The Vilmate Internship Experience

A three-month internship provided by our business development department is coming to an end. Vilmate team believes it important to build and maintain strong personal relationships with our best interns. Even though the internship program is not marked as an entry point to full-time employment for Anton Yakunin, 19, this time, he is brimful of energy and new ideas. Thus, we asked him about this experience and plans for the future.

Hi, Anton! Please tell us about yourself. Why did you opt for the business development internship position?

Hello! Well, I am a university student — a finance student, to be specific — and my degree program puts an emphasis on the Management of Organizations. Yet, when I was applying for a bachelor’s degree, I thought about internship possibilities in the field.

As we can see, you have found one, and your internship, in fact, is already coming to an end. Can you please tell us how it all began?

Vilmate was participating at Karazin Startup Week, an event organized by my university. The speakers delivered a presentation on the machine learning trends and Scandinavian tech companies working in this niche. Then they presented a case. There were several competing teams and we proposed the best solution to the problem. Among all the team members invited for an interview, I became the one who proceeded with the three-month internship.

What was your first impression?

You know, all this turned out to be very different from what I have got used to. The corporate culture has so little in common with the university regulations. Besides, this culture is so peculiar due to such small but still remarkable things as a newcomer letter.

Oh, that’s right! It’s fun, don’t you think so?

I absolutely agree with you. The idea of answering those funny questions is just adorable! When you receive an email and find a file called “Newcomer letter” attached, you never expect to see something like questions about Santa Clause in it, and certainly not a request to attach your fancy selfie. This message was very clear — the guys would definitely be easy to get along with.

Did the message appear to be misleading?

Fortunately, it did not. It was an awesome and enriching experience, both professionally and personally.

However, you are leaving the company now. Do you have some plans for the future?

I realize that the internship can be a wonderful transition from an undergraduate student to a full-time employee, yet it works rather for a senior than for a sophomore. On top of that, there is room for improvement, in particular regarding my English level. I should take time to improve my skills and accumulate as much knowledge as I can.

Thank you, Anton! For the record, we will always be glad to see you again.

Thank you!