Interning at TravelPerk: My Top Tips
5 months ago I moved to the beautiful city of Barcelona — one of the fastest growing tech hubs in the world, and recently voted fourth most attractive city to live in globally. I moved for a marketing internship at TravelPerk. Why? Well, I was ready to move on from the non-stop lifestyle of London to somewhere more chilled, and ready for a change of career. I’d always been interested in marketing, and finally at the age of 27 I was brave enough to do something about it. So I quit my job and got on the hunt for my dream.
I’d wanted to work for a tech startup for a few years, so I did a lot of research, and found the one that I really wanted to work for. TravelPerk’s founders had a lot of experience in the business travel industry and in building successful companies, they had recently announced their $21m Series B funding round, and the company values really stood out to me. And it just so happened they were hiring for a marketing internship role! Bingo, it was all falling into place. Then I had a life-defining moment when you know it’s meant to be. A friend working at the VC firm LocalGlobe came round for breakfast, and told me I’d love it at this awesome company they’d previously invested in… TravelPerk. This was it. This was the company for me.
I applied, and 3 video interviews, 2 presentations and 1 internship offer later, I was on the flight to Barcelona — nervous and excited all at once!
Fast forward 5 months… 160 colleagues’ hands shaken (or cheeks kissed as they do in Barcelona!), 20 sprints completed (no, not the running type… you’ll find out more later!), coffees increased from 0 to 3 a day, many a hyperactive dog stroked, and countless lessons learned, here’s my top pieces of advice to help you get the most out of interning here.
1. Ask a lot of questions
For some reason, we think asking questions makes us vulnerable, as we appear ignorant and naive. We live in fear of asking “silly questions”, and of showing others that we don’t know everything. But it is exactly this vulnerability that is going to help you learn. And it doesn’t show stupidity, but interest by you asking. The more you ask, the more you find out. Ask anyone and everyone, and you will find here they are all willing to help you. It’s an environment where everyone is encouraged to constantly learn.
Your colleagues are your biggest asset, so use them. You have many brilliant minds around you — speak to them, ask of them, learn from them.
“Much of what you stumble into by following your curiosity and intuition will turn out to be priceless later on.” Steve Jobs
Communication is key here. We have many channels for this, such as end of week presentations, where anyone can ask Avi, our CEO, anything about the business. Because openness, honesty and trust are vital to keeping our culture.
2. Be brave, take risks, make mistakes, repeat
In my first week, my boss told me: “I don’t mind mistakes, mistakes are good. Just try it again differently next time and if you make a mistake again, keep doing it differently until it works.”
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone
The startup world is an extraordinarily creative industry where you’re given free rein on just about anything you want to do. Be brave, trust your instincts, and just do it. You have to actively prove a concept — fail fast and learn. It’s OK to make a fool of yourself, everyone is doing the same around you.
Being brave will also open up so many pathways to creative thinking, allowing you to do something unique. Leave your mark. Make an impression. Find what interests you and what you are good at, combine this with taking creative risks, and you will quickly see the impact you can have here.
3. Spend time on the things that have an impact
Time is a precious commodity in everyone’s world, but it seems to be even scarcer when you work at a startup. There is a strong focus here on spending time wisely, and not wasting a single second. Not every task has the same level of priority, and a great skill to learn early on is how to prioritise. The quickest way of doing this is to focus on things that will have a high impact and require low effort. And spend ZERO time on the things that don’t matter, or as our Growth Hacker, Joris, puts it: “If it’s not going to move the needle…”
Don’ t get shiny object syndrome…
…when you keep getting distracted by new exciting projects, and end up being unable to finish any! The startup environment is naturally busy, thriving, buzzing with energy, and it’s a hubbub of movement, as ideas and creativity are everywhere.
So there will constantly be so much going on around you, it’s important to be able to turn off the noise. And focus. At TravelPerk we have “makers’ mode”, where if a colleague is wearing earphones you should not disturb them (unless the building is on fire!) This allows you to get in the zone and turn your attention on to one thing, enabling your productivity levels to skyrocket.
4. Find your mission
Everyone here has a mission. It is what enables focus and efficiency, and creates a motivating environment that is infectious and addictive. Find yours and align it to the company’s mission of making business travellers happy.
How do you know what yours is? Set goals. TravelPerk is a performance-driven company. Therefore you should learn how to set goals in order to achieve your mission. At TravelPerk, we use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), a concept designed by Google as a method of defining and tracking objectives and their outcomes. We then work in weekly and monthly sprints to achieve our goals, and work towards our mission. Knowing your purpose here (and in general life!) and planning how you work towards it, will enable you to be ambitious and achieve things quicker.
Stay humble
This is at the heart of TravelPerk’s culture. Staying humble allows you to keep your eyes open and continuously learn. Tie yourself to this value, and use it to amplify your work.
5. Own, own, ownership
Saying yes and taking responsibility may be the first part of owning a project. But the pivotal part comes in keeping your eye on the ball throughout, and being able to make great things happen, while ensuring you see it through from start to finish. So, don’t just say yes — be the linchpin and the driver to each project’s (and your) success.
Take the road less travelled
An internship won’t necessarily keep you on the path you think you’re destined for, it will test you and tease out all of your skills. In my interview, I was asked: “What kind of marketer are you?” I replied: “A writer”, and I went into TravelPerk thinking this was my best skill. I’ve been given the opportunity to use this, whilst developing other skills and discovering other career paths I knew little about before joining: PR, content management, social media, project management, to name a few. You are given the opportunity to develop in whatever you wish to — no barriers. Go explore!
6. Network
In my first week, I made sure I got to know people from all departments, which gave me a valuable insight into what everybody works on, and how we’re all connected. This ensures you’re working collaboratively instead of in your own silo, and will also inspire creativity and ideas. It’s not just your manager, team or leaders who are going to teach you things. Every person is interlinked with every other person, and a coder talking to a marketer can have wonderful, unexpected results.
We have a buddy program here, and when you join you are partnered up with a long-timer, who will be there to show you the ropes and answer any questions you might have. This is a fantastic initial opportunity to find out as much as you can about the culture of TravelPerk, what’s going on in other departments, and any tips they can (and will) offer.
We also host a lot of networking events and meetups here — go to all of them! It’s an amazing place to connect with many interesting people, who you can share industry insights and advice with.
And don’t forget the epic company events……
7. Enjoy yourself
Last, but certainly not least (especially when working here!) — enjoy life :)
Take advantage of all the extra stuff TravelPerk offers, such as Spanish lessons, morning meditation, end of week company presentations, and Friday night beers.
You’ll also be living in beautiful Barcelona, where it’s always sunny, there’s a beach on your doorstep, and if you’re an expat like myself, the people make sure you never feel far from home.
And never forget that life’s an adventure!
With TravelPerk having recently announced their Series C funding round, this is an incredible opportunity to work in a seriously exciting, and game-changing company, and leave your footprint on its success. I can promise you if you come and work here, there is no dogma, hierarchy or bureaucracy. Only inspirational, intelligent and humble teachers.
If you’re interested in applying for an internship, or any other role, click here and join the ride.
