Here at Honoco, we work closely with Auckland-based tertiary institutes, offering third and fourth-year workplace experiences to support the development of industry talent.
It is sincerely one of the best parts of our job. We get to connect with brilliant students full of talent and potential plus help them transition some of the skills developed at university into successful careers.
We first got to know Margo in October 2021 and 16 months later, she started in the role of Partnership Executive at Basketball NZ.
But how did she get from school hockey player to Honoco internship, to her first day at a National Sporting Organisation?
We asked Margo to tell her story.
Margo Groenewald – Honoco University Placement Alumni
My placement experience
True to the promise on their website, I was NOT running coffee orders or doing data entry during the 14 months I spent with Honoco in 2021-2022.
Instead, I’m almost 2 weeks into a job that I didn’t know existed this time last year – Partnership Executive at Basketball New Zealand.
I got here thanks to a combination of a love of sport, uni lecturers that pushed me out of my comfort zone, a placement organisation that invested in my personal and professional development, and of course some hard work.
Honoco – particularly Richard and Sean – provided me with a placement experience that went above and beyond (whether they realised it or not). And it has set me up with more confidence and more connections than I expected.
“On reflection, the things that made the real difference were mostly things that took quite a minor effort from them but had a major impact on me.”
It showed me how investing in someone’s development doesn’t need to be all-consuming but can actually be efficient for all parties involved.
- Weekly 30-minute check-ins focussed on me, not my work. What shape was my CV in? What interested me that week that I wanted to explore further? What jobs or tasks have I loved (or hated).
- Including me in all kinds of meetings – not just as an observer, but as an active participant, developing projects and even presenting to clients.
- Putting me in environments where I could absorb technical and tactical knowledge about the industry and the way people work together.
- Introducing me to clients as part of the team, and setting up introductions with people or organisations I had a specific interest in.
Lots of that struck me as a bit ‘extra-curricular’. It wasn’t required as part of the placement, but I ended up with a more holistic view of the business because Honoco were investing in me, not just the tasks I was doing. I loved it!
On top of these personal development opportunities, Sean dedicated a generous chunk of time training me in things like Excel Models, PowerPoint layouts, data analysis, and online focus groups, developing my competency in these commonly used industry skills.
I’m so grateful to have ended up here today, working for Basketball NZ.
I always played sport
In my youth I played every sport going, eventually playing relatively high-performance hockey and as I got older and attended competitions it occurred to me ‘who on earth is organising these events, and how are they coordinating this many students and schools?!’
That’s the first time I remember thinking about the administration of sport versus just showing up and playing it.
Fast forward to leaving high school and to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to do with my life! Then it clicked. Sport! Of course, the thing I’d most loved all my life would be amazing to work in.
Choosing a degree
That ‘ah-ha’ moment led me to the AUT Sport and Recreation brochure – the most practical sports degree on the market. I chose to study a double degree in Business, and Sport and Recreation, majoring in marketing and advertising, and sports management. It was a big 4 years for me, and I didn’t do much other than study.
After playing Hockey for so long, I always assumed I’d end up working directly with athletes and imagined being a high-performance analysis coach or something like that. But the reality of the anatomy paper made me go back to the drawing board relatively quickly.
In the end, the first time I saw my two degrees blend in a way that excited me was during a finance paper! It was here I met Richard, who was presenting a Supporters and Fans Insights Report to the class; he explained what Honoco did for companies and sports organisations. I was intrigued by the topic and emailed him immediately after the presentation saying I would love to complete my uni internship with Honoco.
As part of my degree I’d already completed two shorter 30-hour placements. One was in a school setting, one in a not-for-profit, so working with Honoco in the commercial space helped me understand the differences and nuances between organisations in similar sectors.
Real industry experience
During my 14 month-long internship with Honoco, I was given the opportunity to work across a variety of projects and experiences, including an AMI Insurance and Habitat for Humanity partnership strategy. The partnership won the Excellence in Sponsorship Strategy Award at the 2022 TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards – this was a huge deal for me as an intern!
I finished my degree in November 2022, and after a bit of downtime, got back in touch with Richard to chat about kickstarting my career proper, and seeing if anything or anyone was on his radar that I could investigate further.
Richard did in fact have something in mind and he proposed the Basketball NZ opportunity to me. Timing is everything, and a bit of luck is always a nice addition to the hard work.
And now, I’m almost 2 weeks into my Partnership Executive role at Basketball NZ. WOW!
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my experience; from athlete to student, to placement to career kickstart….
Non-Negotiables
My non-negotiable over the past few years was to trust myself and to have confidence that I’d made the right decision. I could have done anything, and having endless options is overwhelming. So I simply committed to something and backed myself, knowing I could mix it up if I needed to.
Advice
My advice if you’re a student, is to take what you need from your studies. Don’t try to do it all. If you’re not sure how (or if) something applies to you, don’t try to force it into your life. But have an open mind to allow it to jump back in when/if it makes sense.
And my advice to placement providers is to recognise the potential the student can bring. They won’t initially be a complete package with the right skills or capabilities, but the potential is there. Just spending 30-mins per week with your intern to review their CV with them or ask them if they’d like any industry connections can make all the difference and it doesn’t take up much of your time at all.
Goals
My goals and hopes for the next few months are to learn about Basketball NZ as an organisation, and its place in the industry. Mostly, I want to make an impact in areas I am passionate about and where I can back up my passion with skills I’ve learnt. I will listen and learn as much as possible, see what clicks with me and then run with it.
Thanks, Honoco for being such an awesome placement organisation.
