From Intern to Employee, a Success Story with AbBaltis!

Now a University of Kent alumni, Rebekah Weekes graduated as a student of European Culture and Languages in 2020. Just before her graduation, Rebekah secured an internship with AbBaltis via the Employability Points Scheme.

Based upon international sales and translation, the internship was supposed to last 12 weeks, however, for Rebekah it did not end there and she was hired as a Sales Account Manager. The EP Team caught up with Rebekah to hear more about her experience:

“I earned Employability Points through a range of events on campus such as: EmpFest talks related to my course and exploring career options, careers skills classes, the Modern Languages Teaching Forum, and society events such as STAR and Salsa Society. I learnt a range of skills as I earned points from lots of different parts of university life.”

Rebekah told us that during her internship she especially enjoyed working with companies worldwide and the challenge of gaining knowledge of an industry that was previously unfamiliar to her:

“My main role was learning the ropes as a Sales Account Manager focusing on a customer base in Spain and Italy. I learnt the skills involved in a sales role providing products to a worldwide market. I practised adaptability in learning about the IVD and biotech markets, communication with customers and colleagues, and organisation, teamwork and leadership in the various tasks and projects carried out. Alongside this I coordinated a project managing a grant from Kent County Council with the aim of internationalising the company website. I procured and hired companies to carry out translation and localisation services in Japanese to create a landing page.”

Her current role enables Rebekah to expand her customer base and continue to work on a variety of marketing projects alongside her day-to-day work.

Finally, Rebekah had this advice to other students:

“As you can earn points for lots of things you would be doing during university anyway, you may as well keep track of your points and see what rewards are available. Final year is not too late to get involved! And if you’re not sure whether to apply for something, give it a go anyway!”

AbBaltis continue to support EP students and more information about them can be found here.