Cycle 4: Professional analysis
1. 360Ëš- FEEDBACK FORM
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From: Amy Pieplenbosch
Sr. Corporate Communications Specialist
2. INTERIM APPRAISAL FORM
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From: Anna Ahrenberg
Brand and CSR Lead
3. INTERIM REFLECTION REPORT
3.1. INTERIM REFLECTION REPORT
My performance and internship in general
After 10 weeks at CCV, I can gradually see my development very clearly. This experience has been nothing short of transformative, and I'm thrilled to say that I've witnessed positive developments in both my professional and personal life.
First and foremost, I have grown immensely as a professional during this first half period of my internship. The opportunity to meet and work under the mentor of a passionate, enthusiastic, (humorous), and experienced manager - Anna Ahrenberg has provided me with invaluable insights into my chosen field: Branding and CSR. I've learned new skills, improved existing ones, and gained a deep understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility. The real-world application of my academic knowledge has been eye-opening, and I've become more confident in my abilities to contribute meaningfully to a team.
One of the most significant developments is the expansion of my network. The connections I have made during this internship, colleagues in The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, have been instrumental in my growth. I have had the privilege to meet other professionals from different cultural backgrounds and specializations when Anna accompanied me in random meetings with her, just for me to know more topics. These connections have not only broadened my perspective but have also opened doors to potential future opportunities.
Moreover, I have had the chance to work on both simple tasks at first to get to know CCV and challenging projects that have pushed me out of my comfort zone. While it was intimidating at times, these experiences have fostered my adaptability and problem-solving skills. I have learned that it's okay to embrace the confusion and that growth often occurs when I tackle the unfamiliar.
Besides the professional aspects, this internship has positively impacted my personal development as well. I have become more disciplined (as I defined myself as a disciplined student already), managing my time efficiently to balance work, ongoing learning, and personal life. I have also enhanced my communication (speaking/ presenting) and teamwork (within my team and others: Corporate Communication and HR) skills. These soft skills are not only valuable in my career but also in my everyday interactions.
Finally, I have gained a deeper understanding of my own strengths and weaknesses. Through feedback and self-reflection, I have identified areas where I’m good at (researching, being structured) and areas where I need to focus on improvement (writing skills, being critical). For example, my manager said that when she gives feedback to me, I can keep or toss it based on my opinion, which means I need to be more critical and not be afraid to hurt her if I delete her feedback. This self-awareness will undoubtedly guide my future endeavors and help me set realistic goals.
In conclusion, these past 10 weeks of internship have been a period of immense growth. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities I have been given, the knowledge I have acquired, and the people I have met. Currently, I am excited to continue building upon the lessons learned during this internship and to embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
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Four internship goals using the STARR (Situation, Task, Actions, Result and Reflection)
Goal 1: After 6 months, I know about Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability as well as their importance to every company, especially CCV with the completion of my tasks which contribute to improving the reputation of a responsible and sustainable CCV.
S
Situation
T
Task
A
Action
CCV strives for being a responsible and sustainable company in general and in the financial service industry in particular.
Work on CO2 reduction plan.
Read the current CO2 emission audit and acknowledge about the current CO2 emission sources of CCV.
Understand every Scope and Create the plan that fits each scope and is feasible.
R
Result
Bike to work campaign which is both fits the CCVital concept of caring about employees’ mental and physical health as well as the CO2 reduction in Scope 3, Category: Employee commuting.
R
Reflection
I learned that being a responsible company is accountable for not only the vision and mission but also the employees. Being sustainable is quite difficult since there will be resistance in the company/ employees or even in ourselves.
S
Situation
T
Task
A
Action
Working at home 2 days a week and at offices 3 days a week.
Reach the office at 9 in the morning, spend 30 mins to arrange/ schedule the workload.
Goal 2: During the first 2 weeks, I get used to the working flow at CCV so that I can adjust my schedule and balance the time for working and making reports, also I do not get overwhelmed with the first internship.
Keep track with the work flow on the Planner, have my own to -do list, complete the task every week.
Achieved!
R
Result
R
Reflection
The effectiveness of the working day is really good. I am satisfied with my way of working. At the end of every week, I can tick the ‘Done’ box.
I’m getting organized with this internship. I don’t think it’s the challenge but I consider it as the opportunity for me to develop my organizing skills and get structured.
Goal 3: During 6 months of my internship, I take initiatives and I am not afraid to behave in a proactive way in casual conversation to comprehend different communication styles based on our diverse cultural backgrounds.
A
Action
S
Situation
T
Task
I’m always shy at first and do not have courage to talk with someone I consider as seniors. At CCV, they are managers and full time colleagues.
I am proactive in talking/ asking questions.
I was involved in the conversation when we had lunch.
I always ask Anna questions. review/ refer me to other colleagues with my related task.
I talk a lot with my fellow interns who are Dutch when we have lunch/ break together.
R
Result
I know other colleagues easily and their way of working.
I get closer to Dutch culture, and know their professional and personal lifestyle
R
Reflection
I’m shy at first, but shine later. When I get to know things, I will perform as well as possible.
Knowing other people and their way of working, I can probably know how to approach them to ask/ talk.
S
Situation
T
Task
A
Action
Goal 4: During the first 3 weeks, I will try to get to know others in both my department and other ones when performing tasks, having discussion about the work so that I can know their various ways of working.
CCV employees are international and are really good at English even though most of them are Dutch speakers
Communicate clearly with colleagues.
I post messages on General team, Outlook to convey my ideas, invitation, expectation, description, etc to make sure other colleagues understand what I would like them to help me with.
I joined the introduction challenge on Teams to get to know each other/ the introduction from different teams in Marcom.
I contacted colleagues in HR from different CCV offices to ask for input for my campaign.
Achieved!
Also for the Inside analysis, Amy gave the task for us to analyse Inside without giving us any sample, and we developed the analysis by ourselves.
R
Result
I know everyone in the Marcom team, and I meet most of them at the office.
R
Reflection
I feel like I’m surrounded by professional people and at first I felt a bit overwhelmed. However, their friendliness bridges the gap between me and them. I have the lesson from Power distance, which is different here, in the Netherlands and my home country.
I know who to contact if I have related questions to specific specialisation.
I get to be concise and structured when asking questions -> make it to the point.
3.2. INTERIM MATRIX
Entrepreneurial behavior with innovative and creative capacity
This is the first time I have entrepreneurially behaved in a professional manner. I hosted an online pub quiz to celebrate our 1 year anniversary of rebranding together with my fellow intern. Before this event happened, we had brainstormed the quiz based on all materials related to the rebranding to make it both fun and informative. I also prepared the announcement on Intranet and Teams channel to engage all colleagues from different locations to join. After this event, I assessed myself 7/10 for this performance area since there were some mistakes in the quiz answers!
Regarding the SDG Flag Day, I was creative in brainstorming the idea of posing for a group photo with the flag to support the UN Global Compact. I managed to make a social media proposal for Daniel - our social media specialist about this mini event. I was responsible for communicating and inviting the ‘models’ for the photoshoot. I worked with Jessica (photographer/ designer) to have a nice picture. Then everything was released smoothly, which surprised me and my manager too! I would give myself a 8/10 in this case.
Collaborative capacity
Mini internal campaign (bike to work): I collaborated with HR by talking/ asking them questions about the policies CCV have had for biking. I discussed with the manager the concept and asked for feedback/ directions. Then I sent it to a Corporate Communication intern and asked her to develop more with me/ relate it to internal communication. It was a process of cooperating and pushing myself to be proactive in finalizing the campaign from A to Z.
As aforementioned, the SDG Flag Day event also required a lot of collaboration (designer, social media specialist, and models). I would say everything was almost ‘perfect’ for this capacity to have a 9/10.
Reflective practitioners
I always reflect on what I have done at the end of every month since I’m so scared when looking back and seeing nothing! I would love to do it and I’m proud of what I have done so far. At the same time, I also figure out which point/ skill/ task I have missed. As a result, I will give it a try next month with all curiosity, effort and enthusiasm.
In every meeting with Anna to update (once a week), she always asks me if I feel like I’m learning/ achieving something. This question pushes me to flashback/ think that reflection is really necessary and effective. I’m all good with it since HAN gave me a chance to get used to reflection and now I know it’s so helpful at work. I’ll put an 8 out of 10 for me in this aspect.
Intercultural proficiency
Based on the feedback from Anna and Amy, I still need to improve more. The situation is that I listened a lot and understand the difference among my colleagues from various cultural backgrounds but I haven’t talked that much about mine. I’m shy/ afraid to talk when I’m in the conversation since I think I will interrupt others. That’s why I just listened and forgot to show my input. The tip is on
my end, I need to communicate more both informally
(during lunch time/ casual conversation) and
formally (event discussion/ meeting). For this
performance area, a 7 out of 10 is
suitable.
Investigate capacity
CSR Training Report and CSR Communication reports required me to investigate a lot of data from CSR materials at CCV within one year. Going through all folders we have, reading and extracting data carefully and exactly helps me to improve my ‘navigating’ ability enormously.
CSR new green legislations are the hardest one. The topic is really important and technical, even it’s new to all seniors in the Marketing and Communication team. I was really immersed in researching, and understanding technical words. Finally, after several reviews from the consultant, Anna and Amy, I completed the correct version with all information ready to be posted whenever the calendar is suitable. Let me give myself a 8.5/10 here.
In short, I think I need to develop further in terms of Intercultural efficiency by communicating and talking more with my colleagues. For other capacities, I still improve more to make it to the next level!
3.3. MINUTES INTERIM APPRAISAL MEETING
Time: 13.30 - 15.00
Date: Oct 4 2023
Location: CCV headquarter, Arnhem
Participants: Yvette van der Loo (internship supervisor), Anna Ahrenberg (company coach), and Ha Nguyen (intern)
Goal: evaluate Ha’s internship tasks, internship deliverables, and company deliverables and get feedback on Ha’s performance.
Discussion notes:
- In general, I’m doing well and continue to perform better.
- Whenever having feedback from Anna, I don’t need to be scared to hurt her by rejecting her comments. I need to be more critical/ have my own opinions.
- Based on my current knowledge about CCV and quiet good performance in simple and challenging tasks as mentioned above, there is a possibility that I can work on a project autonomously. In the coming weeks (week 11), Anna said there would be some projects for me to improve.
- When it comes to which skills I should focus more, I think of Writing (part of Communication) skill. Although I have written 2 reports by myself and a few articles to post on Inside, I received detailed structures from Anna, so it was easy for me. However, I would like to challenge myself more by having the task with only the title of writing and I will brainstorm the content.
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Powerpoint slides:
- I prepared a powerpoint slide during the meeting!
3.4. INTERNSHIP PERSONAL PLAN 2
Goal 5: Within the next half 10 weeks, I will improve my Intercultural capacity by talking/ communicating more with different colleagues during our Team Day, lunchtime, and discussion about tasks.
Intercultural: Improve Intercultural capacity
S: Specific
Besides listening to every conversation, I will talk more, and exchange my differences in cultural background.
M: Measurable
Joining the Team Day in November, involve in the conversation stead of keeping silent and listening only.
A: Attainable
Every colleague always gives me the chance to speak out, asks me a lot of questions and motivates me to talk more so they can know about me during my time at CCV!
R: Relevant
Understanding and Sharing the difference in culture is meaningful for me now and in the future when I will be exposed to international context in bigger companies.
In 10 weeks.
T: Time-bound
Goal 6: During 10 weeks, I will focus on improving my writing skill and working on more complex projects more autonomously and develop all other skills to the next level.
S: Specific
Managing to write any articles by my own content with the short suggestion from the coach. Owning a wish list of projects with the approval of the coach and being proactive in executing it/ asking feedback if needed.
M: Measurable
The progress I made for each project is quite smooth, everyone is willing to help me if I have questions, so I hope the result is good too.
A: Attainable
It’s achievable since my manager agrees to give me the writing task without any detailed text and the chance is I work on the content on my own. It is applied similarly to the wish projects, which I work from A to Z by myself with Anna’s feedback.
R: Relevant
I can have my own project and writing skill that help me outstanding in this first internship and leverage my potential in the future.
In 10 weeks.
T: Time-bound
Professional: Improve writing skills and make the other ones to the next level