Internship Documentations

1. Offer Letter

2. Reference Letter

3. Thank You Letter to superviosr and colleagues

Besides a thank you card to everyone, I baked a whole chocolate brownie and presented it to them on the final day of my internship. Unfortunately, there was no picture taken of it.

4. Thank You Email to clients

Work Culture

The work culture is not so much of being outstanding. In such a small company, I am required to literally know, see and do anything and everything. I also learned faster, harder and in more depth. Cross-fertilization of knowledge and virtual working on projects is the norm. I am likely to ever do the same thing twice because everything is so bespoke and client-driven. It’s what my company would call ‘on-demand hierarchy’, meaning the best person for the job gets the job on the day.

Personally I feel that there is not much of a work culture here. Everyone comes to work for work and goes home after that. There is not much of people or team spirit so the joy of working in down under. There is this Hitler approach I feel that my company supervisor is practicing. Yes, the boss gets to sit right behind everyone to monitor everyone in the front, it does make things uncomfortable. During lunch time, she never joins any other colleagues besides the big boss and the Music Active manager. I find that unnecessary since working in a small company makes me feel like we are one working for the same goals.

Objective Achieved:

From the expectations and goals set during the internship preparation, the work culture has  provided an in depth knowledge of the formal functional activities of a participating organization.

People and Team Skills

The skill of listening is important in all aspects of our life and especially with ourselves being among people. When you listen to another person, you demonstrate respect for that person. Effective listening means actively listening and involves working to overcome many of the barriers to listening by asking questions, removing distractions, and listening with the intent to report. During my internship, I was encouraged to listen to my client demands. When clients are talking, I listen and vise versa. There is an exchange of respect there. Same goes to my colleagues and I.

To form a bond with my colleagues, I managed to join them for a session of badminton after working hours. It really enables me to connect more with them in addition to all the time spent in office. During special days such as Chinese New Year or birthdays, we would plan beforehand of a theme. That is only how far it goes.

Challenges Faced

Language barrier would sometimes occur with my colleagues as they converse most of the time in Mandarin. I on the other hand can only understand some of the language. Therefore most of the time, besides work related issues there is not much personal interest to talk about.

Basically in the company, we do not work as a team. Everyone works independently with our own work tasks and if there is any queries, I will either ask my company supervisor or my direct supervisor. All the time its just me facing the computer for hours with minimal communication with my colleagues as no one is sitting beside me. Well, actually there is Winson but he's out most of the time. So, the worse is still having my company supervisor around because it makes the working environment very tense. My colleagues will only start communicating when she is out for meetings and sorts. 

Personal Development

There were many things I learned about myself from this experience, but the one thing that stood out has been learning about how I coped with the learning process. I have noticed my reactions to the challenges have progressed through different adjustment stages, and I have taken different approaches to the process depending on my perception. I have tried direct and indirect coping strategies to daily challenges. I have also retreated and re-charged to keep myself engaged in the learning process. The solid supervision experiences have been instrumental in helping me stay focus on my professional development. The insightful feedback I received from my supervisors helped me to better understand the internal processes I experience as I navigate through the different work task. 

First and foremost, the very basic development would be the punctuality I display everyday on arriving for work on time. This has enabled me to receive good impression not only from my colleagues but also from my company supervisor. With this I am said to have a positive work attitude towards the internship. It shows that I am dedicated to the job, interested in the work and capable of handling responsibilities. Being punctual helps me project a sense of professionalism and commitment.

Besides that, I developed the ability to self manage my many work load by setting targets and working out a plan to successfully achieve them. This also comes with the tenacity I found within myself to never give up when the going gets tough. For example, when I found out that I needed wrap almost 50 over A1 boards and 22 acrylic A5 stands individually in one day, I knew that it was going to take forever to be done with that. In addition to that, I had to write consignment forms for each of the parcel which includes the outlet addresses, telephone number and the attendee. I would always like to finish tasks on my own and that was what I did. In the end, with minimal procrastination and continuous efforts, I managed to finish all that by 7.30 pm. This was also possible since I outlined steps of which should be done first and so on.

When I have minimal work on hand, I would always ask my company supervisor if I could help her with anything. She never fail to give me work tasks when asked. As time goes on, I found myself having the initiative to help my other colleagues with their work tasks. This was so much so that one of my colleagues ended up being my supervisor than the company supervisor herself. I was asked to do many assignments which took off really hectic for weeks until the end of my internship.

To efficiently carry out my work tasks, I have to develop an understanding towards my clients on how they would like things done and how things should be done. With information they provide, I was able to locate, extract, synthesize, and utilize their information correctly. Meaning, learning independently was also what I experienced. For instance when producing an artwork for CIMB clients, with the information they provided through email I was able to adapt it carefully into the artwork. The main reasons of their rejects mainly would be due to the format of the artwork as they have different types and it keeps changing all the time. 

This internship has also allowed me to add to my knowledge of using Adobe Illustrator CS5. The software was an essential part of my work as I need to produce artworks using it. It has allowed me to satisfy my clients although some adjustments are needed along the way of getting to the final results. However, I have only learned what is needed for my job scope so I can say that I am still no expert in using this software.

Objectives Achieved:

From the expectations and goals set during the internship preparation, I managed to develop skills in the application of theory to practical work situations. Also, another objective that I manage to achieve is that the internship did motivate me to continue and enhance my education so that I could end up in a better position in the future.

Introduction

This is an internship report based on my experiences as an intern for Brand Activation Asia in Dataran Prima, Damansara. As a marketing based student I decided to apply for a marketing based company to apply the knowledge and experience I gained studying in Taylor's University Dual Awards Program.

As an intern at Brand Activation, I learned the basic structure and operating principles of this organization while executing assignments and working with other professional staffs. My major goal was to self improvise and to pick up any skills that I could learn in the course of the internship.During my internship I learned to adapt to the work culture so that I am able to be part of the company. Other than that, I also learned many other things that will be discussed further in this report.

Overall, I am satisfied with the results of my internship. I was not able to use my knowledge and apply it a real organization. still I was able to see some differences in functioning that resulted from my efforts. Due to the character of the internship and the short time period spent, long-term recommendation would require more work and time, but I took this experience as an opportunity to provide my service to the company to ease their operations as much as possible.

Future Growth

Of all things that can have an effect on my future I believe it would have to be my personal growth. It really opens the door to it all. We should all stand by this phrase, "The major key to your better future is YOU".

Future messages to myself :

• remember and keep a hint of light and hope, difficulties are not impossible to move through. Solutions come to mind, things fall into places and worse moments pass relatively quickly.
• ups and downs happen. They are not necessarily good or bad. They just are part of the experience.
• Life becomes much easier and more enjoyable when you can go with what is happening and accept that it is going to fluctuate. 

All in all, for the nearest future I would see myself settling with the job of my choice which enables me to gain more experience and to sharpen my skills. The skill I would like to best improve on is my interpersonal skills. After working for a while I might decide if I want to continue furthering my education to a higher level or to seek a position in a multinational company.

The ultimate aim for myself would be to become a established person in a multinational firm such as Google or Tetra-pack. Alternatively, opening a business of my own would also be a good idea. However, the industry and type of business is still vague as I am not fully exposed to my best interests currently. 

Objective Achieved:

This internship has provided me with the opportunity to test my interest in this particular career before permanent commitments are made. I feel that I will not be joining this company again after graduation since my purpose is to gain more experience from every industry possible. Additional to that, I feel that I do not want to be working in this line of career.

Further Development:

This was quite expected for myself. Despite many presentations, debates and verbal training provided by all subjects, I was still not able to be confident enough when it comes to interacting with new people. This is something I have been working on for quite some time and it will continue to be put into thoughts.

Roles and Responsibilities

In a nutshell, my responsibilities would be to: 

1. Coordinate with Field Staffs (merchandisers) on travelling and working schedule 

2. Ensure the Field Staff complete the work on time with the submission of proof of work
3. Guide and assist the Field Staff for any queries.

During the period of the internship, I handled only HSBC and CIMB Bank clients.

For HSBC:
A master-list would usually be passed to be by the client of either HSBC Bank or CIMB Bank containing participating brands of retail and dining. With this, I was expected to sort them out according to 4 categories; outlets that have already been settled by the previous intern, outlets that we have received the A1 artwork, outlets that only have A5 artworks and outlets that we have not received any form of artwork (pending). Clients will send me PDF version of the artwork in A1 (594mm x 841mm) and A5 size (148mm x 210mm). 

Master-list sorted into 4 categories.

In continuation of that, I needed to request Image Magic (supplier) to print those A1 artwork. I did this by sending them the PDF version of the artwork via email and also stating the quantities required for each brand. There was over 50 brands to sort out and each brand had outlets spanning all across Malaysia. All the outlets the boards need to be sent to and the quantities were stated in the master-list. Altogether, there were almost 200 boards ordered. When done with that, the next step is to develop a list where the brands are categorized into the same shopping malls so that the merchandisers can deliver it. I sorted the malls by areas; Kuala Lumpur, Klang Valley, Penang, Johor, Melaka and Ipoh. 

Outlets sorted based on areas.

For all these areas, we have merchandisers who helps us deliver the boards in the reference to the lists I made. As for those areas not mentioned, the boards will be sent directly to the outlets. This is where the summary of my job comes in. I assists those merchandisers (field workers) and provide them with a travelling schedule. Anytime when the boards arrive in the office, the first thing I would  do is to check if the quantities are as ordered; was it as I have ordered? 

For CIMB Bank:

I dealt with 3 clients from CIMB. All 3 of them are in charge of different areas of Malaysia; Penang and Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley. Every now and then, I would get emails from any of these 3 clients, asking me to work on specific artworks. Different from HSBC, I definitely need to come out with the artwork using Adobe Illustrator and send the PDF of the ready artwork to the client for approval. Once I get the green light to carry on, then the same procedure takes on with the printing until the merchandising. The below pictures shows the artwork in the process by using Adobe Illustrator. 

In General:

During the process of delivering all the boards to the merchants, I need to make sure which ones need to be prioritized as the clients have specific dates on when the boards needs to start being displayed. As a proof that the boards have been delivered, field workers/merchandisers need to take pictures of the boards displayed in front of the outlets. I will collect all the pictures and update the status of each board to report it to the respective client. Sometimes, client might want some of the pictures as well to make sure that we are doing our job. The pictures below are some examples of the proof that the boards have been delivered to their designated outlets.

For boards that needs to be sent to outstation, I would wrap them in bulks (many boards in one) if we have outstation merchandisers. These areas includes Penang, Kedah, Melaka and Johor. For areas that other than mentioned, we send to the outlets directly, writing the outlets' address on the courier consignment. For HSBC boards, we would use GD Express else, for CIMB we would use Nationwide Express. The picture shown below is an example of how the boards are packed. Others packed includes the stands for the A1 boards, and the acrylic stands for CIMB A5s.

On busy days, there are many to be packed

Company Background

Brand Activation Asia is a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) which consists of 12 employees altogether, including two of us interns. The company and number of employees are split into two areas of focus which is branding (Brand Active) and music (Music Active), therefore it is very much like two sub-companies working in the same office. The company logos are shown in the picture above.

An overview of the company.

Brand Active is the only company that provides Point of Sales Material (POSM) to banks. These banks include HSBC Bank, CIMB Bank, Hong Leong Bank, RHB Bank and Maybank. Since there are only half the numbers of employees working for Brand Activation, there are no departments or division of labor. Everyone is fully responsible for everything. Because of the small group of employees, there is only one manager we all report to, Louise who is also my company supervisor. Therefore the organization structure is rather flat and broad. From the picture above, Brand Activation employees are seated on the right side where else, the Music Active employees are seated on the left side. 

Moving onto Music Active, they are in collaboration with Universal Music and Tune Talk. Their current project, M Nation is to provide awareness to students that they are ways to listen to music legally. This is due to the rise of illegal downloading of songs from various sources. So employees will have to collect surveys, approach and recruit students from all universities for their own reasons. 

Preparing for the Internship

Selection of Company
I did my selection of company based on the job description stated in the Industrial Training System (ITS). The descriptions that seem more appealing and do-able to me would be what I am attracted to the most. Next was the services that the company provides to clients, the industry that they are involved in. My first choice was Brand Activation Asia because the job descriptions stated appeals to me. Not only that, a considerate amount of salary was provided alongside a really good working hour of 10.00 am to 6.30 pm. Although the company is quite a distance from my house, to gain valuable experience we need to get out of our comfort zone. 

Workshops and Training
Taylor's has came up with many internship workshops for us to attend in preparing us for what to expect, what to do, what not to do, setting first impressions, writing a cover letter, writing a resume, what looks good on a resume, how to access the Industrial Training System (ITS) to select our company choices, personal grooming and dressing and many more. During these workshops, I have extended my horizons by just learning that it is the simple things that counts. A firm handshake tells employee that you are confident, competent and professional. The way you sit also tells another story. Therefore we cant take all these things lightly and have to be alert on how to carry ourselves. 

Setting Expectations & Goals
For this internship, I have set a few expectations and goals for myself so that I do not go through this experience blindly and would have achieved at least something by the end of the period.

1. The internship will provide me with the opportunity to test my interest in a particular career before permanent commitments are made. 

2. The internship will allow me to develop skills in the application of theory to practical work situations.

3. The internship will further motivate me to continue and enhance my education.

4. The internship will provide an in-depth knowledge of the formal functional activities of a participating organization.