Interning, avoiding COVID and surviving lockdown in Lyon!

Four months of professional and personal growth : COVID-19 isn't all doom and gloom.

Despite COVID-19 I have still been busy teaching and working hard with Katy and Charlotte over the last few months. In September and October I spent time getting to grips with the basics of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and I learned how to create relevant content for the recruitment Instagram page. I have been given the responsibility of managing this account myself and I now also design a monthly newsletter to send out to the employees along with other information documents and online teaching materials.

Check out what I have been creating on our Instagram page: @myenglishsisterjobs

I have also started to redesign and further develop the TEK (Teaching English to Kids) programme for our ‘toddlers’ aged between 3 and 6. Using my experience teaching this age group I am going to create a program which is suitable, engaging and interactive to allow for the best possible progression in English.

I have been involved in teaching English online, organising calls to meet members of the team and creating online teaching materials. Something which has particularly resonated with me is the fact that my work is truly appreciated and I see each piece come to life within the different business areas. I also manage my own email account and liaise with employees and clients; even as an intern I feel like an integral part of the team.

Going into the New Year there are a few things that I am looking forward to doing:

• Developing my Photoshop skills so that I feel more confident producing high quality and relevant content for the recruitment Instagram and creating more internal and external documents for our employees and clients.

• Learning about the recruitment process and perhaps carrying out some telephone interviews.

• Progressing with the TEK project and working hard to reach our target of designing and printing all of the flashcards.

• Continuing to improve my French level by completing legal contract translation for the company.

From a personal perspective, this internship has been the push that I needed this year.

I was struggling to envision myself working abroad because of COVID-19 and I was beginning to lose hope of a productive, post-graduation life making use of my modern languages degree.

However, this opportunity with MES has meant that is not the case. To have two people believe in my ability to carry out this role has been so important and the personal confidence and professional skills I have gained from it are second to none.

I feel inspired every single day by what Katy and Charlotte have achieved and it has inspired me to be creative, work hard and live a fulfilling successful life. I can’t wait to see what this year brings and to start working with our second intern who will be starting in February!

Happy New Year, stay safe and I look forward to writing more about my internship in a few months time.

À bientôt !

Francesca