11 Things I learned during my First Internship Experience at Vetstoria

6 min readAug 15, 2024

After 11 wonderful months at Vetstoria, my time as a Trainee Web Developer comes to an end.

As a part of my Bachelor’s degree at IIT, it is mandatory to get industry experience between years 2 and 4. After spending the first two years learning concepts and gaining knowledge it was time for me to gain some real work experience. I was delighted when I got the opportunity to complete my Internship with the amazing team at Vetstoria. Let’s first see what Vetstoria is all about.

About Vetstoria

Vetstoria’s real-time online booking platform enables pet owners to schedule appointments by working in the background 24/7 as their virtual booking assistant. Founded in 2015, Vetstoria now serves over 3000 practices worldwide with offices in EMEA, North America, and Asia-Pacific. Vetstoria facilitates veterinary practices’ digital transformation to become more robust and adaptable with tools such as real-time online booking, high-end veterinary telemedicine, online payments, and more.

My Internship Experience at Vetstoria

I started my Internship in mid-June 2021. I was assigned to projects that required skills mostly related to web development and UI/ UX design. Working with different teams helped me gain exposure in different areas such as UI/ UX design, web development, customer acquisition, marketing, research and development, and many more.

From providing constructive feedback to conducting informative sessions related to various technologies my supervisor and the team members have been very supportive throughout the internship. The knowledge and experience gained from working with a global team consisting of members from all over the world helped me immensely to improve my critical thinking. Not only that it enabled me to understand the customer base from diverse backgrounds and make better decisions when designing and coding.

Here are 11 key things I learned during my 11 months at Vetstoria

#1 Putting knowledge and skills into practice

After learning and gathering knowledge at university this was the time I had to put my skills into practice for real-life projects. From conducting research to designing prototypes to implementing the code you’ll start gaining a lot of exposure to actual work. You’ll have to figure out how things work, align, and improve your skills accordingly.

#2 Understanding and adapting to workplace culture

Every company has a different work culture. The culture differs from the way they communicate with each other to how the company aligns its team with the company’s vision. In the beginning, you can observe and learn how your co-workers interact with each other. Understanding and quickly adapting to the culture makes it easier to work with the team.

#3 Enthusiasm and willingness to work

In the long run, this is very important to keep you engaged with the work. There might be times when things seem tough or when the solutions you provide don’t give the expected output. But having the enthusiasm to work will keep you motivated to never give up.

#4 Asking questions and clarifying your doubts

During the first few weeks, you might feel like it’s annoying or bothersome to ask a lot of questions from your supervisor. But asking questions and clarifying will not only help you get the expected work done but also save a lot of time. If your supervisor is not available, someone from your team will be willing to help you. After all, an internship is a learning experience, therefore don’t be afraid to clarify the things that you don’t understand.

#5 Good communication

It’s always better to ask for help and clarification than to pretend you’ve understood what you need to do. But avoid asking questions if you can find answers elsewhere, for example, if it’s something you can Google and find out. When asking anything be as concise as possible since everyone’s time is valuable. Maintaining good communication will help with efficiency and growth as an Intern.

#6 Try out something new

After working with a really helpful team at Vetstoria, I am leaving with more knowledge than I came with. Vetstoria provided opportunities to try out new areas in different teams that allowed me to improve my skills. I was able to work with multiple teams and learn new skills which helped me a lot to figure out what I like to do the most. Therefore, don’t be afraid to ask and try to get experience in different areas. You never know what you’ll like the best unless you try it out!

#7 Never say “no”, prioritize your tasks

Sometimes your team might ask for help in other tasks that are not assigned to you by your supervisor. This can be extremely overwhelming if you have multiple items on your to-do list. You might also be someone who wants to check off everything on your list before the shift is over. However, you can communicate with your supervisor and establish priorities to see how you can get additional tasks done within the given time frame.

#8 Organize the work you do

Whether you are implementing code or designing make sure to properly save and share them for future use. Document the code well to make it easier for your colleagues to understand. After creating your designs, organize and save the files in appropriate folders for future use.

#9 Getting feedback and becoming better with time

After your tasks are done it’s always best to share the work with your supervisor to get feedback. This will improve your work quality and help avoid similar mistakes in the future. You will need to make changes once, twice, and sometimes 10 times. No matter how many changes happen, you shouldn’t take it personally because making the product perfect is the end goal of any team member. Therefore, It is important to take note of both the positive and negative points of your work as it can help you grow and excel in your career.

#10 Network with everyone

During your internship, you’ll get the opportunity to meet people from different professional backgrounds. I learned how to introduce myself, talk about my interests, knowledge, and skills with these people, and also connect with most of them via LinkedIn. Be genuinely interested in getting to know everyone at work, it’ll help you land new roles in the future.

#11 You are more important than you think

Even though you are at the bottom of the career ladder, you’re also a part of the team, and your work is appreciated. Intern life can be tough, and you’ll face a lot of challenges and grow as you learn. Remember you only get a short time to make a lasting impression. Therefore make every day count. Try working harder and improving your overall skills every single day.

An internship is a great opportunity to gain experience, make friendships, and learn. So work hard and enjoy your internship to the fullest!

Visit Vetstoria’s Careers page if you are looking for careers with a combination of business and technology in the Veterinary space. Don’t forget to check out Life At Vetstoria on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Are you also excited about your first internship experience? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section! 😃❤️