Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as a Non-Tech Student in Tech
My name is Alethea, a final-year Human Resource Management student at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. At the beginning of 2022, I had the opportunity to work with GovTech’s Young Talent Programme Office (YTPO) for a 7-month internship stint.
I didn’t come from a STEM background, but I have always been intrigued by the tech industry and wanted to learn more about it. It is also important to me that the work I do is meaningful and can lead to an improvement in people’s lives. When I saw an opportunity to intern at GovTech, it seemed like the perfect fit. Not only to learn more about my field of study, Human Resource, but also to gain more insight into GovTech’s products and what citizens can look forward to as part of the organisation’s mission to build Singapore into a Smart Nation. On top of that, the job description for this role was extensive — allowing me to learn beyond my discipline and job scope.
Experience as a YTPO intern
My main role in YTPO was under the Talent Attraction team, handling the recruitment and selection of interns for our internship programme. We received a huge volume of applicants, especially for the summer period. Alongside my team, I had to work with the respective hiring managers to schedule interviews and send out offers quickly to keep up with the high volume of applications. I was also asked to suggest suitable candidates for the hiring managers, and this gave me a chance to learn more about the screening process and how to identify potential candidates that were a good fit to the role. Prior to this, I had little knowledge of programming languages and the different technical skill sets required of each role. Through the screening process and my interactions with the hiring managers, I started familiarising myself with the skills required for technical roles, I was able to identify and match the potential candidates to the right hiring managers, leading to the closing of roles and onboarding of interns into GovTech for their internship. It felt good to know I played a part in that! I even got the opportunity to interview candidates and contribute to the hiring decisions of my team.
My First Project — Internship Development
The time finally came for my first project — how do we ensure our interns have a fulfilling and meaningful internship with us? Although my main role was to assist with recruitment, I had the chance to contribute to internship development efforts as well. The biggest project of my internship was to ensure that the intern cohort experienced a fulfilling and meaningful internship through a series of development opportunities. This month-long process of planning and gathering of recommendations through feedback led to the eventual development of our intern development plan, which include brown bag sessions, volunteering opportunities, and the introduction of new initiatives like the Career Clinic. On top of that, I had the opportunity to present these recommendations to GovTech senior leaders (nerve-wrecking indeed!).
On my last week of internship, I had the honour of being the co-host of the Intern Graduation Ceremony, a large-scale event organised to wrap up the summer interns’ internship stint at GovTech, which saw over 300 attendees. Our efforts really paid off as the event was a success, and it was heartening to receive positive feedback from our interns after the event concluded. The whole planning and execution of both development and engagement activities for interns taught me a lot and allowed me to touch on different aspects of HR. I learnt ways to better manage my time and increase work efficiency, especially having to juggle a multitude of responsibilities.
A true GovTech experience
When I joined GovTech, I did not know what to expect since it was my first time working in such a large organisation. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were exactly what they said they were. Regardless of your position in the organisation, your ideas and opinions are always listened to and considered. There were times I even forgot I was an intern because I was given so much autonomy and respect. The YTPO team was very accepting, giving me constant encouragement and validation every step of the way. Despite my lack of experience, my team always pushed me to be bold and to step out of my comfort zone. They never regarded me as anything less or deemed me as “just an intern”. In this team, we had each other’s backs and depended on each other greatly. GovTech’s work culture is incredible and every one embodies the ABC (Agile, Bold, Collaborative) values. These values were constantly reiterated throughout my internship journey, and it empowered me to achieve great things. I also had numerous opportunities to network with GovTechies from different divisions and it was enriching to hear about their work experiences. The more I interacted with them, the more it motivated me to strive for a career in tech.
It’s not just all work though. We’ve had volunteering opportunities, exercise sessions at Labrador Park, and even team outings to places like SuperPark and NERF Action Xperience which brought out our scarily competitive sides (like an out-for-blood kind of competitive). GovTech also has a neat gaming hub with games like foosball, air hockey and darts, and we head there whenever there’s time to spare. It was fun to bond with the team outside of work, laughing at each other’s lousy hand-eye coordination and lack of stamina, and talking about anything under the sun.
Final thoughts
Slay.
What an honour it has been to work with the YTPO team at GovTech. It has been an amazing and thrilling journey working alongside brilliant individuals. I am grateful to have been under the care of Desmond, Gillian and Kelly, who were there with me every step of the way. The team never faulted me for my lack of experience and always ensured my learning came first. The unwavering guidance and patience of the team motivated me to strive for greatness and more. To the interns I met along the way, thank you for your uplifting words and active participation in our events. For students who are considering a GovTech internship, I strongly encourage you to apply. My only advice is to embrace the ABC values (especially being Bold) and incorporate it into everything you do so that you may experience a true GovTech internship. Plus, it's dress down Friday every day so it doesn’t get any better than this!
If you’re still on the fence about whether to apply, find out more about our internship programme at go.gov.sg/govtechinternship.
