My first day as an intern at Kwanii was daunting, to say the least. With my first day packed with two meetings in the morning, followed by training throughout the day, my nerves were at an all-time high from not wanting to make any mistakes and looking incompetent. The first day’s always nerve-wracking, intern or not, but should it be?
Looking back on my first day, it wasn’t that bad! Kwanii's internship program was actually more enjoyable now that I am nearing the end of my term, thanks to such supportive and light-hearted co-interns and supervisors. Looking back, I definitely smiled more than I thought I did, even laughing off to the side from the witty comments and jokes that my co-intern Zymirah and our supervisors, Ate Jaymee and Ate Dars, would crack during our orientation and sync-up meeting. Even though I arrived in Kwanii well-equipped with knowledge and skills, I only knew so little about the fun time I was about to have during my 2-month internship!
The HR Department mentorship program has been my favorite part of my internship at Kwanii. Upon hearing from my classmates about the dull and uneventful nature of their OJT experiences, I was suddenly filled with gratitude for Kwanii's acceptance of me as an intern. This opportunity allows me to maintain a work-life balance, gain substantial knowledge and experience, expand my network, and realize my potential in the HR-I/O Psychology field.
Working remotely set me apart from my friends as they had on-site schedules, though it didn’t reduce my learning and experiences as a Junior Recruitment Specialist. A Junior Recruitment Specialist! Having such a title as an intern felt very rewarding; it made me realize how valued and seen we are by our supervisors and manager.
At Kwanii, our responsibilities extend beyond serving coffee, locating and uploading 201 files, securing documents and folders, and sorting papers to pass the time. Being part of the HR team made me well-versed in the different facets of human resource management, having dabbled in recruitment, onboarding, employee engagement, offboarding, administration, and employee engagement. As I enumerate the various domains I encountered during my tenure, it's a daunting task, yet I'm grateful for my assignment, as it helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses and understand how to utilize them to enhance my performance!
This is Ms. Jaymee Isidro and Ms. Daerian Santos, but we just call them Ate Jaymee and Ate Dars (jimmy and doors hehe)! Even though we work professionally to perform our duties well, they are so much fun to be around, even in check-in meetings. No matter the task or how full our workload gets, they always try to make our experience pleasant and conducive to learning.
Ate Jaymee is our immediate supervisor, and she clearly knows her way around the numerous documents and paperwork that go through our department. Her side of the HR team is very technical, but she makes it all so digestible and simpler for us. From the EAAs to the clearance forms that she has carefully taught and assigned us to fill out and send out for signatures, she has greatly helped me get over my dislike for filling out agreement forms and documents. She opened my eyes to the importance of such files and the fact that our job is more than just the stacks of onboarding and offboarding requirements, but rather completing the bits and pieces that make up the employees and their needs.
Ate Dars, our recruitment head, knows how to talk her way around interviews. Although I don't want to be biased, I absolutely adore the recruitment aspect of my role, and Ate Dars has made my experience meaningful and enjoyable. Despite fearing to speak in public, conducting interviews and having Ate Dars shadow in them has helped me gain the confidence I need to be articulate and level-headed when speaking my mind out. Although she appears to be more reserved than Ate Jaymee, she is always willing to accommodate our every need and strives to match the eccentricity of everyone (check her out on TikTok, guys, hehe).
Having such friendly and engaging supervisors has helped me further my skills, feel empowered in my tasks, and gain that much-needed confidence in delivering excellent performance. I hope that my co-interns felt the same and grew as much, if not more, as I did when we first started our Kwanii journey! This whole mentorship program made me feel as if we were all on the same level, while allowing me to learn and grow from their guidance and support. The hands-on experience, despite being a remote role, was very comforting, as I felt how thorough and dedicated, they both were in guiding and training us through clerical tasks, CV screening, effective recruitment strategies, project planning, and learning and development (by allowing us to train the following batch of interns!).
Now, as I near the end of my leave, I hope that future interns who are reading this will take that leap and choose Kwanii for their internship program. I am telling you now: This is an experience that you will not want to pass on because it will help you grow personally and professionally, just as I have! I may have only worked as an intern for the company for two months, but those two months were more fruitful and fulfilling than I had imagined them to be. Seeing as how Kwanii and my supervisors have helped open my eyes to corporate realities through their invaluable lessons and guidance, I hope that our future interns will also find their Kwanii journey as more than just a learning experience but a series of self-discovery and personal growth.
During my internship at Kwanii, I found the most enjoyment in learning, particularly when I spent time with my friends and supervisors. Having such collaborative and hands-on training with our supervisors and co-interns is something you wouldn’t want to pass up, especially if you’re new to this field. Being part of such an engaging HR team, I am thankful that we are seen as more than just kids who are capable of only getting coffee, stapling documents, and shredding paper, but kindred spirits with potential waiting to be sparked by practical and enjoyable learnings and experiences!
Kudos to you, Kwanii, and thank you for the unforgettable experience, Ate Jaymee, Ate Dars, and Sir Raycel!
