Diary of a Business Associate Intern – Europe
August 22nd, 2013 | Published in Google Student Blog
Our 'Diary of a Business Associate Intern' series is designed to give you an inside look into the life of Google interns based all over Europe. Today, the spotlight is on Ben Butler from Ireland, who is a Business Associate Intern with the Marketing team in Google London.
I’ve tried writing this blog a number of times, and I found it surprisingly difficult. Google isn’t hard to write about: the beautiful offices, brilliant people, and bountiful free food pretty much sell themselves. What is hard, however, is writing about them without honest descriptions sounding hyperbolic. But I’ll give it a go.
My name is Ben Butler and I’m an intern at Google.
I’m from Dublin and I’ve lived there all my life. Ireland is a great place to grow up. As a kid, I did a lot of acting - and some sport. While sport didn’t go too well (the highlight was Under 5’s Tennis Player of the Year), I really got into acting. When I got to college, I swapped the stage for the podium: representing Trinity at the European and World Debating Championships.
I’m two years into, and halfway through, my Law and Business degree. Trinity is a brilliant university, with ample opportunity for people to explore their interests both in and out of the lecture theatres. I’m currently Librarian of the college’s Law Society. Although a bit of an antiquated term, the ‘Librarian’ is the person who keeps the society’s members up to date with everything that’s going on with the society.
As a lot of my interests centre around communicating a message, marketing seemed like a perfect fit. I’m interning with the SMB (Small and Medium Business) Marketing team in London. I focus on Co-Marketing: marketing in partnership with banks, web hosting companies and ecommerce sites.
The best thing about being an intern at Google is that you’re treated like a full-time employee, and given the opportunity to own your own projects. At the moment, I’m working on creating video case studies of a few small businesses’ experiences with AdWords. There are some brilliant businesses out there, and I’m looking forward to showcasing that.
No day here is ever the same, but there are some regularities. When I come in in the morning, I’ll grab some breakfast with my team or some other interns. Then, after a quick double espresso, the day starts. I begin by blasting off a few emails and checking my calendar. Some work, and a couple of meetings later and it’s lunch.
The interns here are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. They’re from all over the world: Australia, Brazil, Finland, Switzerland and beyond. It’s incredible that we’re all from such diverse backgrounds, and have so many different experiences; yet we get on so well and have so much in common.
Every day has been great, and I have so many highlights - even though I’m only halfway through! The photos are just a taster. Funnily enough, the experience of taking all the photos was actually really enjoyable. It was only when I went looking for photos that I realised we hadn’t taken that many. These are all from the one day (I do change my clothes).
Despite many years of training (Under 5s Tennis Champ, remember?), and outfitting myself with a pink headband (for aerodynamic purposes); I failed to make it past the first round of ‘Googledon’ (Google’s Swingball Championship).
For anyone thinking about applying, go for it! If you’re reading this, you’re obviously interested. Well, you probably are. Unless you’re my mom (hi Mom). I never thought I’d make it here, but I’m so happy that I filled out that application form!
I better get back to work, it’s nearly TGIF time.
Best of luck,
Ben
Interested in becoming a Google intern? Fill out this form for further info on the 2014 Google Summer internship programme in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Please note: This is a speculative application. You will be contacted once the application process for next year’s programme goes live.
EEA work authorization is required for roles supporting EEA markets.
For resume and interview tips before you apply, check out this Hangout on Air. Additionally, please find up to date information on all job and internship postings in EMEA on our job site, and learn more about how the hiring process works.
I’ve tried writing this blog a number of times, and I found it surprisingly difficult. Google isn’t hard to write about: the beautiful offices, brilliant people, and bountiful free food pretty much sell themselves. What is hard, however, is writing about them without honest descriptions sounding hyperbolic. But I’ll give it a go.
My name is Ben Butler and I’m an intern at Google.
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This is from a few years back, but it pretty accurately conveys my excitement when I heard that I would be interning at Google this summer.
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I’m two years into, and halfway through, my Law and Business degree. Trinity is a brilliant university, with ample opportunity for people to explore their interests both in and out of the lecture theatres. I’m currently Librarian of the college’s Law Society. Although a bit of an antiquated term, the ‘Librarian’ is the person who keeps the society’s members up to date with everything that’s going on with the society.
As a lot of my interests centre around communicating a message, marketing seemed like a perfect fit. I’m interning with the SMB (Small and Medium Business) Marketing team in London. I focus on Co-Marketing: marketing in partnership with banks, web hosting companies and ecommerce sites.
The best thing about being an intern at Google is that you’re treated like a full-time employee, and given the opportunity to own your own projects. At the moment, I’m working on creating video case studies of a few small businesses’ experiences with AdWords. There are some brilliant businesses out there, and I’m looking forward to showcasing that.
No day here is ever the same, but there are some regularities. When I come in in the morning, I’ll grab some breakfast with my team or some other interns. Then, after a quick double espresso, the day starts. I begin by blasting off a few emails and checking my calendar. Some work, and a couple of meetings later and it’s lunch.
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Lunch with Pavel, Alex, Emily, and Chris (behind the camera).
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After work I’ll usually head up to the gym or the library (both on the top floor). The view is pretty breathtaking, and it’s a great place to get some stuff done. A couple of times a week, we’ll grab dinner and drinks somewhere after work. At the end of every week, we wind down with some beer and pizza at TGIF (Thank Google It’s Friday). As the office is in the middle of London city, a few of us interns will usually head out for a bit afterwards.
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How many interns does it take to make a coffee?
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Every day has been great, and I have so many highlights - even though I’m only halfway through! The photos are just a taster. Funnily enough, the experience of taking all the photos was actually really enjoyable. It was only when I went looking for photos that I realised we hadn’t taken that many. These are all from the one day (I do change my clothes).
For anyone thinking about applying, go for it! If you’re reading this, you’re obviously interested. Well, you probably are. Unless you’re my mom (hi Mom). I never thought I’d make it here, but I’m so happy that I filled out that application form!
I better get back to work, it’s nearly TGIF time.
Best of luck,
Ben
EEA work authorization is required for roles supporting EEA markets.
For resume and interview tips before you apply, check out this Hangout on Air. Additionally, please find up to date information on all job and internship postings in EMEA on our job site, and learn more about how the hiring process works.