Thriving Amidst Disruption: Our 2359 Interns
It has been a month since the circuit breaker was announced, constraining many Singaporean businesses and workers to operate from their homes. This has affected the plans of several students, including some of our new interns in the marketing and strategy team. Some of our interns share their experiences with managing disruptions and thriving despite them.
FRESH OUT OF UNIVERSITY
A recent graduate from The University of Queensland, Kai Ting had her mind set on kickstarting a career in the advertising industry — the only path she ever thought of embarking on. As it turned out however, job hunting especially during the COVID-19 outbreak, proved to be extremely daunting.
While there were interviews in the first few months, it was obvious that companies were tightening their hiring, especially for internships, due to the worsening economic outlook. Soon enough, the hiring freezes started rolling in, and replies stopped coming. Things took a turn for the worst, when the circuit breaker was announced and companies had to quickly adjust to working from home.
“Things seemed dull indeed, but it also gave me the opportunity to re-consider my career prospects. I decided on exploring opportunities in the tech field and happened to chance upon 2359 on a spreadsheet listing all the employers still hiring. As I did some research on the company, I found out that this was the company behind the incredible MyCare project — an app enhancing both the lives of patients and nurses. Even though I did not have the relevant expertise, 2359 Media prides itself on having diverse hires and I am now working on helping to launch a new product. ”
FROM ECONOMICS TO TECH MARKETING
Isabelle, another marketing intern, also had her summer plans disrupted because of COVID-19. Keen on pursuing her interest in economics, she was initially going to attend summer school at the London School of Economics (LSE). However, after speaking to her parents and peers, she decided to withdraw from the programme and look for something else to do in Singapore. Isabelle decided to develop herself professionally and acquire skill sets from an internship instead.
“I wanted to understand how companies were adjusting to this ‘new normal’ and leveraging on technology to optimise their workflows and services… I started looking up on tech companies in Singapore and came across 2359 Media which was listed by the Straits Times as one of the top 10 tech companies in Singapore”. She successfully cleared the interview and was quickly onboarded as an intern.
“My interviewers described the internship as a “ninja internship”, meaning that I would be exposed and expected to work on cross-functional workstreams, beyond marketing projects. I was very excited to be given the opportunity to explore product and web development functions, despite not having a technical background.”
FROM BIG TECH TO SME
Adriel, a strategy intern and also a student at Yale-NUS College, was looking forward to spending his summer as an intern with a big tech company in Singapore. However, the company had to cancel the internship and offer a shorter two week programme when the extended circuit breaker was announced. With less than two weeks till the start of his summer break, he quickly started applying for internships at other tech companies.
“Within a few days of submitting my application, the talent operations team at 2359 Media quickly scheduled an interview with me… I was heartened by the quick turnaround and I knew I wanted to be part of such a fast-moving company. Being part of a small company also gives me a wide range of opportunities to develop new skills… In my first week alone, I have started working on projects that touch on HR and marketing, on top of my work streams in the strategy team. Despite being a SME, 2359 Media consults for several large organizations as well, so I’m excited to still be able to learn more about how these organizations work.”
MOVING FAST TO SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES
These days, our newsfeed may be inundated with stories of how COVID-19 has caused the best-laid plans to go awry. But not all is doom and gloom. We have seen great stories of how companies have pivoted to overhaul their operating models, so as to make the best of the situation. At 2359, we are also excited at opportunities that are coming our way as companies seek to accelerate their digital transformation plans. At an individual level, the stories of our interns bear further testimony to how there remain exciting opportunities if we keep our eyes peeled, ready ourselves to try something new, and move fast.
At 2359 Media, we are always on the lookout for fresh talent to join our team of engineers, designers and thought leaders, to explore ideas at the intersection of business, design and technology, as well as to bring them to fruition. Even as COVID-19 has disrupted business as usual, 2359 Media believes in building up a strong talent pipeline and providing opportunities to students to grow and develop their skills. We will be partnering with NUS for the #SGUnited Traineeship Programme that will be launched in June. We also offer internships to talented students from various universities and polytechnics.
If you are prone to action rather than inaction, driven to succeed, and resourceful, drop us an email at talent@2359media.com to be part of our family today!
Written by: Adriel Yong
