One Foot Into Adulthood

Tell us more about yourself.
I’m a student in my final year of university, and I’m currently interning at an advertising agency doing account management.

How has your internship been for you?
It’s been fun. I’ve done the same job before, so I knew what I was getting myself into. I actually think it’s better this time round because I have that foundation, so I’m able to act more like a full-timer rather than an intern, so it’s been a lot more rewarding.

Why advertising?
Since poly, I’ve always done marketing and media stuff, but back then, I focused more on the media aspect of things.

When I came to uni, my friends talked to me about the world of advertising, so I felt like it was a natural step to move towards advertising. Because I’m still an intern, I have the luxury of deciding what I want to do. I chose to explore advertising in this internship so that I can compare it against my previous experience in media, and then hopefully when I graduate, I’ll have a firmer understanding of what it is that I want to pursue in the future.

Right now, I’m leaning towards advertising. Even though we have to follow our clients’ wants and needs, we get to do a lot of creative work. The possibilities are endless, which I find very freeing in a sense. We’re able to propose a lot of different things, and the brands we get to work with are really, really cool lah.

What is something that surprised you about the working world that you perhaps did not learn in school?
For me, I worked for a bit after poly before entering uni. That was my true first experience in working. Back then, I had a very good team with me, so my baby steps into the working world were very cushioned.

Right now, coming into internships in uni, it made me realise that finding a team that you can work well with is very difficult. You cannot just expect to meet people that you can blend seamlessly together with. It’s the same in school actually, but when it comes to the working world, there has to be a very clear distinction between friends and work—a friend is a friend, and work is work.

Sometimes, you meet people who work differently from you, and you have to be adaptable. Since I’m just an intern, I’m at the end of the food chain, so I must be able to work with everybody, no matter their working style. That was the biggest thing for me, because school does not teach you about adaptability. It’s all these soft skills that are a bit more difficult to pick up.

Outside of work, what are some of your hobbies?
My biggest hobby is baking. I wouldn’t say it’s a passion, but it’s de-stressing. Because it’s so separate from what I do professionally, it acts as a very good way for me to disconnect from work and just have some me-time.

As baking goes, you start out bad and get better at it. I like to think that I’m good at it now. And after I bake, I get to eat, which is always a plus point.

One thing that I’m most known for, not to brag or anything, is my banana cake. My friends say my banana cake is really good, so I bake that most frequently, and people ask that of me most often.

If you could describe yourself as a dessert, what would it be?
I would say something like a brownie with ice cream, or a sticky date pudding with ice cream, because it’s both hot and cold.

Not because I’m hot and cold, but because people always says that I’m generally quite friendly and warm, but it takes a while to get to know me better, so I think I’m a mixture of a hot and a cold dessert together in one.

The one dessert that I’m most known for though, not to brag or anything, is my banana cake. My friends tell me that it’s really good, and they ask that of me most often, so I bake that most frequently.