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FALL / WINTER 2011 ISSUE 16

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e Apprentice
PHBTBBRAPHY BY PRISIILLA HB
ART DIRECTION BY MARYAM YUSOF
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FALL / WINTER 2011 ISSUE 17
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t is a known fact
that a signicant
milestone of your
SMU journey is the
compulsory intern-
ship. From the very rst
brieng in this school,
you are bombarded with
requirements and infor-
mation that perhaps leave
you more confused than
enlightened. So many
rms to apply to, so many
opportunities; it can be
quite overwhelming!
But really, what does it
mean to intern? What is
it really like? Well, in this
edition of the magazine,
we bring you an exclusive
coverage of students with
rst-hand experience of
life as an intern, and what
you can expect. But more
importantly, we want to
show you that doing an
internship can be inter-
esting as well, as long as
you make an eort to
seek a unique opportunity!
Below we interview four students from the dierent
schools who have had interesting internship experi-
ences.
I
Name: Christine Tan Jia Ying
School : SOSS (Year 3)
Company: ACP Magazine, Sales & Marketing
UV: As an intern, what was your job scope
at ACP Magazines?
C: I helped execute events, track editorials etc. What
was interesting was that I attended the CLEO runway
search as a helper and I participated in photo shoots.
And the freebies (eg. megazip rides in Sentosa) were
also amazing!
UV: Did you encounter
any diculties?
C: I started my internship at a
bad time because they were un-
dergoing renovations, so for the
rst week all I did was pack-
ing and nothing else. I even
thought of quitting but I didnt
want to be a quitter. In the end,
I hung in there and it was way
better aer the renovations
UV: Do you think life in
SMU has prepared you
for this internship?
C: Yes by teaching me initia-
tive! Sometimes your employer
will be too busy to tend to you
or coach you so its up to you to
take the initiative to remind
your employer of your pres-
ence. It is also important to be
aware of your work environ-
ment and adapt accordingly.
UV: In your experience,
what are employers looking for; grades or
passion?
C: Passion! Passion motivates you to learn. Grades
probably get you your interview but when you have
gotten the internship, passion as a motivation is an
important factor.
UV: I am interested in interning in an in-
dustry that I am passionate about, but not
directly related to my major(s). Would you
encourage such a decision?
C: DEFINITELY! Your major does not determine
your career. Be open to choices!
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UV: What was your job scope like?
C: I assisted in areas involving intellectual property,
digital goods, payments law and violations under
Singapores Internet Code of Practice. I was tasked
with assignments ranging from reviewing policies
to building up characters on World of Warcra and
Second Life as part of my research!
UV: How did you get this particular internship?
C: OnTRAC followed by an email interview. Only
short questions were asked; why PayPal, what do I
hope to achieve, tell me about yourself etc.
UV: Why did you choose an internship at Paypal?
C: I have previously completed internships at a law
rm and the public sector so I wanted something
dierent. I was looking for an MNC experience and
when this opportunity came up, I couldnt say no.
UV: Do you think life in SMU has prepared you for
this internship?
C: Yes. For a start, my department was super im-
pressed with my PowerPoint slides when they werent
even fancy to begin with (by SMU standards). SMU
also taught me to learn independently but work well
within a team at the same time. I was denitely ready
to juggle multiple deadlines as well.
UV: From your experience, what do employers
value more; grades or passion?
C: Grades will get you in through the door, but on the
job, passion shines through.
UV: eres nothing worse than doing something
thats not you, and it shows. What advice would you
oer to freshmen or students who are going to take
up their rst internship?
C: Go with an open mind, be nice to your colleagues,
Name: Charmaine Wee Swee Ling
School : Faculty of Law (Year 3)
Company: Paypal, Legal Division
Grades will get
you in through
the door, but on
the job, passion
shines through

dont be afraid to ask questions even if theyre really

stupid ones and most importantly, be willing to learn
from others.
Shoes by Chocolate Schubar
Name: Hashim Alka
School : LKCSB (Year 3)
Company: OCBC (Group Transaction Banking)
UV: What was your job
scope like?
H: I did quite a lot of
competitor and protabil-
ity analysis of the dierent
products the bank had to
oer for their corporate
customers. Most of my
work was project-based so
on a certain week I could
be really free or extremely
busy.
UV: Do you encounter
any diculties work-
ing at OCBC?
H: Denitely! I would say
one of the most challenging
yet interesting tasks I did
was to prepare an accurate
competitor analysis. Some-
times, some of the informa-
tion you want isnt exactly
available online. I wont
disclose how exactly I got
the necessary info, but lets
just say that youve got to put your creative juices to
work!
ere was also an instance when I was tasked to
conduct a training session for some of the banks sales
sta. I was praying and hoping they wouldnt nd
out that I was an intern because it would seem quite
weird for an intern to train the permanent sta!
UV: Do you think life in SMU has prepared
you for this internship?
H: CAT helped for sure. A LOT. It was rather amus-
ing to see some of the banks older sta amazed by
some of the magic tricks I performed on Excel.
Surprisingly, I also had to
give several presentations
during my internship, so
SMUs emphasis on pre-
sentations did help in that
aspect.
What advice would
you oer to freshmen
or students who are
going to take up their
rst internship?
H: Dont be too picky
about where youre going
for your internship; as
long as it ts the major, its
good enough! Aer all, its
probably the rst proper
internship youre doing so
dont expect to get some
high-paying job. Im a Fi-
nance major so naturally a
bank suited me best. Once
youre done with that then
try to aim for one thats
more advantageous and
relevant to where you
want to work in the future. If all else fails, at least you
would have completed the required 10 weeks!
DONT BE TOO
PICKY ABOUT
WHERE YOURE
GOING FOR YOUR
INTERNSHIP

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FALL / WINTER 2011 ISSUE 21
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Name: Goh Wei Jie
School : SIS (Year 3)
Company: Barclays Capital, Structuring & Pricing Tools
UV: What was your job scope at Barclays
Capital?
WJ: I dealt with traders enquires on pricing sheets
and new curves within the options pricing sheets
UV: Do you think life in SMU has prepared
you for this internship?

WJ: Denitely. Other than dealing with the inter-
view questions and the working environment, SMU
also prepared me technically when it comes to un-
derstanding yield curves, nancial products, VBA
programming etc.
UV: How did you source for this internship?

WJ: I simply went online and applied! We had to go
through a couple of reasoning tests, phone interviews
and face- to-face interviews that dealt with situations
and technical knowledge.

From your experi-
ence, what do em-
ployers value more;
grades or passion?

WJ: I would say a good
mix of both. One thing
about working in a bank
is that the learning curve
is steep so grasping basic
concepts quick is essen-
tial. Passion will drive
you to probe and be re-
ally curious about every-
thing and anything.

UV: What was your
pay like?
WJ: Lets just say it was around the $4000 mark!

.UV: Is there any advice you want to oer
freshmen regarding internships?
WJ: Figure out what you really want, or at least try
hard, and go all in for it.
Figure out what
you really want, or
at least try hard,
and go all out for it

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FALL / WINTER 2011 ISSUE 23
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FALL / WINTER 2011 ISSUE 24
W
hat I W
ore to W
ork
Clothes by G2000
Shoes by Chocolate Schubar Dress by G2000
Shoes by Chocolate Schubar
.
FALL / WINTER 2011 ISSUE 25
Shirt, pants, tie by G2000