It was a cold wintery day in February, when two girls from Tallinn School of Economics stepped into our office to start their marketing internship. Time has flown by and now they’re looking back on the journey they’ve had to share some good memories with us.
Let’s get to know you better! For starters, what are the things that make you happy?
Marleen: Food, that’s what makes me happy! Simple as that.
Laura: That’s a good one! Kittens, and good music, but also the sweet moments, when you accomplish something, you thought would be absolutely impossible to achieve.
What about the things that make you sad?
Marleen: Easy – being hungry makes me sad and angry, or as they say…hangry!
Laura: I’d have to agree with Marleen on this one. We all are completely different when we’re tired and hungry. What else makes me sad is when I see people underestimate and doubt themselves, so I always try to say a kind word or two to brighten up their day.
Do you have any quirks or superstition?
Laura: Why you ask? Have you heard something? But yes, I tend to turn toilet paper rolls around, when their upside-down. Stupid, I know, but I just can’t help it! And if you don’t know what’s the upside-down of a toilet paper, we need to have a word.
Marleen: Hehe, I have quite a few actually. For example, I don’t like bellybuttons – not mine, not anyone else’s. I don’t like when people show their bellybuttons, touch it or do whatever you can do with it. Can’t explain why, but I just can’t stand it. People often laugh at it, but for me there’s nothing so peculiar about it. Most of my life I’ve had a thing with bellybuttons and, there’s more of us! I’ve come across people who think exactly the same, so I’m not the only one!
Another quirk is that I can’t stand when anyone rips cotton, for example pulls a cotton pad into two. It gives me shivers. Un-plea-sent! I’ve had this quirk my whole life and only recently I’ve been able to start using cotton pads, but it’s more of a necessity.
If you could be a superhero, then which one?
Marleen : I’ve never thought about super heroes in that sense! But if I should pick one from the superheroes I know, I would probably go with Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We have quite a lot in common personality wise – I consider myself to be extravert too, I often put others first and like to take care of everybody. I’m more of a creative type and I very much like to express myself, what I feel and think. And if in a good mood, I can be quite energetic most of the day!
Laura: Until you get hungry?
Marleen: Exactly!
Laura: It’s quite funny how different, yet similar me and Marleen are. She’s an extravert, expressing all her emotions and thoughts, and me as an introvert have quite limited number of words per day, so no chitchat, only business! Actually, it’s not that bad as it sounds, because I can be quite talkative from time to time, and I always appreciate a good joke. But if I could be a super hero, then I would be someone, you do not notice at a first, but I keep an eye on all of you, making sure you’re okay and do my best to make a change for a better world.
How did you find your way to Feelingstream?
Laura: One of my classmates suggested that I’d contact Terje. They had been in touch previously and she thought I should give it a go. I myself would have never ever imagined working in a tech company, as I’m bit of a novice when it comes to technology and IT… you know, the typical case of “Have you tried turning it off and on again”. But to my surprise Terje showed such passion of what Feelingstream is doing that I was sold from the very first minute.
Marleen: It was quite random how I ended up at Feelingstream. I was searching for a company to complete my internship at on social media and Terje was the first one to get in touch. It was a true strike of luck, as some of my classmates were already in trouble finding a place for themselves. The first meeting with Terje had me thinking straight away: “Wow, what a super cool company!”.
What was your very first impression?
Laura: Three things – mind blowing, a true game changer and work oriented team.
Marleen: For me it was quite mysterious, as I’ve never had any contact with this area before. It took some time to understand, what it is, that Feelingstream is doing. But if we for a second put aside the conversation analytics, data, Django, and AI, then the first impressions for me were: warmth, motivated and purposeful. Every single team member in Feelingstream is a character and they all are so cool! Each member stands out from the crowd and has their own uniqueness.
Laura: See, that’s what I was talking about previously…introvert vs extravert!
What were your expectations and the reality? What did you learn the most?
Marleen: Actually, I had quite high expectations. I thought that with this short time period I would do great things in marketing. And then reality hit hard – it’s funny how time flies. There were days I thought that 24 hours was not enough. Before starting internship, I knew that there were B2B and B2C companies, and that marketing for B2B is a bit more complex, but during this time I realized that it’s a LOT more complex. It’s difficult for a first-year student to put herself in the position of a bank CEO and understand what her or his main concerns are. This was quite a challenge, and I learned a lot from it!
Laura: To be honest, I had no expectations, as for me this was a head dive into the unknow. The one thing I knew for sure was, that I’m not afraid to work hard, put myself into this internship whole heartedly and if I keep an open mind, every challenge can be overcome. What I like the most about this experience is that it showed the great value of teamwork and passion, that it’s okay to say, “I don’t know” and that the constant process of learning is absolutely vital if you want to be ahead of the game.
How would you describe each other?
Marleen: I’m so happy, that we had the chance to complete this internship together! And even more happy that Laura can continue her journey at Feelingstream! Her interest in the area, initiative, and commitment are something to admire.
She can write some killer content! When I read her posts on Feelingstream LinkedIn page, I thought to myself, well said and how great it goes with all that Feelingstream does.
I wish you all the best of luck in Feelingstream!
Laura: What I admire about Marleen the most is her creative mind, commitment to work and the ability to generate great ideas within a snap of a finger. She only has good vibes (when not hungry, of course) and is such a great team player! Everyone should consider themselves lucky to have her! The only thing I wish, is that she wouldn’t be so hard on herself. She has done a great job and should be proud of it!
I’m truly happy and blessed, we had the chance to share this journey!
Any great memories or funny stories that you take with your from Feelingstream?
Marleen: The first thing that pops into my mind was the time we were in Rakvere having our hackathon. Sitting there in the hotel lobby, playing word game, where one had to explain different characters of the TV-series “Friends”. I was dead sure that every single person on the planet knows this series and all the characters, only to find that I was explaining the words to myself, as no one else knew about them. We laughed a lot.
When we changed the subject to “Sound like”, the game went on more smoothly. The sounds that we made that night – elevator music, monster truck, chain saw, breaking glass…Such fun!
Laura: That is a great memory! A chain saw noise has never been heard with such unanimity as the one we made.
Any tips or hints for the future interns?
Marleen: I really liked what Terje told me at the beginning of my internship. I keep on reminding myself this from time to time. She said: “I want you to have fun and that it would be an interesting journey for you.“ Simple, yet so powerful. Every time I struggled, I told myself this and tried to find the little bit of fun in every challenge.
So, the best piece of advise I can give is to remember that you are the master of your own attitude and emotions, so choose your vibe wisely during your internship. Do your best to make this experience interesting and enjoyable for you. Always keep an open mind and strive to learn as much as you can. Yes, you may not require all of it, but at the very least you’ll have the knowledge.
Laura: And the more you learn, the easier it is to make connections between various aspects of your life. But my advice to you is to not be discouraged by the challenges ahead. You can’t possibly know everything on the first day, so don’t be ashamed to say, “I don’t know, I’ll have to look it up,” and ask for help. Every problem has a solution, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a little break, count to ten, go on a walk, or do whatever makes you feel better, then return to work with a clear mind.
Last but not least, any good advice for Feelingstream?
How could we be the very best internship provider?
Marleen: It’s hard to always do your best, but it’s certainly possible to be a little better than before. It’s an endless loop, and we try our best to find the balance and rhythm to stay on top of the wheel. So, my advice to you would be to continue being purposeful, work hard and what’s the most important, put your heart in all the things that you do, just as you’ve done before.
Thank you Feelingstream!
Laura: I’m truly grateful, that my journey with Feelingstream did not end with the internship and I can be a part of the most passionate, intelligent and innovative team there is. For Feelingstream and to each and every one of us I wish that we can keep the fire burning and that we continue to set goals that scare us but are exciting at the same time!
