Dominika Kowalska | Placement Story

1. Where is your internship and what is your role?

I am working as a Marketing Assistant in the Marketing Department of IADT two days a week. The rest of the week I work at my family’s start-up business DK House of Fashion based in Tallaght Business Centre. DK House of Fashion is a one-stop shop where you can sit down with our team to design a bespoke dress made just for you for any special occasion and also get your hair done for a special event. DK is a start-up and I do pretty much everything; customer service, hairdressing, marketing, creative manager and more.

2. What are your favourite parts of both of these jobs?

DK House of Fashion is a family run start-up company, I am part of a small but great team. I have a real life opportunity to put all the theory I study during my Entrepreneurship course into practice. DK House of Fashion is in the fashion and beauty industry so my favourite part of the job are the promotional events, showcasing our DK House of Fashion products and newest collections. In February I had a chance to travel to Mayfair in London with the DK House of Fashion team to take part in the prestigious event, London Fashion Week. It was an amazing experience to be backstage and also model some of the designs on the runway.

In my marketing role I love the fact that I am now one of the of staff and that I am part of such a great team in IADT. I enjoy coordinating events that take place on campus, documenting these events by taking pictures and connecting with the people who attend. In this job I use a lot of skills that I have learned in my course such as computing skills, working in different databases and Excel, creating presentations in PowerPoint and more creatively designing posters for an event.

3. What is the most challenging?

My work placements are a great opportunity to get a real feel for being part of a team in a workplace during my Entrepreneurship course, before we are out in the real working world we get a taste of what it is all about and the challenges we will face. The most challenging element is getting used to a different structure of work and tasks given to you. A working environment is very different to college – lecturers, students and assignments. Even though we still have set times to be in college and have assignment deadlines, the professional work environment is more strict.

4. What will be your biggest learning?

I have learned a lot about how different big organisations are from small start-up companies. It was great to work as part of a bigger company where the hierarchy and organisational structure is so different to my business. This placement opportunity has thought me a lot about me and my work ethics, and made me realise that the decision I have made to open my own business was right. I have learned quite few new tactics that I can implement into my marketing strategy for my own business.

5. Any tips for future interns?

My tips would be to make sure you plan and research what exactly you are interested in. Use this time wisely to get a feel of an industry that you believe you want to work in. If you have never worked before, it is a great opportunity for you to see if you enjoy working for someone within a team or maybe you are a true entrepreneur and want to work for yourself. Make sure to research whether you will be paid for your time and work but don’t get too attached to being paid as the experience and skills you can gain from a placement are priceless. Set your own goals of what you want to learn and achieve during this time but most of all enjoy it!