A reflection piece by Ser Lyn, our Skillseed intern and final year NUS student majoring in Project and Facilities Management
Despite it all, life still goes on. We still go to work, we still get married, babies are still being born, everything has to go on - albeit now with masks. Personally, I’m still going through University, hoping to graduate into a stable economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic inspired a purpose in me, to do something meaningful with my life and I wanted to start on this path during my summer break. I was looking for a holistic internship experience that allowed me to give back to the community. I wanted to work somewhere that was a part of something greater, where its impact can be seen in society. That’s when I came across Skillseed.
Just to preface my Skillseed experience - I was apprehensive about interning. To me, “internship” meant being a glorified coffee girl, where you are overworked and underpaid under the guise of enriching your resume. It’s not that I had imagined these from thin air. I was one of the last amongst my friends to secure an internship and many have told me horror stories about unkind bosses and awful working hours. I had “black-coloured glasses” on (ie. the opposite of “rose-coloured” glasses), when it came to internships.
Before I started at Skillseed, I braced myself for long work hours, no work-life balance where I’ll be called back on weekends and struggling under a mountain of work. However, Skillseed was nothing like I had anticipated. As a relatively small team, Skillseed has an incredible work culture that promotes care and concern for each other. Once a week, we have SCRUM meetings where everyone shares what they’re planning to complete during the week, and we’ll see how we can support one another. If we notice someone having a lot on their plate, team members with slack will offer to help lighten their load.
What stood out to me the most is our Check-in segment during SCRUM where we share how we are feeling at present. Admittedly, I initially expected typical corporate drivel about being excited to do work, but SCRUM is remarkably personal for a work meeting. It was heartening to hear team members share their personal anecdotes, worries and struggles. In a company culture that encourages open and vulnerable sharing, it builds mutual trust between colleagues. I found myself compelled to share when I was struggling, trusting that my worries would not be mocked but reassured.
The Skillseed work structure is one that promotes personal growth and constant learning. I had two mentors (thanks Raine and Priya!), one who taught me how to improve my work and another my mentor who guided my holistic development. Based on Skillseed’s values, we discussed my interpersonal skills and noted areas of growth and excellence.
My main tasks involved conducting research for Skillseed’s various learning programmes and it is a task that I grew to enjoy and flourish in. I realised that research work is an aspect that I surprisingly found fun and meaningful, and it’s a possible career track that I have since been considering. During my time at Skillseed, I also had the opportunity to work on tasks out of my comfort zone, including writing a thought leadership article about ‘Managing expectations in a virtual world’.
Skillseed emphasises on the growth mindset - time and time again I would make small, silly mistakes but I was not chided, instead was reminded to keep in mind how to avoid similar mistakes in the future. It was an unexpected experience to intern at Skillseed and I am grateful that I have learnt a lot during this short 3-month summer stint.