Portfolio of Wessel Geenen

The art of building connections

In my international student life I have met a lot of people from different countries and continents. Trying to both adapt to the way of contact that both of you are used to is difficult. All cultures have a different way of connection and communicating so you will have to both be cautious of other peoples habits or characteristics. I always try to connect with a lot of people from different nationalities just to learn and improve on my adaptability so that my skill in communication will improve. Of course there are always cultural differences that you will encounter, as i am more of a Dutch person if I look at my characteristics i tend to be more direct with communicating which other people sometimes can interpret as rude. But adapting to other peoples cultures is what makes it really great to expand your network.

My vision on working abroad

Working abroad can be an experience which can greatly improve your communication skills and your fluency in some languages. For my first internship I have chosen to work in the Netherlands, so there won’t be that much of a change. But I still have to communicate with international people in different languages. During this internship I have used my English and French the most. Though I am really looking forward to having more international communications. It is a chance to expand my network, I already started working on expanding my professional network using my Linked-In which has been a great experience.

Imaginary daily schedule

Important events

The first important event that really stuck with me at my internship was when I got in contact with a sales manager of an English distributor. I reached out to him to talk about selling our paints via their company to expand our reach to the UK. I had several Teams meetings with this person alongside my internship mentor, and eventually met the sales manager at our company in the Netherlands to show him around and convince him to buy our products. This really taught me a lot about international business communication, sales strategies, and the importance of preparation and professionalism when dealing with external partners. It also helped me understand how important it is to build trust and present clear arguments when trying to enter a new market. This experience boosted my confidence in client-facing situations and gave me a taste of how international negotiations work in practice.

The second event was when I had to do marketing research for Asian countries to expand our portfolio to countries in Asia. This taught me to work independently, analyze complex markets, and be culturally sensitive in a business context. I had to take into account local climate conditions, business customs, and product compatibility in completely different environments. It pushed me to look beyond Europe and think globally, which was both challenging and enriching. I also improved my desk research skills and learned how to summarize large amounts of information into practical advice for our marketing and sales teams.

Another important event was when I had to add my own input into the monthly sales meetings. In the beginning of my internship, I was helped with this part, but eventually I had to make my own PowerPoints and diagrams to show what I had been working on and to present market trends and updates. This helped me develop my analytical and presentation skills, and made me feel like a valuable member of the team. I learned how to communicate my findings clearly and visually, how to speak confidently in front of colleagues, and how to handle questions or feedback. It was a big step for me in becoming more professional and taking responsibility for my work.

Demonstrate the ability to work with interpersonal and organisational competencies by formulating and reflecting on your own personal learning objectives.

Before starting my internship, I wanted myself to become better in certain personal abilities. I wanted to improve my professional communication especially during presentations. And also I wanted to learn to network in a business context. I think i have made strong progress in each of those goals. I have build good relationships with colleagues across the departments and I can present my findings and achievements clearly during the sales meetings.

The good relationships with colleagues where build during the informal activities like table tennis at the office, lunch or weekly Friday drinks.

Demonstrate the ability to adapt to the context in which you function.

Adapting to the working environment required flexibility. My internship thought me to fit into a new environment is about staying open-minded and curious even when things feel unfamiliar at first. Adapting to different software’s or working styles needed patience and attention.

Interpret a certain number of aspects of a company in order to draw conclusions about the extent to which the company is an attractive and sustainable employer

Using the Sustainability Scan, I evaluated Lumiforte’s practices in environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The company scored well in sustainability with its production processes, employee wellbeing. But it could improve on the supply chain. Lumiforte is not only an innovative business but also a responsible employer that takes care of its employees and invests in long-term sustainability.

Interpret, with the use of relevant theory, the corporate culture of a company.

I applied Hofstede’s and Trompenaars’ frameworks to understand Lumiforte’s culture. The company is mostly informal, flat in hierarchy due to the low power distance. And values teamwork due to the moderate individualism.

Compared to Belgium, where hierarchy tends to be a lot more present the corporate culture at Lumiforte felt a lot more direct which could be challenging at sometimes. I’ve learned to appreciate this openness, this causes the communication to be more clear and the goals to be direct and really understandable. If you make a mistake they will clearly tell you, but also help. And it also encourages to speak up regardless of your position if you have an other idea.

Demonstrate the ability to discuss relevant learning objectives for yourself with others.

I chose to discuss my learning objective about improving professional communication with my internship mentor and collogues. I also asked for feedback after my presentations and meetings. This helped me develop a much better communication style, discussing this openly also created opportunities for support and advice, which boosted my confidence and helped me grow faster then I would have alone.

Demonstrate the ability to respond appropriately to an unfamiliar, or unimpededly changing, business environment.

When my first internship mentor left the company I had to adapt and look for another mentor. This was not too much of a challenge because I already had good relations with my collegues and found a different mentor directly. This was sometimes difficult cause they both had a really different way of communicating. One was always at his desk and was more direct, the new mentor was away a lot and sometimes let me choose my own objectives and goals. This was really nice though cause I could presue the things I liked the most and really try what I would like.

Demonstrate the ability to improve yourself, using both your own learning objectives and feedback given to you.

I’ve actively used feedback to improve of my work. One specific example was feedback on my data presentation during a Sales meeting. I was told to add more visual elements and give more proof of different aspects I mentioned, this made me change my presentation for next month and eventually given me a good and clear presentation.

Demonstrate intercultural competence by successfully participating in an international business environment.

Working with partners all over the world like; Asian, British, Belgian, Scandinavian,… significantly improved my intercultural competence. I have learned to have more patience for response, cause some culture’s like to take their time to respond to certain emails. And be more open to different communication styles.

Construct a research project on a relevant business issue.

For my internship research project, I investigated how Lumiforte can improve their internal communication and employee engagement. I used interviews, survey data, and the Great Place to Work results to identify improvement areas. This project gave me the chance to use both analytical and communication skills while working toward a solution that can have long-term impact. I also used these results for the directors of the company and they wanted to listen to my advice.

Work together with people form other cultures, and look beyond own stereotypes and prejudices to ensure effective cooperation.

By working together with different distributors over the world with usually having different nationality sales managers ensured me to be open to all cultures and look beyond stereotypes. This caused for a smooth way of communication and more professional meetings.