After experiencing my first ever event in my placement company, I would like to share part of my intern experience I had so far. It might sound rather indistinct and complicated, but I'm just feeling like releasing some "stress" out here. Or perhaps, any peers that undergo the same situation could personally relate and hope that we could encourage each other to overcome this challenge after 13 weeks! Of course, there are the goods as well. Will surely mention them. :))
UTAR (my uni) had oblige us to undergo an industrial training for a semester, as my course is Public Relations, of course we will opt for event companies, media or any relations cooperation of our own interest. For my case, I had been a "lone ranger" to settle down in a niche company.
Unlike my friends whom had chosen corporate or industrial kind of companies, the YAY company (just call it yay for now) I'm joining are set up by 3 siblings and had been around for almost a year. Another colleague of mine had been with them for 8 months and an intern of my age which comes in only half a week.
YAY company is much related to my hobby as they are real passionate on designing events with their DIY skills and they do real beautiful handy work stuff. The way to describe it is like they had brought pinterst and tumblr to real life! What they work for had attracted me, therefore I am here for now. This would be the bright side that I had to mention, however there are still obstacles and difficulties along the way.
So what had I experienced for the past 3 weeks? I wonder if the other interns are sailing in the same boat as I?
Well, to share part of the difficulties I am facing now. Is communication. The irony is when I am a communication student but I could not communicate WELL with my colleagues. Before continuing I would have to say, they are really really nice people. Very polite and does not treat you much as a lower person. Every morning, when someone enters, they would greet and ask if you had a pleasant day. It's cool to be welcomed like that, but what meant was I am not confident enough in my speaking and I always feel pressured when being there in the name of an intern. Fear of rejection, I dare not give suggestions and participate in conversations. Everything that pass through my lips has to be filtered a thousand million times. I feel very uncomfortable at times, I could not really look into their eyes and project my voice properly. #sigh One of the factor is too, due to my English. As my colleagues are English educated, the comparison of my proficiency becomes even more obvious. The first day of my work I even had to Google lots of words like "consolidate", etc. I felt ashamed and I decided to take this chance to improve my English. It might not be as good as them, but I'm really determined to at least improve my speaking.
Regarding communication, besides the speaking part, another difficulty that I had faced is to mingle around with colleagues. It's not easy to fit in to people whom had different cultural background , living standards, status and interest. Compared to my usual life, it's rather easy to be engaged in topics and to get along easily. As this time I am being exposed in a new circle of people, it's a challenge for me to engage and be around them. Besides work-related topics, there's not much conversations to offer. [[If I meet myself in the office I would also want to hit myself in the face. ]] I had to admit that I'm pretty lame in that sense. Other than speaking generic topics, I would not dare to test the water if we could fit in any other ways. I used to be rejected by this kind of people in my life, so theres some fear of this deja vu situation. Perhaps that's why I miss my pals, because they could tolerate my lame jokes and childish statements.
Other than that, I had started to discover my shortcomings during internship. I had been instructed to learn how to "做人" (carry myself) in the working environment. My on-site supervisor had pointed out that my performances and the way I carry myself needs improvement. Definitely she had discovered my mistakes during my first event. I really appreciate her honesty, even though she is strict at times or even roll her eyes at me when I could not reach her expectation. She had set herself as a good example in the office. Not just her, my boss had been a good example of being in their profession. They speak politely to people and handle things professionally. Their strong points had clearly reflected my weakness. Therefore, I had set them as my benchmark of self-improvement now. Due to humans-all-have ego, it is surely disappointing to discover that we have flaws. However, I had to admit that I'm a rookie in the field that needs alot of molding and pain to gain.
3 weeks had gone fast, I hope throughout this journey, I could be more versatile and tough in facing challenges each day. I thank God for his daily guidance and assurance for me day by day. Without Him and my family, I'm really going to be much miserable. Also, I hope that my friends whom are experiencing internship could share what you have been to, I am really interested to know how are you doing there. If you are a friend that could offer some great tips in handling the situation. I'm always up for suggestions :))
Happy Interning, Happy working, Happy Uni-ing! God Bless :))
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