I’m going to talk about my first internship here – where I sold durians on Facebook.
As a English major, many often ask me ‘what can you actually do with your degree?’. To be honest, I did not even think about this when I applied to university. I enjoy reading and writing and I just kinda go with the flow.
I started to hunt for an internship weeks before the starting date required by my university. And here’s the first lesson I’ve learned:
Start hunting for internship at least 3 to 6 months before your starting date.
Why? Big corporations take months to process internship applications.
I applied to multiple companies, ranging from SMEs to large enterprises. I did not hear from the big corps until I had already started my internship.
Don’t get me wrong. Interning at SMEs has its perks too!
I did my very first internship as a Facebook livestream host with a SME.
Actually, I went to interview for their opening as content writing intern. When the employer saw that I had prior experience as an emcee, he immediately offered me to work as a livestream host.
I appreciate for what he saw in me. And I am definitely not proud of the fact that I quit after two weeks, but here’s the story behind.
Understand what you are getting yourself into before starting your internship.
Interviews are important not just for the employers but also for you. It is not just about impressing the recruiters but also getting to know about the company. You need to know what to expect from the company and what the company expect from you before you decide to take an offer.
When I signed the internship contract, I was expecting to be broadcasting about travel-related topic (it was a tourism site).
My ex-employer e-mailed me my contract at Monday 11pm and kindly asked me to start my internship earlier and show up at 8am next day. He wanted me to visit a durian farm with him in Semenyih. I should have seen it as a red flag that I wouldn’t have my own time doing this job.
So, first day, at the durian farm, I expected to do a tour on the farm. However, it turned out that my employer was planning to start a durian business. The next thing I know I was selling durians on Facebook Live.
It was a big shock to my family and friends as I told them it was actually for my internship. Honestly, I myself was shocked too. To be clear, I’m not saying that selling durians online is funny. I even wanted to try selling fish online before this. However, I could not accept the fact that things turned out differently from what I initially signed up for.
As doing live was also something new to them, I felt like I was mostly on my own trying to explore a whole new field. I didn’t have a supervisor other than my employer. The camera was on and I was just talking and talking and talking non-stop.
“Guys, please help me like and share.”
“Alright? Like and share.”
“We’ll start when we hit 100 viewers.”
“Can y’all madafucker pls just like and share nowwww???!”
It was rather a cruel world. In live-streaming, the statistics tells everything but also not everything. What leads to more traffic? The background? The person? The way I host? The product? The price? There were many factors to be taken into account. But I felt like all the blame (when the sales weren’t good) was on me. I was unguided. And it stressed me out. I didn’t sleep well at all. In my dreams I was still thinking about how to improve my channels.
My working hour was totally messed up. One time we went to Semenyih thinking that I’d be back around dinner, I reached home at 1 am. And the next day, I left my house at 7.30am for another round of live hosting. I never know what time I should show up for work the next day. Is the live going to be in the morning? Or evening? Or night? I had no idea and it messed up my personal life.
Things were not organized. Maybe I was used to being an emcee having my script written (which I feel necessary when you talk in public), I literally got the price list few minutes before the livestream started. And they didn’t even take the cost into account.
One time, I was really enjoying myself doing a livestream in a lovely farm. When I successfully sold more orders (not to mention we recorded the highest number of streamers and most views on the page) but they gained less profits, my employer was not satisfied thinking that I should have been livelier and worked extra harder. I felt so strained and discouraged instantly.
With my expectation unfulfilled and their expectation of me was not met, things got rather ugly quickly within two weeks. I had a hour-long intense discussion with my employer in the meeting room. I even had an emotional meltdown because I hadn’t been sleeping well in the past two weeks being way too tensed for my internship.
We did a couple of livestream for imported snacks. But I could tell from my employer’s face that he was as devastated as I was. He wanted the channel to be viral within 45 days. I was like, wut, I am definitely not prepared for that.
After a long discussion acknowledging our expectations and our shortcomings, eventually, we came into an agreement of terminating the contract. Even though I am comfortable talking in front of the camera, I am not experienced in sales. I was not prepared for the role and I did not have any proper guidance to conduct the livestream.
In short, I just felt like this was way too much for an intern. I remember my employer told me that I should not see myself as an intern for this specific role as a livestream host. Well, I felt like they demanded more than what I could offer. With a weary heart, I left.
Anyway, I appreciate my employer for the opportunity to try out this position. Maybe I’m just too young and naïve and I needed to experience more hardship in life.
And off I went to my second internship in the content writing industry.
The Dancing Wildfire 