Intern Stories: Patrik and Mihaela on conquering marketing skills

Patrik and Mihaela found their way into our Marketing Department last year, when they, alongside 10 other bright students joined our teams. After their internship ended, they decided to remain on board as SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Marketing Communication Specialists. We sat down with them and talked about their hands-on experience as marketing interns.

Mihaela applied to our summer marketing internship after a friend had recommended it to her. She wanted to experience what is it like to work in such a big and diverse environment. “Binge-watching Mad Men right before applying probably had something to do with it too.”, she remembers.

Patrik, on the other hand, knew exactly what he wanted to do during his summer off– to start his career in Digital Marketing. He found our internship ad on Facebook and after a quick stroll on our careers’ website, he applied and didn’t stop there. “At that moment I began to learn more about SEO and even attended and graduated Google’s Online Marketing Academy, to be prepared.”

What did you do during the internship and what did you learn?

Patrik: I learned a lot of new things about Online Marketing and Real Estate as an SEO intern. From Link-Building strategies to On-Page SEO, and all the secrets about how Google really works.

I’ve worked on the most significant projects at Yardi Romania like RentCafe.com and RentCafé Reach, where I helped optimize the websites and outrank our opponent’s on a very competitive market. I also created a website, Goffee, and applied a series of SEO strategies and ideas to make it reach Google’s top positions. I managed to bring Goffee.co within the top 5 results in Google in just two weeks for branded search or queries like “coffee shops Cluj-Napoca” or “cafenele Cluj”.

Mihaela: As a Copywriting intern, I stayed with each team of the marketing department for a week, getting to know the workflow and receiving feedback from different colleagues on my tasks. I worked on many blog posts, pitches, and reports. I even got to write a complex study and more rewrites for the RentCafe, PropertyShark, and Point2Homes blogs. In the end, I managed all the content on a website that I created with Patrik called Goffee.co. This was our final project as interns, and I’m quite proud of it.

It was a great experience because I got to meet so many people and their input on my work provided me with various perspectives on how to improve.

What are you working on now?

Mihaela: I am a Junior Writer, focused on writing for link-building purposes. I’m part of the RentCafe team, and I work on guest posts for other blogs and on stories for our own blog. It’s great because I get to exercise my writing skills and although some people might find it tedious to just sit and write all day, I find that with every new story comes a new challenge. I think I am pretty lucky.

Patrik: I am part of the RentCafe Reach team where I am an SEO Engineer. We are a dynamic team composed by SEO Engineers, PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Specialists, and Content Writers. I work on multiple websites and optimize them to rank better in Google. On a daily basis, I do On-Page optimization, local data management with Yext, site health checks & strategic feature implementation, reporting and analytics.

What is your favorite thing about working here?

Patrik: My colleagues, because they helped me grow in this field. I had the best mentors you could imagine, and they guided me at every step of the way. Now I’m happy because it’s my turn to help others and I can teach them a lot. Another great thing about working at Yardi Romania is that we have all the tools needed to do our work and improve our skills, the most beautiful terraces, fruit days and many more.

Mihaela: Career-wise, I get to write about a lot of interesting things and so I’m constantly learning. Working alongside people who have different skill sets than myself offers me a glimpse into what is it like to process large amounts of data, and how it feels to have constant contact with renowned journalists and to be quoted in famous publications. I never thought of marketing as being what I discovered here, at Yardi Romania.

Your advice for future interns.

Mihaela: There are two aspects that are important: First, be genuine in your interactions. Although you might feel like an outsider, you’re not, so stick to your principles and way of being, and show your enthusiasm. Secondly, be a sponge and absorb all the knowledge. Learn how to receive and give feedback, ask questions, and learn more than what is specific for your field.

Patrik: Be more careful about everything that’s going on around you. If you are well informed, you can decide quickly on which way to go. It is never too late to change your career path, but it’s better to be pleased with the choices you have made.

Are you ready to start your career in Digital Marketing this summer?