432 hours. That’s the amount of time I spent at Mailman and it was completely worth it.
I instantly knew that this internship was going to be different from any other internship the moment I walked into the office. Cottage hardwood flooring, couch seats, a basketball hoop, a room dedicated for ping pong, and even a beer tap?? I can honestly say that I spent my two and a half months here at Mailman to the fullest.
What really stuck to me throughout this internship was when all the interns gathered around in Andrew’s office for an introductory meeting and he said, “Make sure that whatever task you are doing, you know what purpose you are doing it for.” Since then, I made sure that not only was I carrying out meaningful work every day at Mailman, but I was also learning something different and new in the process. From video editing to blog writing to promotional video shooting, I was always busy creating content, actually contributing to Mailman and making a difference. What I really loved about interning here is how they recognized all the hard work I’ve done. It’s a great feeling when I can physically see my work being published online for the world to see. So after six weeks of interning, it came as no surprise that I decided to extend my internship here for another month.
My main task here at Mailman was the Our Life at Mailman video. After two months of pre-production (shot-listing, screenwriting, scheduling), shooting, and video editing, I had finally managed to complete a three-minute video for everyone to see on my last day here. This project really helped my collaboration skills with other people, my time management skills by planning outlines throughout, and my technical skills with the camera & sound equipment and editing software.
Being a football fan myself, my desire to intern at Mailman did not just stem from their massive clients such as Manchester United, Dortmund, AC Milan, etc. Their job description was a perfect fit for my talents as I was able to both display my cinematic and editing skills as well as utilize my English and Mandarin ability for social media content. What made this experience especially memorable were the people here, the way they brought me in and made me feel like part of the Mailman family. It’s certainly easy showing up to work every day knowing that I am undertaking meaningful work and am surrounded by awesome, talented people who are ready to help me any time. Also, I couldn’t be more thankful for the tickets to the Man United v. Dortmund game in Shanghai. Hard work pays off.
Sitting through lectures at King’s and jotting down notes about business culture means nothing until I can empirically see how it all works in real life, especially at a digital agency like Mailman. Their motto includes “Service, Innovation and Passion” and I could clearly see this reflecting on the work they do and the way they approach their daily routine. This really opened up my eyes and made me realize that if I don’t LOVE the work I do every day, then it’s not the right job for me. These fellow Mailman people really love what they do and that’s what I hope to find in the future. I would like to give a shout-out to Tom Elsden for taking me under his wing keeping me on track every day, Hector Kong for swiftly guiding me through all my subtitling and video issues, and Zach Kendall for keeping me entertained with his ping pong skills. Yes, my time at Mailman flew by, but I wouldn’t have missed a single second of it.
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