WISDOM
WORKING AS AN INTERN
FOR THE GOVERNMENT
If you think I'm a fashion student, you are completely wrong hahaha. This year is my last year before I graduate from my diploma in Arts Management and it is compulsory for me to do an internship in one of the arts companies in Singapore. Firstly, my classmates and I were afraid to enter the workplace. It was mainly because we had no idea about who are we going to work with, what is the working culture, and how much is the workload.
In the midst of March, I went for an interview with the National Arts Council (NAC). NAC is the biggest arts company owned by the government that supports the art industry which includes performing arts, literary, and Singapore Writers Festival 2018 (SWF). I knew that I wouldn't get accepted as they only chose ONE out of THREE interviewees. Regardless, God's plan is always the greatest, and so I got accepted as an intern in Marketing and Programming for SWF!
Before I start to share my experience, here is a brief introduction about the company I interned in. SWF is an annual festival and has developed to become an exciting meeting point of both homegrown and international writers, academics, and thinkers held through discussions, workshops, lectures, and performances. To prepare, it took them a year for them to ensure the success of the 10-days-festival.
SWF happened from 2 - 11 November 2018, showcasing distinguished writers including Kass Morgan, David Sedaris, Miriam Meckel, and many more. I felt quite sad knowing that I was stationed at the information counter as I won't be able to see all of the programs. However, everything happened in contrary. I have learned so many lessons through challenges and earned so many benefits during this remarkable festival:
In the midst of March, I went for an interview with the National Arts Council (NAC). NAC is the biggest arts company owned by the government that supports the art industry which includes performing arts, literary, and Singapore Writers Festival 2018 (SWF). I knew that I wouldn't get accepted as they only chose ONE out of THREE interviewees. Regardless, God's plan is always the greatest, and so I got accepted as an intern in Marketing and Programming for SWF!
Before I start to share my experience, here is a brief introduction about the company I interned in. SWF is an annual festival and has developed to become an exciting meeting point of both homegrown and international writers, academics, and thinkers held through discussions, workshops, lectures, and performances. To prepare, it took them a year for them to ensure the success of the 10-days-festival.
SWF happened from 2 - 11 November 2018, showcasing distinguished writers including Kass Morgan, David Sedaris, Miriam Meckel, and many more. I felt quite sad knowing that I was stationed at the information counter as I won't be able to see all of the programs. However, everything happened in contrary. I have learned so many lessons through challenges and earned so many benefits during this remarkable festival:
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The Challenges
1. Setting aside my priority
This internship period has challenged me so hard that I had to set aside my career in fashion and focus more on my work. The first six weeks
were the most challenging. Regardless, I still managed to ensure all of my work are reliable and valid.
Handling the info counter during the festival, everyone was going back and forth to ask me questions,
including the famous writers. I felt lucky because I made most of the writers shocked knowing that
I could remembered their family names (they don't know I've been editing their faces for 4 months hahaha),
but since then, we became friends. Lucky me, I made new connections!
Fashion wise, I always managed to look presentable because I enjoy playing with clothes every morning!
There were many visitors who approached me and gave me compliments. I might not be able to focus on
my fashion career during this internship time, but I could still bless people through my sense of fashion!
2. Being patient
Customer service can be stressful sometimes. A stranger might come to you and say "Good morning!
You look great today!" while another might say "You are just an intern. You don't have the authority, Can I just talk to your manager?"
There were too many different people that I had to deal with, but in fact, I can't judge them because I don't know the reasons behind their action.
My patience was trained throughout the festival but this made me realize that a single "Hello" can make the whole day.
Through this, I learned how to handle people and realized how the simplest things really matter during the busiest days.
3. Giving the best for everything
As an intern, we might not have enough experience and knowledge to offer the team. For me, working in the office has
pushed me to keep being motivated throughout the day, like when I had to answer more than 2000 visitors with the festival pass.
It might sound hard at the beginning, but you will do your best once you realize your purpose. In the festival,
my purpose is to make sure that every visitor feels welcome and enjoys the event, which was why
I had to push myself to be warm and open to assist visitors for 10 days of the festival.
A small tip for you who are doing an internship: Be persistent with what you are doing and
don't be scared to make mistakes! An internship is your learning phase.
4. Being Grateful
Everything mentioned above won't be meaningful if there was no gratitude. I remembered when I was assisting a blind lady,
named Cassandra Chiu, who was standing at the lobby with her guide dog. While waiting for her grab, we were sharing our experiences and
she told me this, "You have so much energy, Eve." Well, I didn't expect a 10-minute conversation can boost
my energy for the whole day. She once shared in an article, “Don’t be disabled in spirit, as well as physically." Her limitation will
never stop her in pursuing her dream to motivate and bless people. Now, are you grateful enough?
1. Setting aside my priority
This internship period has challenged me so hard that I had to set aside my career in fashion and focus more on my work. The first six weeks
were the most challenging. Regardless, I still managed to ensure all of my work are reliable and valid.
Handling the info counter during the festival, everyone was going back and forth to ask me questions,
including the famous writers. I felt lucky because I made most of the writers shocked knowing that
I could remembered their family names (they don't know I've been editing their faces for 4 months hahaha),
but since then, we became friends. Lucky me, I made new connections!
Fashion wise, I always managed to look presentable because I enjoy playing with clothes every morning!
There were many visitors who approached me and gave me compliments. I might not be able to focus on
my fashion career during this internship time, but I could still bless people through my sense of fashion!
2. Being patient
Customer service can be stressful sometimes. A stranger might come to you and say "Good morning!
You look great today!" while another might say "You are just an intern. You don't have the authority, Can I just talk to your manager?"
There were too many different people that I had to deal with, but in fact, I can't judge them because I don't know the reasons behind their action.
My patience was trained throughout the festival but this made me realize that a single "Hello" can make the whole day.
Through this, I learned how to handle people and realized how the simplest things really matter during the busiest days.
3. Giving the best for everything
As an intern, we might not have enough experience and knowledge to offer the team. For me, working in the office has
pushed me to keep being motivated throughout the day, like when I had to answer more than 2000 visitors with the festival pass.
It might sound hard at the beginning, but you will do your best once you realize your purpose. In the festival,
my purpose is to make sure that every visitor feels welcome and enjoys the event, which was why
I had to push myself to be warm and open to assist visitors for 10 days of the festival.
A small tip for you who are doing an internship: Be persistent with what you are doing and
don't be scared to make mistakes! An internship is your learning phase.
4. Being Grateful
Everything mentioned above won't be meaningful if there was no gratitude. I remembered when I was assisting a blind lady,
named Cassandra Chiu, who was standing at the lobby with her guide dog. While waiting for her grab, we were sharing our experiences and
she told me this, "You have so much energy, Eve." Well, I didn't expect a 10-minute conversation can boost
my energy for the whole day. She once shared in an article, “Don’t be disabled in spirit, as well as physically." Her limitation will
never stop her in pursuing her dream to motivate and bless people. Now, are you grateful enough?
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Photographs by @mrn.a and @philip_lim_