Welcome to another episode of Intern-view, where The Bumpy Career interviews former interns of interesting and cool places and where we ask what’s their advice for the next batch of interns.

Please note that any company featured in this series is in no way endorsed by and from TBC. No one’s advocating that you should go intern at our featured places. We just thought that these people had stories and projects that were great to share.

Sophia Beatrice Palarca Tayag was a student from UP Diliman under BS Business Administration who graduated last 2015. She worked as a Liquidity & Treasury Operations Intern at Globe Telecom last 2015 summer and falls under Globe's internship program. I'm making this distinction because if you guys remember, we Intern-viewed Arby Cuevas for Globe Telecom a while back.

Arby wasn't a program intern, but that doesn't mean her experiences are any less compared to what an internship program experiences. Just different.(Fun fact: Arby's Intern-view is also consistently cited as the best Intern-view because of her memorable writing style!)

Today’s episode will be introduced by Bea Pelayo, featuring Sophia Tayag who interned at Globe Telecom. Thanks for reading and hope Bea and Sophia wrote something useful for you!

Bea: Hey guys, Bea here and introducing Sophia for our Intern-view today! And though Sophia and I might never meet, I can't help but like her; she's so matter-of-fact in her Intern-view + her "five random facts about you" inspired me to work even harder. Sophia wrote that she:

Was the chairperson of UP JFA INVST 2015, the first nationwide student-run valuation competition
Raised Php 365,000 in cash and over Php 1 million in x-deals as ADHOC Seek Avidity Marketing Head
Had four internships before graduating college (JobsDB Philippines, Engel & Völkers, Coca-Cola FEMSA and Globe Telecom)
Believes boxing is the best workout overall
is a Type A ENTJ who loves dogs and partying, and hates school

The "hates school" part really spoke to me. And the fact that she technically had more internships than I currently do is also inspiring me to kick things into high gear. When asked about her dream job, Sophia said she wanted to be either a Finance or Management Consultant, and with her background, I'm sure she'll reach that in no time!

Thanks for reading, and hope Sophia wrote something useful for you!

How did you find and pick this internship?

I submitted my resumes to a lot of companies during the UP CAP Career Fair in January, and Globe was one of them. Globe sent me an email not too long after, asking to schedule an interview with me.

Of all the companies I interviewed with (Banks, Private Firms, Securities, Real Estate, etc.), I chose Globe because I wanted an internship that exposed me to a different industry and that involves more training and development compared to internships that only had me in front of a computer everyday.

Why did you choose to intern?

Reviewing Globe's worldwide cost analytics for Postpaid Roaming with Erwin Mate

I believe in holistic learning - do well in school but learn from experiences as well. I was always active in extra-curriculars, and I took a lot of internships since I graduated from high school to gain more experience and knowledge in different industries.

How was the experience of applying and being interviewed for the internship?

It was actually pretty easy. The first round of face-to-face interviews were very informal. There was a listening test but other than that, it was just an interview to gauge if your personality would be a fit for the company.They give you a call back to attend a one-day assessment where you have a series of challenges, both individual and by group, to see how you would perform, should they choose you to be one of their interns.

Once you get accepted in the program, you have an interview with the head of the department they feel you would be best-suited for.

What would you say were the skills you needed when you applied? Did you pick up any new skills throughout your internship?

You needed to be able to communicate your ideas well. You needed to be able to think critically but outside the box. You had to have an idea of Globe's campaigns, its competitors, and how the industry is performing as a whole. I learned a lot from this internship, and it was the best among the four internships I've had. I got way better at project management and analytics through my internship with Globe.

What was your expectation for the internship? How did the actual experience compare?

I didn't really expect a lot since I thought it would be similar to the prior internships I've already had. You have your on-boarding and orientation then they give you a task to complete during your entire stay.

I was totally wrong!!!

Globe was so much better because I handled four different projects during my 7-week stay. I never got bored, I was always on my toes, and on some days I would voluntarily stay in the office until 8pm to finish whatever I was doing that day.

What did you do during your internship? What kinds of tasks and projects were you given? Did you volunteer to take on a task yourself?

I actually first got assigned to broadband marketing but turned it down and asked for a finance position. I was then assigned to the treasury department, and it was the best thing ever.

My first project was to perform recommendations for payment facility partnerships, which basically meant I was studying banks, their stability and financial performance. My second project was a review on debt covenants, which required me to review the financial reports of different telecommunications companies, compare them with Globe's and see how Globe can improve. My last project for my department was on credit facilities. I worked with both the treasury and legal departments for this one since there was a lot of confidential information I was working with.

My final project for Globe was a team project with other co-interns. We basically had to come out with a new innovation, taking into account project strategy, implementation, customer experience and financials. That project basically called for knowledge, insight and application on all of Globe's stakeholders. It was one of the most challenging but definitely the most worthwhile project I've worked on. In fact, our project was approved to be added to Globe's pipeline and should be implemented soon.

What would you say were the best parts about your internship?

The people!! My co-interns, immediate supervisors and HR handlers were all wonderful people! I learned so much from them. The Employee Center was pretty cool, too. We always got a first look of what Globe was bringing in next, we got to watch NBA games live, there were PlayStations, and it was just a great place to take a break. It allowed for more productivity since you didn't have to be totally drained all the time.

Globe also had a lot of internal events, which we were invited to. And also, there's a Starbucks on the 8th floor so if I'm not on my desk, I'm usually there.

What would you say were the worst parts about your internship (or interning in general)?

Waking up early. I lived in QC and Globe was all the way in the Fort so the trip would take me about two hours in the morning. The drive home at around 5-6pm would even be worse so I rarely go home right after work. I usually stay in the office until 7pm then go out after. Sometimes we get off at 5pm and head to Village Tavern for happy hour.

On days I do go home early, I carpool with other interns who also lived in the north so the drive wouldn't be so bad. (J: I just want to interject and say AMEN because traffic is the bane of every intern's life.)

If you could go back in time to the first day of your internship, what is one piece of advice you would have given yourself?

Don't set meetings at 8am. You're not going to make it.

What was the most interesting thing you did at your internship?

Sophia with her immediate supervisors: Veronica So, Mayenne Cinco and Bernice Olives

My final project! It was the best project with my favorite co-interns, and it was a great way to interact with people from different departments for consultations.

What would you say was your greatest learning from interning?

There is so much you can learn from getting your hands dirty yourself.

What advice would you give anybody who wants/is about to start interning?

School alone will not prepare you for the real world. GO FOR IT!

Do you have anything else you want to say to the readers?

With Team Kingsman (L-R: Sophia Tayag, Miko Cruz, Erwin Mate, Marian Tan and Michelle Joaquin)

My internship in Globe was the most fulfilling uno I ever got in UP. If you're just all about academics, you're doing something wrong.

And that's it for tonight's Intern-view with Sophia Tayag on Globe Telecom! Sophia is currently in Florida right now, managing her family's business (Woof Gang Bakery and Grooming). She's already a licensed real estate agent, and is currently studying for FINRA exams to get hired in Edward Jones. Again, I feel both disheartened and inspired to keep working from meeting a girl like her. :)

Hi! I’m Justine.

I’m the founder and writer of all things in The Bumpy Career and welcome to Intern-view, a whole category where we ask people who've interned at other places here in Manila to share their experiences and advice for anyone and everyone's reading. Hopefully from their experiences you'll feel like there's a lot more possibilities out there. We want you to feel like sky's the limit for you!

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Intern-view: Sophia Tayag on Globe Telecom