Olivia spills the beans about her time living and working in London, and reflects on her time working for Kantar Media.

Olivia spills the beans about her time living and working in London on BUNAC's Intern in Britain program, and reflects on her time working for Kantar Media in London.

What would you say to someone thinking about doing this? This may very well be the only time in your life where you can live and work abroad for a significant period of time. I’ve had the time of my life and recommend it to everyone!

Has this helped to shape your future career?

I am learning incredibly valuable skills of working abroad at a global company that I will use in my future career.

What do you think are the main skills you have picked up?

I would say the main skills that I have learned apart from market research, attention to detail and specific software skills would be learning how to work at an international company. It is so important, especially in our world today, to know how to do business across the world and with people from all different backgrounds.

What has been the BEST bit about your experience?

It is so hard for me to choose one best bit about my experience as I absolutely love everything from London to work. One of the best parts of work that has made the transition from university to moving abroad and working in the company culture of Kantar Media and TGI specifically. Everyone has been so incredibly warm and welcoming and everyone truly enjoys working for the company. I feel so lucky to have met such incredible people that have made my experience here unforgettable.

How did you find BUNAC’s help in the process?

I think BUNAC has been absolutely wonderful in every stage of the process. They have always been accessible and extremely helpful if I had any questions. They made it so incredibly easy to get a VISA and move abroad—a process that I thought would be very stressful and difficult. I love that BUNAC doesn’t bombard you with mandatory events but rather has optional events for interns. I was worried that I was going to be doing another program where there is not much freedom and constant bombardment, but they have been just the opposite. The orientation was perfect! It wasn’t too long and was informative about things like phone plans, national insurance numbers, etc. I also met some other interns and we exchanged numbers!

What did you get up to in your spare time?

I love exploring London, socializing, meeting as many people as possible and doing things that I wouldn’t normally get the chance to do back home in New York City. I love my housemates as well as they have become some of my great friends. We often go out together on the weekends and have a blast. One of my housemates is the Captain of the London Gaelic Football League and the team made it to the final so my other housemates and I went to watch the game. It was an amazing experience and it definitely got me interested in Gaelic Football!

What do you think are main benefits to doing an internship overseas? Doing an internship abroad allows you to challenge yourself and push yourself in so many ways. Personally, I absolutely love traveling and going to a place on my own as I feel I meet the most interesting people that way. I think that interning abroad is an essential experience and could potentially lead into a career. With the digital world that we are living in now, all businesses are international businesses. It is incredibly valuable to have an experience working with a company that is not in or from your home country as it allows you to gain skills in working with people from a variety of different places and have many different practices.

What did you find most rewarding about your experience? The people I have met both at work as well as outside of work without a doubt have made this experience unforgettable. London is such an amazing place because it is an international hub with so many international people living here. It allows you to meet and become good friends with people from all different cultures—people who have become some of my best friends.

Want to stand out from the crowd and internationalize your resume like Olivia? Contact the BUNAC team who are there to guide you through the process.