Today marks the end of my quest for a dream internship. I had officially submitted my internship proposal this morning via onTrac and it has been approved.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am now a JWT intern.
Surprisingly, JWT is actually a stronger agency as compared to my dream company, O&M. Baby was telling me about the rankings of various ad agencies in Singapore and JWT is 5th while O&M is like 10th or something. No wonder cousin said they’re not doing very well. Oh well..
Yesterday was such a happening and hectic day. I could write a book about the common pitfalls of an interview at this instant.
At 2pm, i went for my JWT interview at Scotts Road. I walked into JWT’s office (for the 2nd time) and only now did i realize how beautiful the entrance is. There is an enclosed area with a projection on the wall, decorated to look like a forest. The wall projection was of a picture of many trees in autumn. Birds were chirping realistically from the microphones and i could actually feel it move from one corner of the room to the other. All these and i haven’t even step foot into the office yet.
I approached the receptionist and asked for Eza. I could literally see her eyebrows join together. “Eza? There’s no Eza here.”
“Crap i must have gotten the name wrong”
Turns out she’s called Eva. That’s for taking a call on the train full of loud and obnoxious children.
Eva brought me to their WPP cafe directly opposite the JWT office and only then i realize that it was an interview over food!! Goodness gracious I totally threw FT down the drain after Fine Dining. Crap.. Okay first you have to eat something. Ok check, i asked for Earl Grey without sugar and milk. Now you have to retain your composure and consume your food with grace. Check, i didn’t even touch my food because i was too engrossed in my interviewer. She was telling me about my job scope and project! Of course i had to look like i’m more interested in that then my cup of tea! Suddenly out of nowhere she decides to sit cross legged on the couch. I had to pull myself back from making a witty smart-ass remark that would kill my chances. Then she went to get my other potential boss. Go go go!! Pour your tea and take 5 big mouthfuls to make it look less empty!! Crap she’s back! Damn that was fast. Was she perching outside the Cafe all this while?! At this point of time, it was pretty amazing how i managed to compare the both of them to my previous interviewers from this exact same company. They are 2 worlds apart. Previously, they were 2 people who seemed to be impatient and unprepared for my interview. This time round, she was relaxed and she had made the extra effort to brief me on my exact role in the company. She truly cared of us interns, unlike the previous interviewers.
End of interview! Darn should i pay or not? FT taught me to make payment discretely as a form of a modest gesture. But in this case i think it is just plain rude if i were to make payment. It would be portraying a reversal of authority. So i didn’t pay.. Goodness i should be failing FT.
Before i left, she made it very clear that it is my choice to decide if i feel that this internship is suitable for me. Now that’s a first.
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At 5pm, i went back to O&M for the 3rd time. I frequent this place so often that the security guard recognizes me. Before this, let me talk about this awesome HR personnel i met at O&M.
His name is Leonard and he is darn awesome. For my very first interview with them, he spoke to me in mandarin and it didn’t even feel like it was an interview. It felt like he was on my side the whole time while some big director throws nasty questions at me.
After my 2nd round of interview when i called back to clarify the outcome, he sounded so apologetic when he told me i was rejected. He said he was “too paiseh to tell me upfront” and he had already sent my resume to several other departments. Which HR person does that?! He felt that it was his personal responsibility to get me an internship there. Whenever he called to update me, it felt like i was talking to a friend more than a potential employee. He called me once and this was our conversation:
Freda: “Hello Leonard ar?”
Leonard: “Hello Freda.. (breathes in deeply).. i tell you something ar. so sorry leh. we need to shift the interview to the afternoon..”
Freda: “OH no! how afternoon is afternoon?” (bearing in mind that i was to have my JWT interview at 2pm that day)
Leonard: “the MD needs to meet a client ar, so maybe around 5pm?”
Freda: “WAH HENG AR! Caaan can no problem 5pm is great”
Leonard: “Really ar? Okay okay good. Sorry ar, keep making you come down”
Freda: “No la!! I’m already very thankful for your help.”
(I put down the phone)
Chris: “Who’s that? Your father ar?”
Freda: “ar? No la, Ogilvy called.”
Chris: “HUH?! WHy you talk to them like that?!”
Freda: “Haha. Like friend right.”
If i have kids, i would make them do HR. Too bad my interests doesn’t lie there.
Ok back to my O&M interview. Alright to be honest, it wasn’t really O&M. It is an affiliate that resides in the same building, and works closely with O&M departments. Okay that totally sounds the same as any other department in O&M, but the only major difference is – i can’t put the magic O word on my resume. Darn..
Anyhow it was a branding company from London, The Brand Union. The best thing is.. the Managing Director interviewed me personally and he turned out to be 100000x more friendly than what i had expected!! He joked and laughed and we made snide remarks at different things together. Such a funny caucasian!! I could tell that he is a truly intelligent person, but he humbled himself to my level just to make me feel comfortable. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Most importantly, he understands my position. He actually told me that he totally understands if i would want to cast my net to different agencies. He could see that i would choose JWT over TBU purely on the fact that JWT is an ad agency but TBU is a brand consultancy. He doesn’t undermine such mentalities and there was no need for me to smoke him at all. He totally gets that i don’t really know much about branding because i came in with the idea that i was on an ad interview. He actually drew diagrams on his notebook to explain certain concepts to me. He totally teaches better than some of my profs.
Best of all, he watches Glee and he thinks iPads are ridiculous. I almost stood up and gave him a standing ovation.
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People at O&M are so nice and bonded, even though they are from different companies and departments. People say Hi to each other on the corridor and they don’t mind losing their professional image once in a while. It is just a very homely feeling whenever i step into their building. They may not the best agency in Singapore, but they are still the people i want to work with in future.
JWT confirmed me later that night. I had to accept it because i’m so tired of waiting around with no outcome. I had shed so many tears over this matter and many people don’t understand why. I’ll tell you why: it is like having a strong hold over your dream and seeing it slip through your fingers, but you were so sure you had it in the bag.
Nonetheless, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. If i were accepted into O&M, i would be a “telemarketing intern” whereas now i could be exposed to something bigger than what i had expected out of an internship.
Cheers to happy endings.
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