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From trainee to product manager – What a traineeship at Aste is like

An internship at Aste gives you the opportunity to experience work in a variety of ways, together with relaxed colleagues. Read what an internship at Aste is like and read about Aste’s own experiences of interning with us.
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Yksinkertainen kaksivärinen tussipiirros, jossa kolme henkilöä nousee viivadiagrammin palkkeja portaita ylöspäin.

Aste allows trainees to experience and learn in a collaborative working environment, where work is done in a relaxed atmosphere. The versatile learning experience is supported by nice colleagues, who offer advice and help whenever you need it.

Internship at Aste means getting involved in real work and seeing your own handprint on different projects.

“For example, one trainee from last autumn told us how great it was to walk into a shop and see materials she had made herself,” says Eva Liukkonen, Aste Helsinki.

Traineeships can be part of your studies, but you can also apply for a traineeship to gain work experience. An internship at Aste is particularly suitable if you are looking for an internship in design, content production, marketing or technology. Find out more about what we do at Aste.

In most cases, trainees are also offered the opportunity to continue their training at Aste, for example through a summer job. In the best case, the traineeship can lead to a full-time job at Aste.

Take a look below at some of the Aste employees who started their careers with us as trainees and are currently working full-time as Product Managers.

”The company’s versatility is fascinating”

Maija Tuominen, product manager

Maija was interested in visual arts and writing from a young age. These interests confirmed the idea that she would like to do something creative for a living in the future. Eventually, after a gap year, her studies at the Media High School led her to study graphic design.

Maija knew Aste through an acquaintance and decided to apply for a traineeship in her first year of studies. The internship included magazine production, photo editing and book folding.

“After my traineeship, I had the feeling that I wanted to work for Aste because I was fascinated by the company’s versatility. I was also impressed by the relaxed company culture and the lovely people who were always ready to help a newcomer.”

Maija also completed her second internship at Aste, working in the evenings while studying.

When she finished her studies, Maija was lucky enough to continue working at Aste. At first, her job was to edit photos for magazines and make newspaper advertisements, but soon her hunger began to grow as she ate.

“Enthusiasm and hard work drove me forward, and I was able to try many different things to find my place.”

For a few years, Maija worked as a graphic designer in a bookshop, producing campaign materials and direct marketing for media houses. Later, her work focused more on digital: creating newsletters, banners and social media materials, as well as traffic management.

Currently, Maija works at Aste as a team leader and AD in marketing for restaurants and hotels.

“Materials are produced for just under a hundred different brands in a multi-channel way, from design to final product, so every working day is different. The pace is sometimes crazy, but I love it!”

Working closely with clients and colleagues is half the battle for Maija in her job, alongside content production.

“You have to keep up with change, and when we, the asthesians, put our expert heads together with our partners, successes are born!”

Asteen tuotevastaava Maija Tuominen Lontoossa 2024.
Aste’s Maija Tuominen currently works as a team leader and AD in marketing.

”The product manager model attracted interest”

Rene Hilli, product manager

Rene, a computer science student, first heard about Aste from his mother. His interest in Aste was sparked by Aste’s product manager model. An internship opened up, and Rene started his internship at Aste in early June 2023.

Rene Hilli

The first week was spent getting to know the office, the people and the new machine. Rene’s actual first internship assignment was the development of a Google Analytics report. Although Rene had little experience with Analytics, he was confident in his own ability to learn.

“I was also lucky to have the support of my colleagues when I needed it. Everyone was always ready to help when needed,” says Rene.

After developing the analytics report, Rene’s training included improving the Aste website and moving it to a new server. These gave Rene good experience in using WordPress and WP-Engine, among others.

Later, a new member from Ukraine joined the team, which further emphasised the use of English in Rene’s work and that of the team members. Rene was given the task of familiarising the new person with the development of the sites.

“It also improved my own skills, as things were repeated and problems came up that I hadn’t even encountered before.”

The rest of Rene’s internship was mostly spent doing migrations of Aste’s websites, but also included other development work and tasks related to Google Analytics. At the end of his internship last October, Rene was offered a permanent position at Aste, which he gladly accepted.

Currently, Rene works as a developer in a team that creates, maintains and develops websites for Aste’s clients. Rene is also part of the Experimentation Club, which aims to explore and discover new possibilities through experimentation.

“The aim of the Experiment Club is also to inspire everyone in Aste to experiment and innovate,” says Rene.

Interested? Apply for a traineeship at Aste with an open application.

Text: Tiia Antti-Roiko and Maija Vaara, Aste Helsinki

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Interested in discussing more or expanding our cooperation? All contact details can be found on the Contact Us page.

Interested in job opportunities at Aste? We don’t care about your background or whether you’re a beginner or a long-term professional. Take a look at our vacancies and read more about our working culture.

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Marketing
Eva Liukkonen 040 808 6368 LinkedIn
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Experts

Maija Tuominen
Rene Hilli
Eva Liukkonen
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