Digital Marketing Internship in Indonesia

So, probably like everyone else, I thought (after finding a post on a scuba facebook group) this is too good to be true.
I was planning on doing some travelling anyway, so if it fell through, not a big deal! I didn't even expect to get a place to be honest as I had no background in marketing, I just thought it was pretty amazing to be able to get my Dive Master cert in Indonesia.
Honestly, boot camp was very hard for me, I started from nothing, I didn't even know the lingo. After four weeks, however, I felt like I had learnt so much, more than anything I'd learnt in university and that was a three-year course! So, I am super grateful for all the information Anna and Jen filled my head with, they are great teachers and were very understanding when I was a bit slow with some things.
I was posted on Gili Trawangan at a brand new dive shop, so a lot of the designs in brand guidelines were completely new, which was fun to create and to then see the shop fill up with designs I'd made. Over the five months I stayed on Gili T, I learnt more than social media marketing, I learnt a little bit of bahasa Indonesian, how dive shops work behind the scenes, to live away from home and be completely independent.
My Dive Master training was great, I had such a good mentor and I was able to dive one to two times a day, almost every day, in some of the most beautiful dive sites I'd ever seen. I've made so many memories and close friends being out here and can't quite believe how it has all turned out. It has really changed my life.
Now I am working for the dive shop I interned at, they were very happy with my work and offered me a job to carry on what I'd been doing for the past five months. Now I can call this amazing paradise my home and now I have an extended island family too!
This has been an experience of a lifetime and it's still going.

I was looking for a place to do my dm in Komodo, so I emailed a bunch of dive shops asking if it was possible to do some marketing related stuff in exchange for a dmt. One of the diveshops pointed me out to the Paradise interns program and I got super excited about the opportunity, the first month was quite intens but we’ve learned more about social media then I could’ve ever dreamed of!

The five months after the bootcamp I was placed at a diveshop in Komodo, so my dream of doing the dmt in Komodo and working as a social media manager came trough after all.

I can safely say that Paradise Interns was a life changing opportunity for me. Having the opportunity to spend 6 months in Indonesia, get my dive master and learn such a wide variety of social media marketing skills was truly eye opening.

Paradise Interns shows you the ropes of what it takes to be a social media marketer, by introducing you to programs such as buffer, canva, IFTTT, mail chimp and many more. The whole first month is dedicated to ensuring you have the skills to run a whole social media operation for a real life dive company. You learn how to create brand guidelines, create and schedule content, find a 'brand voice' and how to be consistent when it comes to posting and interacting with your followers. Not only this but your voice gets to shine through too as you get to write and produce your own blog posts. Theres so much more that you learn with the whole Paradise Interns crew within the first month of being an intern, not just social media skills, but also what it takes to be a part of the whole 'digital nomad' culture in terms of mindset and focus. You meet like-minded people looking to get involved in a like-minded lifestyle.

Once the first month is done, you are sent off to your placement that Anna has hand-selected for you. She places you where she sees your personality to be a best fit, which she chose perfectly for me. Being placed in Komodo was one of the best experiences of my life, with world-class diving and wonderful people. I could not have asked for a better place to learn and develop my independence. I loved the whole program so much that I completed my IDC and have gone on to find work here in Labuan Bajo.

The founder of Paradise interns, Annam is one of the best mentors you will ever have. Anna was extremely helpful when it came to finding accommodation and sorting things out. Not only this, but Anna's always available to speak to if you have questions, concerns or you simply need a chat.

There are so many options for new interns now, it isn't just for savvy divers. The company has internships across a vast range of companies. They have spots at non-profit organisations, dive resorts, conservation groups, health and fitness, food and beverage companies and many other up and coming businesses here in Indonesia!

To all of you out there that are considering this program, just apply, I promise you won't regret it.

I learned SO MUCH during this internship. The bootcamp in Bali for the first month was in a beautiful villa, and everyday we learned new skills to prepare us for the placement. I didn’t know anything about digital marketing before this internship and the bootcamp fully prepared me for the following months. Anna is always available to answer your questions. The 5 months that I spent on Gili T were amazing. I was placed at a wonderful hostel where I became part of the family. It was easy to find a work life balance. I was constantly learning but never felt overwhelmed. Do it !!!

Let's be clear - it was hard work, I was busy, and sometimes a little stressed out. But even though a few unlucky things happened to me outside the internship (like getting sick) I had an amazing time. I learned techniques which are gonna be incredibly useful to me for my future career plans during the bootcamp. Then, I became a confident Divemaster prepared for anything after learning in the strong currents and amazing underwater landscapes of Komodo National Park. What more could you ask for?