A Good Internship – A Covid Perspective

The challenges of virtually preparing the teas and coffees. 

Having experienced life at Good pre-Covid, this time round has been different to say the least. As can be expected, the typical daily errands of an intern prove to be slightly more challenging when faced with poor WIFI connection from the living room. 

Being immersed in life here over the past couple of months, I have been fascinated to see how the team have adapted to post-Covid life. My previous experiences at Good depict a relaxed, open plan and general Good atmosphere in which the magic happens. I am, as I’m sure are my fellow Good colleagues, disappointed to say that the previous sentence is not a current reflection of office-life. However, not all is doom and gloom. Having managed to get into the studio in my first week of being back, I was once again reminded of the bustling Glasgow life of which I have grown so fond, with the filming of the latest Indiana Jones taking place just across the road from the Osborne Street office. 

Despite my initial reservations, I soon settled back into a Good daily working routine with some, perhaps for the better, alterations to my previous Good working day; making my own lunches rather than be tempted by Pret’s undeniably delicious but completely overpriced Italian chicken salad, and making use of the extremely repetitive Perthshire farm walk rather than roaming the streets of Glasgow. 

As always, the variety of projects I’ve been involved with at Good have been endless. From spray foam insulation to whisky, the breadth and fast paced nature of the brand consultancy industry has always fascinated and exhilarated me. Faced with daunting software jargon such as “content snare”, contrary to popular opinion, is not as impossible as it first may seem. And my ability to locate documents on the maze that is the Good server has most definitely improved. If my time here has taught me anything, it’s to believe in myself. To recognise that we, as people, so often downplay our abilities, despite them being much more extensive than we give ourselves credit for.

I decided to link up with Partner, Chris, to shed some light on his Covid experience within the company, and to find out whether our issues in dealing with a sense of dislocation were shared. Thankfully, it turns out I am not the only one who panics about harassing people on Teams. On a larger scale, we identified the importance of human interaction and connection, the new-found perks of flexibility that WFH brings and the key component in any successful working environment, trust. 

My Good Covid experience has prompted an array of questions that I can’t help but feel are critical for employers today and for the future. So, how is it that we are supposed to create and develop relationships virtually? Is this bizarre nature of meeting someone online before in person going to become the new normal going forward? And how do we learn to develop and nurture those relationships through a screen? Are we certain that the success of virtual business currently isn’t just a result of the social capital that years of in-person socialisation pre-Covid allowed? 

Or, contrarily, isn’t this kind of scenario what makes us learn the most? Being thrown in at the deep end in a situation that is completely out with our control? Having to adjust. Shouldn’t we encourage ourselves to be pushed out of our comfort zone? As Max De Pree said, “We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are.”

I have learnt so much throughout my time here. My ability to prioritise, communicate and be increasingly independent are most certainly skills that will be incremental in both my final year at university and within any future job role. Further, and something I had, perhaps naively, not considered to be particularly important before my time at Good, are my now further developed technological abilities. I now feel I can comfortably navigate software that during university, I would never have been given the opportunity to explore. And lastly, I have developed many lovely relationships at Good through which I have gained experience, confidence and friendship.  

A Covid internship has most definitely not been what I expected but I’ve still had a great time.