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Introduction
Hello dear readers, John here and this is my end-of-internship blog post. As an intern at Mighty Velo (MV), I’ve had the privilege of being exposed to a diverse range of experiences and I will be sharing more about those in this piece. Given the broad nature of my work scope, I have subdivided my experiences into 3 domains. I hope this will paint a somewhat comprehensive picture of my experiences here and the lessons I have drawn.
THE FIRST DOMAIN: CONTENT CREATION
While my title was technically “Retail Management Intern”, customer traffic at the store was known to be on the slow side, so I was posted to the content creation office just opposite for the first couple of months. It was here that I embarked on numerous projects pertaining to creating and managing content. One of the first projects coming under my wing was the company’s Telegram Channel, which I was tasked to manage and produce content for. I set the direction of the content by first polling responses from channel followers as to what kind of content they would be most interested in consuming. The top three requested content categories were special deals, bicycle technology, and cycling routes. While the release of deals was something beyond my control and content pertaining to cycling routes posed a significant cost to time and manpower, content regarding cycling technology was relatively doable. Therefore I began to write short articles (“MV Tech Talks”) about a specific technical aspect of cycling or bicycles, prepare photographs as accompaniment, and schedule them for uploading. While slow and unconfident initially, I eventually became quite fond of this process as it gave me opportunities to delve deep into specific topics. As someone who values knowledge and expertise, I appreciated that I could expand my understanding while simultaneously producing valuable content for the company. I also derived a sense of satisfaction from creating a piece of content and uploading it for followers to see.
Beyond my work on Telegram, I also contributed to some film production work, namely by being responsible for Wardrobe (arranging the outfits of the cast and the associated logistics). It posed an unfamiliar challenge because I had never been involved in a film before, and fashion sense was never my personal forte. I hence struggled for the first film I did wardrobe for; but it quickly became easier the more films I worked on. My processes became far more focused, efficient, and organized (especially in the logistical dimension). Moreover, my initially lackluster fashion sense became more refined. The hands-on nature of wardrobe was also a refreshing change of pace from office/academic work. I developed friendships with the film crew and it was always exciting to go out and shoot in different areas of Singapore. Beyond wardrobe work, I also played the lead acting role in one of the films. This was a dramatically different flavor of work compared to outfit design and I had to challenge myself to “enter the shoes” of the character and act convincingly.
THE SECOND DOMAIN: RETAIL
As manpower needs evolved, I was posted to serve at the retail store twice a week. This was an exciting contrast to the boundaries of the office, because now I would meet with real customers and respond to them in real time. Thankfully, I had great support from the full-time retail staff who offered me their guidance, experience, and last but not least, their friendship. My role at the retail store was by necessity less administrative and more interpersonal (since I did not have access the customer database or transact payments); my main responsibility was to interact with customers; specifically to answer their questions, offer cycling-related advice, teach them how to handle our products, and bring them on test rides downstairs. My own personality also motivated me to occasionally joke around with them and build positive rapport. Interactions that stood out to me include a customer who kept insisting (in a funny and good-natured manner) that we offer him additional discounts for owning 3 of our bicycles. Another memorable interaction was a customer who happened to work at the organization that I was aiming to join in the future; he gave me sincere career advice which was quite heartwarming. Therefore, while retail sometimes felt like the “Wild West” due to the many sorts of customers walking through our doors, it also had its special moments.
By nature of being a bicycle store, there were fewer customers on weekday office hours. Therefore, my time at retail was often spent in the quiet company of my colleagues, and this afforded me much time for self-reflection. Namely, it became apparent to myself that human beings require purpose just as much as they need air, food, and water; and that when time becomes empty (such as the many hours at retail), it is in my best interest to seek out purpose to keep my hands busy and my mind occupied. My time spent at retail hence became exercises not just in patience, but also in directing the self; to possess the discipline and initiative to hammer at my non-retail work even when out of the office.
THE THIRD DOMAIN: INDUCTING/MANAGING INTERNS
The first phase of my internship centered around settling in (familiarizing with products/colleagues, content creation, and cycling theory), and the second part revolved around interacting with our customers (time at retail, teaching customers). The third and final “act”, rather poetically, was managerial and educational, where I taught and guided new interns to facilitate their assimilation into both the office and the retail store. I also organized/coordinated events/activities involving them. This was perhaps a fitting epilogue to my time at MV, where I passed on my knowledge and experience to the new blood. My efforts to assimilate them included planning ways to cultivate friendly bonds (through organized lunches, etc.,), arranging training events, and 1-1 conversations to understand them better and monitor their well-being. I particularly enjoyed this final section of the internship because I treasured bonding with my dear interns, who were always a joy to interact with. I was indeed blessed to be given such great people to work with.
I was rather proud of my final contributions being that of inducting and teaching, because I believed it to testify to my personal ability to begin from unfamiliarity, develop my expertise, and finally impart it to others. It gave me faith that whatever I would face in life, I had the capacity to learn and adapt, which I considered to be an invaluable virtue.
All in all, my internship at MV was a thoroughly excellent one due to the wide variety of learning opportunities available combined with the many friendships developed, not just with the interns but also with the full-time staff. I was exposed to more kinds of work than I could count and I had a great time as well. I would definitely recommend MV to someone looking for a fulfilling and delightful internship.
