Intern in the spotlight: Stephanie Nunez

Stephanie is a vibrant intern turned employee at Signify who now works as a Marcom Specialist for Sales & Business Development of 3D printed Luminaires in Maarheeze, Netherlands. Originally from Venezuela, Stephanie studied Journalism and Corporate Communication and had lived in 8 different countries before she settled down at Signify in The Netherlands. I sat down with Stephanie to find out how her experience as an intern was and why she decided to stay at Signify.

So, Stephanie you have just started working as a full-time employee, can you tell me about the journey you took to get here?

S: After spending 6 months in Lithuania and another two months in Malta studying and playing music, I decided to challenge myself and learn something completely different that had to do with electronics, customer experience and communications, which are some of my favorite topics. So, I became a social media specialist for Large Luminous Surfaces, the department dedicated to LED textile panels. These panels were something special within Signify, as they were created for designers, architects and end-users seeking to make a design statement. This called my attention and for that reason I dedicated my master thesis to investigate and gather data that could support the creation of effective tactics to improve and boost social media performance. Thanks to this and after testing different approaches, we reached over 4 million of people in 5 months and generated a great number of leads. This was one of my best learnings’ experiences and a joyful journey! 

Can you tell me about the impact you felt you had and what you learned from your team?

S: I believe that one of my proudest moments was when I, together with another colleague, won a recognition as ‘‘game changers’’ for designing an innovative way to communicate with customers through digital communications. This was when not only the team but the whole department realized the value social media can bring to business as well as to a personal level. Most of them started to be active social media users. Indeed, social networks have changed the way we communicate with each other and having the opportunity to pioneer this new path of communication within the company means a lot to me.

That is true, a great team makes any internship amazing, but I know you are working full time now, can you tell me a bit about how you transitioned from intern to full-time employee?

S: If I’m honest since I started, I took the role as a real one. For me, this was never an internship, but my opportunity to make a difference and learn from the very best. During my internship I had different mentors who supported me along the way with different topics. My first manager, who was a very smart woman, helped me to gain confidence within a mid-senior team and to gain understanding about working in a large company such as Signify.

Overall, all my managers always push me to do what I love the most and this is something that I really appreciate and like about working at Signify. Managers will always ask things like: ‘What do you love doing the most?’ – ‘I would like you to do what you enjoy the most’; coming from Venezuela, a country where they value hard skills over soft skills and personal development, this was a big positive change for me and one of the reasons I decided to stay!

That’s amazing, so your team really invested in you, great! So, tell me what are some things you are very proud of in your new job and what advice can you give other people seeking jobs at Signify?

S: I’m really proud of being part of the innovation department, working with 3D printed luminaires that besides offering incredible possibilities to customers, such as allowing them to design their own luminaire by changing colors, shapes and textures. We print them in the Netherlands which allows us to deliver fast and most importantly, they are a sustainable product. I’m very pro-environment and working with products of high quality that contribute to the circular economy, feels good.

What advice can you give to interns looking to make it at Signify?

S: I have met and worked with a lot of interns and some were amazing, and some were a bit lost, not knowing how to contribute to their team in a meaningful way. If you feel that this happens to you, ask for help. Find a coach within your team/department or someone related to your job title. Signify colleagues are always happy to help and support each other.

Be proactive, take your ideas and convert them into projects with goals, deadlines, assets, and when you get the chance, share them with your team. There is always room for experimentation. Don’t be shy and if it doesn’t work, change something and do it again, because this is your opportunity to explore, grow and shine!