Meet Gilles in New York!
"I would highly recommend others to take the step to go abroad for an internship/traineeship as it is the perfect way to gain valuable work experience, while being able to explore and venture around a totally new area. It is guaranteed to be an unforgettable life experience that will shape you into an independent, international person."
Why did you choose to go abroad?
I chose to go abroad to gain work experience while also broadening my international network and getting to know people from various different backgrounds. I have always been internationally oriented and have had the desire to gain life and preferably also work experience in different places.
How did you find your internship?
I found my internship through Stage-USA. I was looking into ways to find job vacancies or intern opportunities for ‘foreigners’ in New York City, when I stumbled upon their website. I immediately signed up for an intake meeting, which was extremely helpful and at the time, got me even more excited for this crazy potential journey ahead of me. Stage-USA was very helpful in both putting me in touch with my current employer and in helping me apply for my visa.
How do you feel about your internship so far?
At the time of writing this, I had exactly one month left on my year-long traineeship. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity given to me by Jonathan M., my direct supervisor, mentor, and CEO of the firm. I initially started as an accounting intern in the company, but by now, I have been promoted up to head of operations and I feel like I have grown into a role where I am an essential part of the business. I have learned a variety of useful skills and have gotten to see the ins and outs of American corporate culture.
How does the American culture differ from your culture and what has impressed you the most?
The first thing that comes to mind when reading this question is the hospitality and general friendliness and openness of the majority of the American people that I have gotten to meet here. I am not insinuating that Dutch people are not hospitable or friendly, but the extreme (genuine or ingenuine at times) of American people definitely does stand out to me.
Could you take us through a day? What is your routine?
On an average workday, I wake up at 6:30 AM in me and my boyfriend’s Lower East Side apartment to start off my day with a workout at Equinox, a few blocks away. After boosting up my energy levels during this workout, I have a little breakfast at home and walk to work, where my day starts between 8:30 and 9:00 AM. I am very fortunate to live walking distance from my office at the moment, but my previous apartment in Battery Park was only an easy half hour commute away by subway. It is easy to cover big distances by subway quite quickly in NYC.
My office’s business is quite seasonal, in the sense that our office hours ‘explode’ during tax season, when all American have to file their tax returns. On an average non-tax season day, I will generally work about 9 hours, whereas I easily work 10-11 hours a day during tax season.
After work, almost every day, I either go have dinner with friends in one of their apartments, but more often than not, we end up going out for a dinner and/or a drink in one of the uncountably many restaurants and bars across the city. Since I get up relatively early every day, I try to be in bed by 11PM to get enough sleep to be able to get through the workday (with some coffee).
What is your housing situation?
As mentioned previously, I currently share an apartment with my boyfriend. However, before I moved in with him, I shared an apartment with 4 roommates in Battery Park. I found my housing before moving to the US through a company called New York Next, who provides foreigners moving to NYC with housing. Without a service like this, it is close to impossible to find a (non-sketchy) place here as landlords are reluctant to rent out their spaces to foreigners or require an insane additional broker fee on top of the already crazy rents.
Have you made any trips so far? (Or have you trips planned/in mind?)
I have been fortunate enough to be able to travel around quite a bit throughout my year here. I have been on city trips to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington that are only a short train ride away. I have also flown to Montréal for a long weekend, which was lovely. More ‘close to home’ , I have also taken a couple of trips to the Hamptons, where a friend of mine that I got to meet here has a lovely Hamptons home and I have been on an ‘Upstate adventure’ to Beacon, which is the perfect city escape and nature oasis.
What are your future plans?
I moved back to Amsterdam at the end of March, when my J-1 Visa expired, where I started my new job at Deloitte a month after. I am not sure where the future will take me, but I definitely would not rule out that I will be back living in New York City in a couple of years!
How has this experience abroad helped you grow both professionally and personally?
My experience abroad has mostly helped me grow professionally. I have learned so many valuable skills in such a short time and feel a lot more confident in any work environment now. I believe that thanks to the year that I’ve had here this year, I have a lot of valuable experience and insights to bring to the table in any position that I will be in in the future. On a personal level, I have made a lot of new friends here from all over the world, both from the US and from other countries, like myself.
Why would you recommend others to do their internship/traineeship abroad?
I would highly recommend others to take the step to go abroad for an internship/traineeship as it is the perfect way to gain valuable work experience, while being able to explore and venture around a totally new area. It is guaranteed to be an unforgettable life experience that will shape you into an independent, international person.
If you could express your internship experience in three words, what would these be?
Challenging, enjoyable and valuable
