Do you, like me have friends or know people around you that are holding on to ‘dream jobs’ and working in companies you’ve always admired and wished you were in? When I was younger and starting out in the workforce, dream jobs to me were positions in the fashion luxury market – oh, how nice it’d be to work in Chanel! – and big advertising agencies like Ogilvy. (I’ve always had a creative streak in me.) Although I wouldn’t trade up what I’m doing now with Wardrobe Theory for anything, I had no clue how to land these ‘dream jobs’ then and definitely wouldn’t have minded for someone to point me in the right direction.
I think that the key to landing your dream job when you’re first starting out (besides being a top performer or valedictorian in school) is to intern for the company whilst you’re still in school. Excel during internship and I think your position in the company after graduation would be pretty set. Although I know that internships in Singapore can be tough with almost little or no pay, an internship is kinda like ‘paying your dues’ and you should bite the bullet and just get with it.
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| The publicity image for Blue Print. I can’t even recognise myself! Haha! |
My internship experience was really interesting. I was acting and modelling quite a bit when I was in school and was signed on to Artiste Networks as one of their actresses. So, I didn’t have quite the regular internship. My internship stint involved me going for castings for various roles in different projects such as TVCs and dramas and being involved in those projects when I was casted. A few standout projects that I remember doing were a Ch5 telemovie titled, Blue Print, and a Johnson’s and Johnson’s Acuvue Contact Lens commercial. The Ch5 telemovie was my very first acting gig and I played a rich girl who was kidnapped by some crazy fella. I acted alongside David Leong and Aaron Azia (who’s gone on to make a big name for himself in KL) and I remember having to fire a stunt gun for one of the scenes. The shaking and shivering in the scene was totally real. Although there were professionals handling the gun on set, I was paranoid that the stunt gun would fire for real.
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| From the set of the Acuvue lenses TVC |
I flew to Bangkok, Thailand for the filming of the contact lens commercial. The storyboard revolved around me taking a trip with my BFF and having to wear spectacles onboard when my BFF was comfortable in her Acuvue lenses. The ad was shot in the Thai Airways training centre and being so young, it was a really exciting adventure for me.
So yes, I didn’t go through the regular internship route like most people. But, if you’re a student and looking for a singapore internship, you can check out Stroff.com, a jobs portal project with a strong social purpose to help youths, tertiary students and young working adults achieve their career aspirations. It’s non-profit, and is currently funded by well wishes. Search for internship singapore!
