Inside My Internship Office in Milan

As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to share more about the company where I’m currently doing my internship through the IES Abroad program.

Many students are curious about what kind of companies they might be placed in, but something I personally wondered even more was what the work environment and daily experience would actually look like. So in this post, I’ll introduce my office, the workplace culture, and the type of work I’ve been doing so far.

Our Office Space

This is our office. Our company uses four rooms inside a shared office building.

There are no assigned seats, so technically you can sit anywhere. In practice, though, most people end up sitting in the same spot every day.

When I first arrived, the office didn’t really look like what I expected a typical workplace to look like. There weren’t piles of paperwork, desk drawers full of supplies, partitions, or stacks of documents that you might imagine in a traditional office.

Because this is a consulting company that constantly communicates with clients, many of my coworkers are often in video meetings with clients throughout the day.

Another thing that surprised me was that the company does not provide work laptops. At first I found this a bit unexpected, but now I actually find it more comfortable to use my own laptop.

After about a month of working here, I feel like I’ve completely adjusted to the office environment.

The Conference Room & Coffee Corner

This is the coffee and snack area in one corner of our conference room. It’s probably my favorite spot in the office.

As someone who is slightly addicted to coffee, having unlimited access to coffee during the workday is very important.

One thing I noticed is that my coworkers almost always ask if I’d like to join them whenever they go for a coffee break. I think it’s a very sweet part of the office culture.

That said, if I said yes every time, I would probably end up drinking five cups of coffee a day. So these days I try to set personal limits on when I take my coffee breaks.

On the other side of the conference room there’s also a very comfortable sofa area. Sitting there with a cup of coffee for a few minutes is a great way to reset during the day.

The Shared Kitchen

For lunch, we usually eat in the shared kitchen in our office building.

The kitchen is equipped with several microwaves, an oven, induction stoves, plates, cups, and utensils. There’s also a shared refrigerator, so I usually leave my lunchbox there in the morning before going up to the office.

There’s even a dishwasher, which makes cleaning up easy after eating.

I haven’t used the induction stove yet, but if I wanted to, I could probably bring something semi-prepared and cook it there.

Interestingly, my boss is very curious about Korean food. At some point, I’m thinking of preparing a simple Korean dish for my coworkers. If I end up doing that, I might write another post about it.

The Daily Coffee Culture

After lunch, we usually go to a nearby café together for coffee.

In Italy, the standard coffee after lunch is espresso, though sometimes people order a caffè macchiato, which is espresso with a small amount of milk.

It seems like people take turns paying for the coffee.

These coffee breaks are also when I get some of the best travel tips. My coworkers are always happy to recommend places to visit in Italy, especially knowing that interns usually want to explore as much as possible during their time here.

What I Actually Do at Work

Now that I’ve explained the office environment and culture, I want to talk about my actual role.

To be honest, the role I’m currently doing is a little different from the role I was originally hired for.

I was hired as a Market Research Intern and Internal Marketing Intern at this consulting company. However, during the first few weeks I was mostly assigned market research tasks.

The company specializes in helping clients obtain grants, which is a very niche consulting field. Because of this, the type of research I had to do was very different from the kind of market research I had previously done.

Since it wasn’t really my field, I found the work both difficult and time-consuming. I also started to feel concerned that I was spending a lot of time on tasks that weren’t closely related to my area of study.

Because of that, I decided to have an honest conversation with my boss.

Instead of simply saying that the work was difficult, I explained:

• What kind of work I had done previously
• Where exactly I was struggling with the current tasks
• What kinds of contributions I thought I could make based on my background

I also suggested some ideas for how I might use my major more effectively within the company.

After that conversation, my supervisor was changed and I was invited to join a new marketing project the company was preparing. I’m now helping manage their social media accounts.

A Small Piece of Advice for Future Interns

After talking with other internship students, I realized that situations like this happen quite often. Sometimes interns end up doing tasks that were not originally expected or discussed.

This can happen for many reasons — communication gaps, changing company priorities, or simply the reality of working in a small team.

If the new responsibilities end up being interesting or helpful for your goals, that’s great.

But if you feel that the work is not aligned with your skills or professional interests, it’s important to communicate early. Having an open and respectful conversation can often lead to better outcomes for both you and the company.

Internships are not just about completing tasks — they’re also an opportunity to learn how to communicate, adapt, and advocate for your own growth.