Independence as an intern in a fast paced working environment

Growing up we have always been told that without internship experiences we would not be able to secure a job let alone gain independence in a fast paced working environment. So like any other kiasu Singaporean would, we listened to our lecturers, family and friends and got an internship! According to the movies, interns should be taking coffee orders, scanning and shredding papers, answering phone calls…

Hi, we are the intern trio at Webpuppies. Jin Jing is pursuing his Bachelors in Computing, Computer Science at NUS while Jia Wei is getting his Bachelors in Management Information systems at SMU and I’m Eugene, currently studying in NUS (National University of Singapore). I am pursuing a Bachelors of Computing in Computer Science as well.

I joined Webpuppies on May 2019 as a developer intern together with the other 2 interns. As an intern at Webpuppies, I had the chance to work with many different clients such as Teapasar, CooperVision and Sealy. I worked closely with our in-house front end and full stack developers. Working on different projects meant that in a relatively short amount of time, I was able to pick up many skills and technologies to supplement my knowledge; the learning curve is very steep. There is a real sense of comradery in the office among the members of the team and it is akin to being part of a closely-knit family.

The company values independence and proactiveness - we are empowered to make decisions as long as we are able to justify them. Our supervisors Bernard, Fauzi (front-end developers) and Y.C (full-stack developer) gave us a lot of responsibilities as well, they do not see us as just “interns”. I myself have been given the opportunity to handle clients personally (a little bit of account management). Let us hear more from the other 2 interns:

Jin Jing: “The internship at Webpuppies has been an extremely enriching experience for me. I learnt a lot about web development and even got an opportunity to handle some clients on my own. The supervisors are nice and friendly and would always help me whenever I am stuck. Our boss is also extremely generous. Overall, I think that Webpuppies is a small company with a huge potential.”

Jia Wei: “It was a great experience working at Webpuppies. During the internship, I got to be involved in the actual creation and maintenance of websites while learning more about the web development industry. The internship allowed me to apply the technical knowledge that I learnt in school, and supportive colleagues made the work environment feel welcoming and supportive. While there were expectations to meet, there was always room to learn and improve without being berated when we made mistakes. Overall, I would recommend this internship to anyone aspiring to be a web developer in the future, or if you simply want to get to know more about this industry.”

Like I mentioned above, our life at Webpuppies was eventful. Our supervisors made sure that they were always available and will attend to us whenever we have any questions. This internship really helped me gain a deeper understanding about what goes behind developing a website. From front end (UI/UX) to the back end (developing the website itself), it is not an easy process. However, the team’s unity and cohesive culture made it a fun place for us to work in. Also, every Friday at 5pm without fail we would drop our work and gather together to just hang out. This mini activity that we have is called “We Time”, a time for us to get to know each other better and talk about everything and anything. We can also choose the activity we want to do such as playing badminton or running around the CBD area.

Enough from me, I shall let you read about the praises my supervisors have for me. But first, let me show you how they look like in a rather low quality group photo:

Bernard: “I managed Eugene directly as his supervisor during his time at Webpuppies. Eugene was instrumental to the completion of many projects, contributing not only his skill set but his "Can-Do" attitude as well. Eugene never backed down from a challenge and always explored outside of his comfort zone. Whether it was design, front-end development or back-end development, Eugene was always up to the task and managed to successfully deliver great end products without much supervision and guidance. The position, "Intern" which is commonly misjudged, did not affect Eugene at all as he was taking on bigger challenges such as client liaising, client discussions and meeting tough deadlines for certain projects. Eugene brings drive, passion, humor, leadership and hard skills to whatever team he is joining. I would highly recommend Eugene to any company and I believe that he will not only add value to them but also take them one level higher.”

Fauzi: “Eugene is a highly driven individual that dares to learn new things everyday. During the course of his internship stint with Webpuppies, Eugene has proven himself to be a smart worker and a very capable problem solver. He will go out of his way to find solutions to complex technical problems that even us full-time employees cannot solve. Being the charismatic person that he is, Eugene has the innate ability to form good relationships with clients in the company, and also volunteered to lead in some of the projects. Eugene also strives to constantly improve himself by learning new-edge technologies, e.g. Flutter, Vue.js, all by his own. Overall, I strongly recommend him to be a front-runner in full stack development, because he is one of the very few people that I know that is extremely passionate about what he does, and is never afraid to swim across uncharted waters. Well done, Eugene!”

Y.C: “The interns were a great help and it has been wonderful having them around. They were responsible, proactive and assisted me with a lot of projects. During their time at Webpuppies, I have seen them grown so much - from being an amateur to a full stack developer. I think that with their proactiveness and hunger for knowledge, they will definitely go far. Keep it up guys!”

Alright, you have come to the end of the trio’s internship experience. We will definitely remember our days here and carry forward all of the skills that we were taught and continue to strive and thrive. We really enjoyed our time at Webpuppies and it really is a great place for individual growth and with the flexibility and freedom, we learned to work independently and this is an important soft skill to have. Thanks for reading anyway, we are aware of the lengthy post so, Ciao!