Name: Mille Hagen Høyeraal
Master's programme: Management of innovation and sustainable business development
Internship organisation: Stokke
Internship role/area: HR

Where are you doing your internship, and what are you working with?

I am doing my internship in the HR department at Stokke, an international company known for children’s products. My role is quite varied, which has given me experience with several different areas of HR. I have worked on improving the company’s onboarding and offboarding processes, updating and improving the employee handbook, and taking part in recruitment processes. In recruitment, I screen applications, communicate directly with candidates, and conduct interviews.
In addition, I am working on a larger project related to employee experience and organisational culture. I started by analysing existing material and employee data, and together with an external partner I helped develop a survey and analyse the results. The next stage of the project involves individual interviews and focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of the findings and identify possible areas for improvement.

What has been the most interesting or valuable part of your internship so far?

One of the most valuable parts has been getting responsibility and being trusted with real HR tasks. I have especially enjoyed recruitment, where I have been responsible for candidate communication and conducting interviews. It has been interesting to learn how to assess candidates, ask the right questions and create a good experience for them throughout the process.
I also find my employee experience and culture project very interesting because I have been able to work through several stages of the process, from analysing existing information to collecting new data and identifying areas that could be improved.

How have you used knowledge or skills from your master's programme during the internship?

I have used several skills from my master's programme, especially analytical thinking and knowledge about organisations, leadership and organisational culture. For example, when analysing the employee survey, I have tried to look beyond the individual results and understand how different factors may be connected. My studies have also helped me when working with interviews and employee experiences, as I have learned the importance of understanding different perspectives rather than assuming that everyone experiences an organisation in the same way.

What have you learned from working in a professional environment that is difficult to learn in the classroom?

I have learned that real organisational challenges are often much less clear than the cases we work with at university. In the classroom, you are usually given a specific problem to solve, while in a company you often have to first understand what the actual problem is.
I have also learned a lot about communication and responsibility. When you are communicating directly with candidates, conducting interviews or working on processes that affect employees, you have to think carefully about how you communicate and how your work affects other people.

Has the internship influenced how you think about your future career?

Yes, the internship has confirmed that I enjoy working with people, organisations and development. I especially like the combination of working directly with people, for example through recruitment and interviews, while also doing more analytical and strategic work.
It has made me more interested in future roles within HR, people consulting, organisational development and change management. I have also realised that I enjoy having varied tasks rather than working within only one specific area.

What would you say to a student who is considering doing an internship as part of their master's degree?

I would definitely recommend it. An internship gives you the opportunity to use what you have learned during your studies in a real organisation, while also learning things that are difficult to experience in the classroom. It is also a good way to discover what type of work you actually enjoy. My advice would be to take initiative, ask questions and be open to different types of tasks, because that is often where you learn the most.