Karyna Leykina

The reason for becoming an intern
I’d been dreaming of a career in an international company since university, so I was looking at internship programs. I think I was lucky because they usually look for interns for production or finance, but in my year CRH was looking for a communications person. I specialised in media communications and public relations, so I was happy to become an intern in my field. Before the interview, I learnt everything about CRH and was elated, and after the interview I realised that I was waiting for a lucky call from that very company. 

The memories of the internship
New acquaintances and trips. It was cool to meet almost all colleagues at 3 plants, and even cooler to meet former interns who are already working and communicate with them. Our group of interns was non-technical, but both in the office and at work everyone treated us very kindly and told us about the details of their work. It later helped in my work because now I always know who to ask a question and I know almost everyone personally. 

The secrets of successful completion of the internship
Perseverence. I wasn’t afraid to take on difficult tasks, if something was not clear there were colleagues who were always ready to help. It’s very nice to feel their reliable “shoulder” next to you.   

Advice to future interns
Ask questions. It’s better to ask ten times, do it right and remember how – and still better write it down – than pretend that you understand everything and fail at once. 

The best thing about the new job
The variety of tasks. The work in marketing and communications is so various that you never get bored – there is always something interesting and something I’ve never done before. 

Plans for the future
Become a professional and develop the skills that I lack. At university, it is difficult to understand what you’ll need in the future, and during the internship it immediately becomes clear where there are gaps and what you need to work on.