffee!  From Day 1, I was thrown in at the deep end and this has been great as I have been able to thoroughly learn how things are done in a corporate setting and make an impact on the company. It’s the small things I might not have learnt any other way such as dealing with being camera shy in an international conference call, to managing a workflow over various teams and countries. I was expecting to witness but in fact I was able to participate.
What do you like about working at Groupon?
Groupon has a great balance when it comes to being productive yet casual. They trust you to get your work done on time but you’re not afraid of grabbing a coffee with a friend or playing XBox. In my team at least, we are actively encouraged, when we have down-time, to utilise the resources in the company. This could be something like learning a new Photoshop technique. All of these qualities make work more enjoyable and less intimidating, which is always a plus!
Would you recommend an internship at Groupon?
Absolutely!
Finally - are you enjoying yourself at Groupon?
Yes, definitely!
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