Jorian during his internship in Toronto, Canada

Jorian in Canada: “My plan is to stay in Toronto.”

I still remember the journey from the airport to downtown Toronto. My first thought was that it looked like the United States as we know it from movies: big highways, big cars, friendly people.

Culturally, I think the biggest difference is the respect people have for each other. Not necessarily towards friends, but more towards strangers. Another big difference is the weather; unlike in the Netherlands, it can get very cold here in winter! In summer, it can get very warm.

Like a big village

Personally, I don’t feel homesick. Nowadays, there’s WhatsApp and Skype to stay in constant contact with people back home. I can imagine that ten years ago, moving abroad was a much bigger step.

Toronto feels like home to me. It doesn’t really feel like a huge city, more like a big village. Everything is very easy to reach, which makes it quite similar to the Netherlands. I’ve also made good friends here, and there are many great places to go out for a drink together.

I’m having a great time in Canada. Even though the differences between the Netherlands and Canada aren’t that big, the vibe is still different. I always find it cool to explore new places. Besides that, it’s also a perfect chance to travel to other places!

A typical workday

A typical workday consists of monitoring advertising performance on Facebook and Google, posting content on various social media channels, and brainstorming about growing our brand performance and creating new strategies to generate more leads. I work in a relatively small company, and everything is very personal, both for the employees and the clients. This also means that employees are active in different roles within the company, which makes it a very educational and interesting workplace.

I really enjoy developing strategies for clients and our company. Launching or promoting brands involves a lot of creative thinking to create campaigns and ideas, but it’s also tactical work, in the sense that we have to figure out how to use the budget as efficiently as possible.

The Spanish speakers

My friends are mainly Latin American and Spanish people. They are all very friendly and helpful. I even got invited to celebrate Christmas with someone’s family! I don’t think everyone would do that.

What I’ve Learned

The world of digital marketing was still relatively new to me. In a short period, I learned how to write articles and press releases. The company could test my English skills this way, but it also showed them how creative I was and what my work ethic was like. After a few months, we decided to extend my stay in Canada. In January, I became responsible for ALL marketing activities for the company and the Digital Marketing Academy of Canada (DMAC). It’s a challenge, but at the same time a really cool project. This would never have happened if there wasn’t trust between me and the company, and I see it as a huge compliment that they gave me so much responsibility. This really shows that good things can come from unexpected places if you just work hard. I really didn’t expect this when I came to Canada for an internship.

Looking back on the months I spent in Toronto, I can definitely recommend going abroad. This is my second internship abroad and it has given me so many experiences that will help me move forward in life. As a learning experience, it’s very valuable, but it’s also just a lot of fun! That makes it a very attractive offer.

Staying

Now that I’ve found this company, I want to stay in Toronto as long as possible. If all goes well, I might even go for a Permanent Resident card so I can stay here permanently!

Canadians in 3 words:
Friendly, polite, and humble