Dubai-based student Maci Fitzmaurice has swapped the desert horizon for Happy Creative, spending time with the team and learning what it takes to be a Happy. Here, on her debut blog, the teenager looks back on her week at Happy HQ.
Summer – a time for fun, excitement and trying new things.
All of the things I have experienced whilst doing work experience at Happy Creative during my ‘holiday’ to England.
Desert
OK, I know you’re confused so let me rewind a little… around two years ago my family and I moved across the world to Dubai, a unique desert-city in the United Arab Emirates. However, we do make an effort to travel home every summer to visit family and friends.
Before travelling home this summer I asked my dad if he could find me some work experience to do because, if I’m honest, most summers I spend inside having a mass Netflix and chill session. But, in my defence, it does get very hot in the desert.
So I wanted this summer to be different and to use the time to do something productive. My dad got on the case and called up an old pal, Simon, who sorted me out with a week at Happy HQ.
My dad explained his perception of the office and Happies as fun and outgoing. He even compared the Happy office to the Googleplex because they both give off good and exciting vibes.
Simon and I had a chat and as I walked in I was quite shocked with how accurate my dad’s description of the office was! The walls are vibrant green and the Happies were all very welcoming, making me feel immediately at ease.
The Happy-plex
My first day consisted of lots of learning and this would continue for the rest of the week. We began with the weekly Monday Morning Meeting – the meeting wasn’t like it looked in the movies as to say, everyone was energetic and smiling and I was proud that I was part of such a great organisation.
The best aspect of Happy Creative is the process of how the work within the company is completed. Everyone at Happy has a great relationship which is amazing because they rely on each other as ‘internal customers.’
Internal customers are something I learnt about whilst reading a chapter of a book called Growing Your Own Heroes. This was a task set by Krisztina, one of the account managers. She set me this task to learn about treating customers well. I took a lot from our session and it was something that I really enjoyed. I learnt that the most important customers aren’t just the ones purchasing the end product but the ones within the company.
This week has been a truly amazing experience that I will take aspects of during my future working life. It has also been a pleasure to work with such diverse and talented people.
