It's Internship, Not Internshit

Hey everyone, it is Lemon again! In my last post, I would like to share the things that I had learned from my two months internship.

•  “Think, Before You Ask” instead of “Ask, If You Don't Know”

I often received the advice, “ask if you don’t know” from many of my colleagues. Thus, I had always asked questions and asked my colleagues or supervisors every time when I wasn’t sure or didn’t know about something. In my mind, I had always believed that internships were like full-time employment so no mistakes were allowed. I had to be perfect because I represented Curtin to complete the internship. So I had always ensured that I was doing the right thing.

One day however, my supervisor told me that “It is a good thing you that you always ask before you do anything. However, I hope that you can be more independent. Think and work on it before you start asking questions. Ask me if you really can’t solve it or if you don’t understand.” He explained to me that an internship is the only time for me to make mistakes and explore new things. It is because there is no excuse for mistakes and there aren’t many that would allow me to make mistakes in the real world.

During my 2 months internship, I figured a new way to make things easy. I found out an easy way to approach every clubs in university, planned a convenient way to join road shows and so on. I did not ask my supervisor what I should or should not do. I told him what I would do and if I believed that there was a problem that I couldn’t solve, only then I would ask for his help.

•  “Stay Out of Your Comfort Zone” instead of “Stay in Your Safety Zone”

I often received task that are out of what I have learned, for example my supervisor was joining a competition and I had to assist him to answer why Worthy Book should get the best start-up company. I panicked when I received this task at first. I was thinking “Seriously? How would I know?” But because this was after my supervisor’s little speech, I thought about it first and worked on it. I tried to look at the latest entrepreneurship news in Malaysia and looked for the past year competitors.

As I was searching for the information, I realised that I have no clue on this industry because I do not have any friends who are working in this industry. I have always stayed in the same social circle with the same people. Thus, I had no idea what was happening outside of my social circle. So I think that as a PR practitioner, we have to enhance our knowledge by getting to know people from different work areas and social areas. During my internship, I attended an entrepreneurship forum in order to make some new acquaintances. I received many information and news from the entrepreneurship society. Therefore, my advice for everyone is to step out and meet someone new! 

• “Learn More and Know More” instead of “Stop Learning Know Nothing”

It is a big advantage if you have learned something extra. I like to design and to take photographs, so I know how to play around with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. During my internship, I designed the brochure for the road show because the design team was not there to help. I often take some nice photos during road shows for future references and uses. Knowledge has no boundaries, so learning has no limit as well. I’m glad that I could show my extra capabilities during my internship. So learn and know more if you can. Who knows one day you may be able to use it to your advantage.

In conclusion, the internship was overall a great experience! I was fortunate to have met a nice and awesome supervisor. He often taught me something that could not be taught or learnt in a classroom environment. I also felt lucky to have met a group of friendly colleagues from different ethnicity and culture. In the end, this internship had shaped me into a better person.

I hope you enjoyed reading my post and hope it will inspire you to take the extra step as well! :)

Feel free to leave your comment or feedback down below! 

Cheers,

Loke Ming Ngiam

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