Oona Saanio was able to perform versatile assignments as a trainee at the School of Business External Relations

Oona Saanio, a fifth-year marketing student at the School of Business, worked as a trainee in communications and marketing in the School of Business's External Relations unit in autumn 2022.  

There was a lot of variation in the working days. They will next describe the typical working day.  

‘I usually started the day a little after eight o’clock, and first I went through the emails, Teams messages and other new content. Then, I started preparing social media content for our Career Services Instagram account (@aaltobizcareerservices).’ 

Of the tasks of the internship, social media tasks formed a big part of the working days, especially content design and production for Career Services and also for the social media channels of the School of Business, especially Instagram. Content production included writing texts and preparing graphic materials.  

‘I was able to develop my competence a lot in using different programmes such as Photoshop, Illustrator and various video editors. I was also responsible for larger social media entities such as the design and implementation of the social media strategy at the Aalto Talent Expo fair.’ 

Routine tasks counterweight to other varying duties 

In the morning, Oona often also carried out routine tasks such as reading JobTeaser's job advertisement management and the processing of voucher applications for student internships.   

‘The trainee's assignments include moderating JobTeaser job advertisements so that the jobs in the portal are certainly relevant to the students. I also participated in planning the marketing of JobTeaser features to help students get the most out of the portal. I think this routine task balanced out the otherwise very varied duties and working days.’ 

As a third clear entity, the internship included processing voucher applications for domestic internships at the School of Business and responding to student surveys. The internship also involves various communications and marketing assignments such as updating the internship instructions on the website and informing the students of the opportunities for internship support. 

In addition to these assignments, the internship includes a lot of other things such as writing texts and proofreading them, updating the contents of the aalto.fi website, and participating in organising various school events and Career Services trainings.  

When Oona reminisces this particular working day at the beginning of December, she remembers that there was also a student panel on that day.

‘At the student panel or Opiskelijaraati, experts in External Relations meet with student members to discuss matters such as the school's Career Services and questions sent by employers. This ensures that students’ thoughts are also heard on matters that affect them. The afternoon I spent on planning and preparing the social media content for the rest of the week and updating the website.’ 

The ideas and thoughts of the trainee are highly appreciated  

Oona Saanio is very satisfied with their higher education internship. She learned new things and gained more work experience; the team was encouraging and the internship was flexible.  

‘As a marketing student, the internship was a great opportunity to gain work experience in my own field already during the studies. I was able to develop my own competences and concrete skills in communications and marketing assignments. The internship increased my confidence in my own competence, and overall, it was very educational. By participating in various events and trainings, I was able to learn a lot while working, for example from job-seeking and different career paths. 

In addition to Career Services, the School of Business's External Relations unit includes Alumni Relations, Corporate Relations, customized business projects for students and strategic events. Most of the trainee's duties are located on the Career Services site, but during the internship, you can also familiarise yourself with the other functions of the unit and assist in the related tasks.  

‘In the External Relations team, the trainee was given a lot of trust and responsibility right from the start, and the trainee's work input and ideas were genuinely appreciated. Colleagues always provided help and support, and you were not left alone with any new or difficult task,’ says Oona. 

Oona also welcomes the flexibility of the intership. ‘Flexible working hours, the team and the location made it possible to study and, for example, attend lectures and examinations at the same time.’ In other words, a full-time internship at the School of Business does not prevent progress in studies or, for example, participation in student organisation KY's voluntary activities. My internship experience was very good, so I recommend the same to others.’