Internship at L'Oréal Malaysia

This time last year, I was three months into my internship at L’Oréal Malaysia.

I never really got the chance to write about my 4.5 months stint as a Corporate Communications intern as I was constantly busy throughout the internship period and after that, I was preparing for the US.

Just a little background, it is a requirement for me to carry out Industrial Training aka internship for 14 weeks (one semester) in order to graduate. I did 5 extra weeks because I had too much time on my hands haha

Never was I ever more excited in my university life than this internship period because it's not lectures and tutorials all day err day! I had free reins to choose the organization I wanted, I'd be gaining skills and experiences, and of course, dolla dolla!

L’Oréal
For those of you who are confused, L’Oréal isn't solely L’Oréal Paris like many people think. The latter is a subsidiary of the former. Basically, L’Oréal is an umbrella organization with many brands under it (ie. Kérastase, Matrix, Lancôme, YSL, Urban Decay, Kiehl's, Maybelline, L’Oréal Paris, Garnier, NYX). For Econ majors, think monopolistic competition-type firms...just like Estée Lauder and Luxottica.

I scored with this internship as I was given many opportunities, most people I worked with were nice, sometimes I get free products, and the office is near to my place (Yay to avoiding traffic jams!). I applied to L’Oréal Malaysia mainly because I love makeup and wanted to work in an environment where I could bask in its presence.

- What I did -

As a Corp Comm intern, I assisted the Corp Comm Director (my boss) and Corp Comm Senior Executive (my supervisor) in external and internal communications. My tasks revolved mostly around event planning and writing.

Among them were rough designs of event invites, making sure they get printed and sent out, handling RSVP, preparing hygiene material (for social media), and preparing goodie bags.

There were the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) events like For Women in Science (FWIS) - an award given to women scientists for their researches, and Beauty For A Better Life (BFBL) - a six-month beauty-related vocational skill course for the underprivileged. There was also Citizen Day - a day of community service for L’Oréalians, where we partnered with an NGO to create art and paint murals at a spastic school. (Read my report here lol)

First task on my first day - sticking Citizen Day stickers on the doors.

(kidding, I was just supervising the sticker-rers and decided to give it a go)

My workstation in preparation for Citizen Day - banners and ice cream redemption posters.

Colleagues on Citizen Day

Preparing FWIS invitation cards to be sent out.

Projection at St. Regis on the event day.

Table names were my brain juice and headaches (instead of sweat and blood).

One of the perks - free food. YAAAAAAS!

FWIS winners with government representatives and L’Oréal Malaysia managing director.

Corp Comm team!

Had to get the bow and ribbon done for the BFBL Best Student prize.

Haircut demo session with hairstylist, Albert Nico.

There were several internal events as well, to bring employees from all divisions together. Internal events were handled by a committee called WeConnect, where the Corp Comm team is automatically a member since the director heads it. The events were generally for festive seasons and sometimes for internal product launches. Citizen Day is also handled by WeConnect.

Tried out the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water at the internal launch.

Free red bean ice cream!

  WeConnect team at District 21 for Family Day 2016.

Deepavali lunch at the WeConnect lounge (pantry).

WeConnect team putting Christmas decor up.

Christmas party at TGI Fridays.

As for writing, I reported events on the L’Oréal Malaysia official website and intranet. From time to time, mostly on a monthly basis, newsletters would be sent out to all employees as a summary of the month, and updates on promotions and also upcoming events.

Of course there were the typical intern duties I had to do too, like photocopying documents, setting up meeting rooms, and making reservations at restaurants...and the not so typical ones like handling a regional-level video project - employee selection, interview, video editing. "Typical intern duties" are important because they're very basic things to do, and I feel like to be someone successful, you need to know how to do basic things.

Throughout my internship, I was given opportunities to be involved in events that were out of my job scope. There was the hair model stint, helping out at store openings, and product launches. It was quite an experience being on the other side of events I used to always attend.

With my beautiful hair pre-bleach

  

Hair model, yo! This would usually cost more than RM400 (approx. USD 100), but I paid nada!

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick launch at Sephora Starhill

Hermo x NYX Unleash My Cosmic Zodiac Party 

- What I learned -

Communication.
I was forced to talk to people due to the nature of the job. Being in regular contact with fellow employees, graphic designers, suppliers, caterers, industry VIPs, people from ministries (and the likes) got me used to talking to people. I also have this anxiety with picking up unknown numbers or calling strangers...so that has improved, although it still lingers.

Clarify.
It's good to think of possibilities, but always look for confirmation at the end. I didn't encounter anyone who gave me an irritable answer whenever I asked a question - so that made it easier to ask. Of course, it's not always the case in life.

Experience is the best teacher.
Being familiarized with the planning of events, I can sort of gauge the lack of preparation of an event and foresee shortcomings. Quick solutions by thinking on my toes helped too, but definitely needs more refining.

Take initiative.
Going the extra mile would pay off, be it through recognition or feeling good about yourself. Basically, due to some delays and short time frame, the delivery of sponsored goods for an event was a mess - driver came too early, goods have not arrived, he couldn't make another trip! Good thing I had a trusty intern friend who helped me speed pack the goodie bags before I personally delivered them to the French ambassador's residence way past office hours. It was stressful cutting it close, but happy bosses and happy recipient made it a-okay.

Being organized.
Those who know me would know I'm quite OCD, but my supervisor was OCD-er than me! haha I guess it really helps her as she handles a thousand and one things! She got me to do a Work-in-Progress (WIP) sheet that lists events, tasks, deadlines, and progress not only to make my monthly WIP meetings easier, but also for me to keep track on each tasks. So organized, so awesome!

Lancôme goodie bags

Goods safely delivered, banner safely set up.

- The challenges I faced -

Things could get too fast-paced sometimes, with back-to-back deadlines. My brain would get so messy which can lead to stress, so I always reminded myself to breatheeee and handle one at a time. Time and task management are very important. Hence, I always have my notebook with me to jot down tasks and strike them off when I'm done (the feeling of striking things off a list feels good too!).

Rusty language was so frustrating! English is my most comfortable language to use, my Malay and Mandarin have rusted since I left high school from the lack of usage. When conversing with salon owners (for BFBL student-salon pairing) who mostly spoke Mandarin and some Malay, OMG my nerves of speaking to strangers shot up! Not to mention, filtering salon listing on Excel was so tedious...my glasses' prescription probably shot up too from this one task alone lol

***

Throughout my internship period, albeit a short one, I gained invaluable experiences from the opportunities that were given to me. I loved being part of the Corp Comm team as they were a dream to work with - encouraging and supportive.

I was always included in discussions and meetings, and encouraged to give my opinions and suggestions on whatever the discussions were about. My bosses empowered me to shoulder real tasks and responsibilities, which no doubt I was nervous about initially, but I'm glad they trusted me enough and was willing to give me the opportunity to learn.

Most of the time, I didn't feel like just an intern...I mean, unless you talk about benefits like subsidized parking, bonuses, and discount on products LOL

One thing you should know about being in L’Oréal is that the people there are more than willing to give you a chance to do something (be it because they're nice, or you can help relief a burden, or because you're free labour), it's all up to you to take it. For me, I went in telling myself to learn as much as I could and although I was very busy throughout, I enjoyed it!

With Eddy, my trusty intern friend from the Supply Chain department.

With ReNee from NYX.

My farewell lunch with colleagues.

Mexican food for my farewell lunch with my bosses.

How to apply?
The internship program at L’Oréal is well-developed with sort of a system. Interns have to do presentations to HR on a monthly basis. Basically, it's for us to update them on what we've been doing, voice our concerns, and bring up suggestions. In addition to that, we also have a a monthly Work-in-Progress (WIP) with our supervisors which purpose is to run through accomplished tasks and follow up on on-going tasks.

1. Your curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé.
This should be a no-brainer, make sure it's up to date! I personally try to update as I go, so I don't forget or have to refer way back to past experiences and achievements...so troublesome. (If you need help with CV arrangements, I will get it done for you for a small fee #dolladolla. I'm serious, e-mail me.)

2. Apply early.
Like...at-least-six-months-in-advance early. Send your CV to recruitment@my.loreal.com. This is not a matter of kiasu-ness (scared of losing), but I didn't want to stress out close to the deadline or at the last minute. Applying early means less competition (many students tend to apply, say somewhere between May to July). You need to give the employer (and yourself) some buffer time in case things don't go as planned.

3. Follow-up email.
This shows your interest in the job, and sometimes your email gets lost in the inbox. I know it's quite thick-skinned to bug the recruiter (because I dread having to do it too), but that's life...you gotta do whatchu gotta do.

4. Interview.
I went for two interviews, but I can't say it's the same process for everyone. First was just with HR, while the second was with HR and my soon-to-be bosses for them to assess if I was a good fit for the team.

5. Wait.
Now's the time you wait for the verdict. Give them a week to get back to you, before sending a follow-up email. You could send a 'Thank You' email right after your interview too...you know, the whole good manners shebang.

Good luck on your internship-hunting!