It was April in 2017, I had just graduated from junior high school and I had a 4-month summer break ahead. Since I was transferring to a university and my vacation was longer than usual, I had decided that I wanted to make it a memorable and productive one. Basically, the first thing I did was I looked through online summer workshop directories and although I became interested in some, most of them weren’t student-budget friendly. I wanted to do something that was preferably cheap or even free (if that was possible) but at the same time, would provide a lot of memories and experiences that would benefit me in the long run. This is where my quest to get a job/internship began.
In the Philippines, it is extremely hard to find a job especially when you’re below the legal age of 18. For part-time jobs, employers tend to hire those of legal age and/or those who have a degree even though the country’s Labor and Employment Department lowered the legal working age to 15 years old. However, this didn’t hinder me from my goal to obtain a career related opportunity. I found out from a friend of mine that news, media & entertainment companies tend to be somewhat lenient when it comes to age as long as you’ve got the skills needed for the job. This is because before she was even 18, she was already booking photography jobs and working for some publications. Although it would be rare for those type of companies to hire a minor in a full-time position, they do offer internships that would serve as work experience when you apply for a job in the future. This motivated me even more because it is the field that I want to be part of when I get older which is why instead of going through online summer workshop directories, I went through different news, media and entertainment company websites to check if they had any internship openings. If there wasn’t any info regarding internships then I would look for their contact email so that I could send them my resume, cover letter and portfolio of sample works. After emailing a bunch of different companies under the news, media and entertainment field, I waited for a couple of days to see if I’d get a response; Unfortunately, I didn’t. However, after about 2 months of applying, a local fashion magazine got interested in meeting me for an interview and an internship. I was ecstatic and I couldn’t believe what was happening. A local fashion magazine under a big publishing company in the Philippines was actually interested in meeting and offering me a chance to be a Digital Editorial Intern for them! It was a big opportunity and it certainly opened up a lot of doors for me after. It proved that age could never be a hindrance for as long as you’re determined and you’re dedicated to your craft.
Now a lot of people have been asking me, how was I able to do it and what tips could I give to them? I’m honestly not an expert nor a professional when it comes to this, but for the sake of those who have asked and to serve as a guide for my fellow teens who are also interested in looking for a career related opportunity, I am sharing some personal tips that worked for me when I was applying:
1. Know what your passion and interest is, then look for a company that would suit you
In my case, I’m extremely interested in anything related to media and entertainment plus I enjoy writing so naturally I’d look for an internship that’s connected to those areas. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing then you’re not going to be able to work and produce outputs properly.
2. Always update and prepare your resume, portfolio and cover letter ahead of time.
Employers are going to look for what would set you apart from other applicants. Provide only relevant and recent information like awards that you’ve got from a year or two ago, not awards that you got from when you were in elementary or pre-school. Also, include sample works in your portfolio that would really showcase your skill so that the employer can see your potential. For the cover letter, be convincing and include information that would show how much you know about the company, but don’t go overboard.
3. Don’t expect that they’d contact you immediately after you send in your application.
Note that they have to go through a lot of other applicant profiles, cover letters and sample works. You can always follow up after a week but if you don’t get any response, don’t feel bad! You still have a long way to go but in the end, you’re gonna get it. Just keep on honing your skills and finding ways to improve. Don’t give up easily and use that as a motivation to do more and be better.
4. When you get contacted and invited for an interview, don’t panic!
Dress smartly and if you can, read a bit more about the company before going so that you’d have some more stored information. Some of the usual questions that they would ask in a job/internship interview are: “What can you tell us about yourself? What made you apply to our company? Why should we/should we not hire you? What sets you apart from other applicants?” One more tip, always arrive at the office or interview location at least 15-30 mins ahead of the supposed call time.
5. Lastly,
Just be yourself and show them what you’ve got!
