Original draft by Vanessa Tan
The day I received a request to move to another desk was the same day I met my colleague Jocelyn Kaylee. She was new to the team back then, and I, the intern, was asked to move so she, the full-timer, could have a dedicated workspace.
And whilst I was hastily packing up and transporting my belongings to a half-table in a drab corner, Jocelyn must’ve apologised about 20 times. “I’m sorry you’re moving because of me,” she continued as she offered to share the desk, which was now hers. “It’s alright, I’m just an intern!” I exclaimed in return.
Jocelyn’s response to my off-handed but lowly “I’m just an intern” remark surprised me. Pausing her moving-in, she spoke in an almost horrified tone, “No! Don’t say that about yourself!” I spent the rest of the day thinking about her simple but empowering comment.
[caption id="attachment_19913" align="alignnone" width="7360"] Students peddling their craft and resumes at one of our many recruitment fairs. See our schedule here![/caption]
Interns are often thought of as extras, calefares in the theatrical play of corporate life. The senior management are the main performers, the other full-timers supporting actors, and interns the trees swaying in the background and the unnoticeable boulders framing the scene. Most of us have been hired to do what the full-timers didn’t deign to do, and so we’ve often been given the most tedious and repetitive tasks a company could possibly have.
And yet, I found myself playing a different role in Shopee. The first act hadn’t yet started, and I was made a part of the back-stage crew, tweaking the infrastructure and designing the foundations on which the performance of the century would be built. And on her very first day (goes to show that Shopee’s recruiters are really good at hiring for culture fit), Jocelyn’s quip summarised all that. I’m not “just” an intern; I mean something here.
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We’re all trying our best here, regardless of whether we’re interns or full-timers[/caption]
I spent a total of four months in Shopee, and did end-to-end recruitment for new interns (on top of market research for employer branding purposes). That’s right, an intern recruiting interns. This might be a lofty experience to desire elsewhere, but here at Shopee, the impossible was made possible – all thanks to my manager Viona.
Recruiting new interns was fun. It stretched my capacity for quick-witted responses, taught me how to discern sincerity and truthfulness from mere eloquence, allowed me to work with supervisors across departments, and showed me what a life of a full-time recruiter could be like. I received sufficient training to do the basic, and pushed myself to go beyond what I knew. I never had to reveal that I was an intern myself, and my candidates never asked – probably because it would’ve been impolite to do so or because they couldn’t even tell, or both.
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Learning from the best: A moment in time with our Senior Recruiter Diah Fawnia[/caption]
As a recruiter, your candidates’ questions will begin to sound familiar after the first 10 phone calls. The questions I got asked most frequently were related to my experiences with Shopee’s company culture. “What is it like working in Shopee? What is the culture like?” Every candidate wanted my honest response, and that’s exactly what I would give them. Without even hesitating, I would repeat the following for as many times as they asked: there’s an abundance of learning opportunities if you would go looking (or asking) for them; supervisors will empower you to make autonomous decisions; you’ll have freedom and flexibility to create a ripple effect in the company, however small and shallow it may be.
Being Shopee’s intern was one of the best things that could’ve possibly happened for my career and personal development. I can’t put to words everything I’ve learnt in this short but incredible internship, but here’s my attempt to summarise the most important lessons into two pointers:
1. Which is menial – your job or your attitude?
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2. Don’t be afraid of your own voice
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Inspired by Vanessa’s story? Looking for an internship? We’re open for summer interns and interns all-year-round. Find your opportunities here! For more reflection pieces by our Shopee employees, click here and here.]]>