My Tangerine Co-Op Experience
Written by Ilsa Baig

Friday, August 23rd, 2019

For the past 4 months I've been working with the Strategy and Communications team at Tangerine as a content marketing intern. I'm currently in a co-op program at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University. After completing my 4 months at Tangerine, I can say it's been a phenomenal experience.

I've learned many skills working at Tangerine that will benefit me in my future career, but there are also some things that I wouldn't have experienced without the amazing culture Tangerine offers.

Personal Finance

As a student, my personal finances weren't high on my list of priorities. I wasn't aware of my spending habits or savings goals. I didn't know much about TFSA's or even what a RIF was. By working on the Forward Thinking Blog on a daily basis, I became familiar with a lot of financial terms. I started setting personal savings goals, budgeting weekly, and trying to live a more minimalist lifestyle.

Career Goals

During my time at Tangerine, I was always encouraged by colleagues to shadow any areas I was interested in learning more about. I took this opportunity and learned more about different functions within marketing like social listening, social media, internal communications and event planning. As a marketing student, this was very beneficial to me because it helped me understand how marketing works in a company.

Being able to shadow other roles has given me exposure to the different jobs available in the industry. I definitely want to explore public relations and communications in the future.

Taking Advantage of Opportunities

During my interview at Tangerine for the content marketing intern position, I was told this experience was going to be what I made of it. In the end, it was exactly that.

I was presented with several opportunities, such as volunteering for Junior Achievement Canada, participating in a MLSE Launchpad charity event, as well as attending summits and workshops. These are all opportunities that exposed me to different companies, people, and knowledge beyond Tangerine.

At school, students are encouraged to network. Several networking events are hosted to help students meet individuals from different companies. An internship is the best place to build these genuine connections with those already in the workplace. Over the 4 months I spent at Tangerine, I met several great people and learned about their experiences within the field, both at Tangerine and outside of it.

Having Fun

Working at the official bank of the 2019 NBA Champions has been awesome. Coming to work during the playoffs and finals was even better. People showed up in Toronto Raptors gear all summer in support of the team, and mornings after a win were filled with great energy. I even got to meet and take a picture with Danny Green at our Raptors employee celebration!

I didn't know what to expect from this role when I first started in April. In the end, it turned out to be one of the best learning experiences I've had so far in my career journey. I'm going to miss the Tangerine culture and all the great people I've met along the way.

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