"Summer break spans 3 months, and it seems too long for me to idle at home. But I was not sure what I wanted to do or could do. Having completed only my first year in Business School, I was trained only in the foundation modules and have yet to specialise in any majors. I felt hesitant about challenging myself for an internship. A friend recommended that I approach Alfred, our career advisor over here in USP, to get some advice over internships.

During our meeting, he enquired my interests and the experiences I had so far. We went through my strengths and he explained how my skills set could be transferred from one setting to another. As most of my non-academic experiences came from event management, he encouraged me to go beyond my comfort zone and explore other areas. After emailing the organisation and a tele-conversation with them, I secured an internship for my summer!

My internship experience gave me the first taste of what it is like to be working standard office hours (8.30am - 6pm), sitting in my cubicle, facing my laptop. It was initially very difficult to adapt as the longest I have stayed in a particular setting was 3 hours for sectionals in school. Throughout my internship, I made many more such discoveries of myself, that would otherwise have gone unnoticed had I decided to not step out of my comfort zone to take up an internship. I realised I am someone who looks forward to ‘action’, ‘adrenaline’ and ideas that excite me. Consequently, I now have a better idea of what I prefer to have or do for my career, unlike how clueless I was when I first met Alfred.

Besides self-discovery, internships also help us gain a better understanding of the organisation we serve as well as the considerations that various stakeholders in the industry have. I met different working partners and learnt to build rapport with them for long term partnership. My colleagues also kindly showed me the ropes by explaining the rationale behind how things were done and what could be improved. More importantly, I learnt the importance of building rapport with my colleagues. I love the laughters we have in the office, the songs we sing and the jokes we tell. It makes office life more enjoyable.

Looking back, I am glad that I took up this internship opportunity. I look forward to finding out where would be my next stop of adventure!" - Goh Wei Ling (BIZ + USP)

"I was initially clueless about what kind of internship experience would be suitable for me, or the experience I was searching for. Chatting with Alfred (who helms the USP Career Services) helped me to understand the internship application process better and the relevant internship opportunities that I could consider. He also gave me sound career advice, which helped to shape my attitude and expectations towards an internship.

I eventually decided to intern at the Corporate Planning and Management Department in a government agency for an 8-week stint. I believed that an internship in the government would help me understand the nature of public sector work better, as I intended to become a civil servant in the future. I intended to secure an internship that would grant me hands-on experience in doing research and policy work, as well as learn soft skills relevant to the workplace.

Eight weeks later, I’m thankful to say that my internship journey has been no less than a fulfilling one. It was a humbling experience as well as a period of self-discovery. Firstly, I was involved in a variety of projects. I was not only exposed to research and policy work, but I also was involved in another study on the local freelancing landscape.

Secondly, I was immersed in a conducive work environment. I was inspired by how the organization sought to uphold her own ethos of a Productive Workforce, and a Progressive Workplace -- I experience it firsthand through team lunches, flexi working hours and occasional work-from-home stints.

Furthermore, interns are valued as a resource and are tasked to work closely with full-time team members on key projects, which allowed me to take ownership of the work I do. Alongside new positive learning experiences, there were also many setbacks I faced in the internship that helped me grow as a person. Due to the nature of work that we do (highlighting emerging trends and estimating its impact or relevance to the national workforce), research can be tedious and not always fruitful. It takes resilience and a firm belief in the cause of our work to continuously search for emerging opportunities and risks for the organization. Here, I was motivated by my team members' work ethic. They firmly believed in the organization’s work and continuously strived to ensure that it potentially benefits our national workforce. They also ensured that our work was of the highest quality, and continually pushed us to step out of our boundaries to improve.

Lastly, by observing the workplace norms and practices of the organization, and interacting with numerous colleagues, I was able to reflect on various workplace issues. What made teams successful? How do we motivate employees to be engaged and productive in their work? How should we manage and lead people in the workplace -- and how is it different from student leadership in a university environment?

Looking back on my internship, it was a learning experience in the most unexpected ways that added to the diversity of experiences I seek in my university journey. I'm looking forward to my next internship in another government agency!" - Cassandra Pee (FASS / Political Science + USP)