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Connect the Dots (CTD) is a stakeholder and community engagement firm that brings together community and public sector partners to develop innovative and actionable solutions for our towns and cities. As a marketing intern with CTD, I conducted research to know best practices of public involvement, outreach, and general development activities. Additionally, I planned and maintained Connect the Dots' social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
This internship with Connect the Dots in Dublin, I believe, gave me the opportunity to engage with and learn about intercultural competence from a more professional lens. Although I did not know much about Irish culture, I tried to educate myself by reading the news and researching about the region, in order to improve my Cultural Intelligence skills. During the first week of our course, we discussed different ways of executing certain tasks in our internships and talked about the existence of ambiguity in Irish work culture when it comes to tell a coworker to do a task. I experienced this ambiguity for the first time at the beginning of my internship when I was asked to do some research about our social media channels. I was not sure whether my supervisor was asking me to do this task or not, nor she specified the due date. In that moment I recalled the discussion from our CAPA class, and I said “I can do the task. When do you need by?” Then, my supervisor proceeded to tell me the date. I also learned to ask for help to my coworkers when I did not know how to execute a task.