An internship is definitely one of the best things to do to achieve personal and professional growth as a college student. You develop new and essential skills, get real on-the-ground experiences, and it allows you to expand your professional network. However, it is a real challenge to choose a company that would do just that instead of placing you at the bottom of the “professional food chain”. That’s why I was so scared to apply for internships, spend so much time and effort, and end up learning nothing―which is the complete opposite of what I experienced as an ExeQserve intern. After more than a month of being an intern at ExeQserve, I can confidently say that I made the right decision in choosing ExeQserve as my internship site.
Why ExeQserve? At first, choosing ExeQserve as my internship site was heavily influenced by the experiences of our seniors who were also interns at ExeQserve last year. All of them said that being an intern at ExeQserve is definitely one of the best choices that I could ever make as it will challenge me to give my best with every task, gain lots of new learnings (especially in the field of HR), and grow as an individual. Aside from our seniors’ experience, I also decided to go with ExeQserve after I looked them up on their website. My first impression of the company based on their website is that they know how to balance professionalism and fun which is how I want my working environment to be. They also gave me the impression that they know what they are doing and that they can provide me with an internship experience that is worthwhile. Above all that, ExeQserve offers trainings in topics that I am really interested in such as leadership, people management, culture building, and many more. Needless to say, I had high expectations of ExeQserve but what I got from my internship experience went above and beyond those expectations.
Experiences in ExeQserve. Based on the stories that I heard before, the thing that you learn the most from an internship is learning how to make your boss’s coffee, how to use the photocopying machine, and other tasks that no employee would want to do. This is definitely not the case if you are an ExeQserve intern. One of my tasks during my internship at ExeQserve is to create a policy template which is something that companies can use in order to effectively run their organizations. Most companies would never allow interns to do such a thing but here in ExeQserve, they believe that even an intern like me has the capabilities to accomplish these major tasks and present a quality output in the end. Our supervisors would even talk highly of us which definitely helped boost our morale in accomplishing our tasks. Though they put their trust in us, our supervisors at ExeQserve never left us hanging. They constantly provided us with the guidance and feedback that we needed during our internship. ExeQserve will challenge you to go beyond what you already know and be creative in doing your tasks. Aside from creating a policy template, I was also able to attend and assist in training sessions which was a really fun experience. As an intern, you get the chance to see how these trainings can be informative but interactive at the same time. You also get the chance to learn about various topics in Human Resource and Organizational Development such as Coaching and Mentoring and Competency Framework Building. Lastly, aside from the task, we also had an opportunity to bond and play games with the entire ExeQserve team. Through that one experience, I was able to see how ExeQserve provides its employees and interns with a healthy working environment where professionalism and having fun at work can coexist―definitely a working environment that helped me in my internship.
Things I Learned in my ExeQserve Internship. Here are some of the most important things that I learned from my internship experience that I will carry with me to my future endeavors.
- Approach all your tasks and work as an opportunity to learn. Yes. This internship was initially a school requirement but if I approached this internship as just that and not as a learning experience, I most probably won’t have as many takeaways and learnings as much as I have now. Focusing on the learning aspect of the internship is definitely the one that helped me get through, even the most difficult parts of my internship experience.
- Be open to feedback. As a perfectionist, I do not like failing or making mistakes. However, being an intern at ExeQserve taught me that making mistakes is inevitable especially since I am still an intern. I am bound to write the wrong sentences or forget to include an important section in my output. That is why I am so grateful that we have supervisors who are there to guide us and provide us feedback on our outputs. This criticism and feedback on your output are not meant to bring you down. You must see it as an opportunity to grow and improve. Look at your mistakes not as a failure but as a lesson learned.
- Do not be afraid to ask questions. This is something that I struggled with at the beginning of the internship. I didn’t know how to do lots of things but at the same time, I was also concerned about being annoying especially since our supervisors were also busy doing their own tasks. However, during one of our training sessions, Sir Ed was sharing this story and he said something along the lines of “It is better to look stupid now and ask questions/clarifications than pretending to know what you are doing and presenting a wrong output.”. It also really helped me that our supervisors encouraged us to just send them a message if we have questions regarding our tasks so that they can help us succeed in our tasks. We have to keep in mind that asking questions is not wrong. After all, this internship is a learning experience, and the best way for us to learn is by asking questions.
- Having a good mentor helps. I am not just saying this because I was able to attend a Coaching and Mentoring workshop but also because I was able to have this experience firsthand in ExeQserve. Our supervisors became our unofficial mentors during our internship. They helped a lot in easing the immense pressure that we felt during our first few days at ExeQserve. Throughout our internship, they were there to support and guide us in doing our tasks. Lastly, they also helped us be more confident with the skills that we have even if we are just interns. Our supervisors/mentors definitely played a huge part in our success as interns in ExeQserve.
- Learning does not stop. This is something that I realized as I was assisting in training sessions. It was really nice to see that even high-ranking professionals are taking a few hours in their day to learn new things and develop their skills for the furtherance of their careers. Learning does not and should never stop after getting your degree. Attending the training sessions with these professionals showed me that there will always be room for learning and improvement.
After more than a month with ExeQserve, my time as an HR intern is coming to an end. I am beyond grateful to ExeQserve and the team who warmly welcomed us for providing us an internship experience that is beyond worthwhile. The skills I have gained, experience, and knowledge I am taking away are immeasurable. I simply could not have asked for a better first internship experience.
By: Mae Eligio
Mae Eligio is an incoming fourth-year BA Applied Psychology student from the University of the Philippines Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga. Mae worked on our Succession Planning and Management Policy and Procedures Template with the guidance of her supervisor and ExeQserve HR Consultant, Len Ebreo.
