Many of us about to step into the working world: for some, it’s their first time but for others, you’re already well-versed in the art of internships. But don’t look at it as work – there are plenty of internships out there that aren’t just another mediocre internship stint for you to jot down in your resume.
Instead of limiting yourself to monotonous tasks like making coffee or buying your supervisor’s lunch, you’ll want to solve real-life case studies or travel between global offices instead. Here are 7 internships and jobs for fresh graduates in Singapore that’ll get you out of your comfort zone – all come with travel opportunities:
Image credit: P&G
Internships are often thought of as a resume-builder, but there are those gems few and far between that offer much more than the daily grind of 9 to 6. Programmes like the Procter & Gamble (P&G) Summer Internship? They’ve got it all, from potential all-paid travel opportunities around the world to learning about the ins and outs of different business functions.
Learning from P&G’s senior leaders.
Image credit: @pgceochallenge
P&G is one of the largest FMCG companies in the world, with 65 leading brands under their belt, including SK-II, Gillette, Oral-B, Olay, and Pantene. Joining them means challenging the status quo – you’re not doing ordinary intern things here, that’s for sure, and you’ll be directly learning from key game-changers in the FMCG industry.
Regional Assistant Brand Manager Si Min Yun started out as an intern, and was already exposed to a myriad of opportunities and career paths. As she says, “I felt extremely empowered from Day 1 of my internship.” Si Min now manages Ariel Japan laundry detergent, and often travels to Japan for business trips.
Just like Si Min developed her career, P&G Careers will help grow vital business skills – think brand marketing, finance, product supply, and plenty more. You’ll have plenty of chances to go overseas on trips like Dubai or other cities like Bangkok once you’re a full-fledged intern.
You’ll get thrown a bunch of different real-life challenges at the P&G CEO Challenge, from solving business case studies to making your own dinner.
Image credit: @pgceochallenge
The P&G Summer Internship 2019 is an 8-week programme that’s open to university students in their penultimate year, with interviews currently ongoing. There’s also a P&G CEO Challenge where students can solve real-life business challenges that even P&G’s CEOs find challenging.
This competition will test your aptitude for business strategy, critical thinking, and problem solving – grooming all you young people out there to become future CEOs.
Finalists will be sent to Dubai on an all-expenses paid trip to compete!
Internship focus: Brand Management (Marketing), Finance, Consumer Market Knowledge, Information Technology, Product Supply, Human Resources, and Sales
Requirements: Completing a degree programme in their penultimate year
Find out more about P&G’s Summer Internship 2019 here.
Image credit: SSEAYP Singapore Contingent
If you’re looking for unusual but meaningful experiences, the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Programme brings you around Japan, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam – all while sailing on Japanese ship, Nippon Maru. Since you’ll be living together with other youths from ASEAN and Japan, you’ll be opening your eyes to new cultural experiences.
It’s a 50-day journey and at each of the ports, you’ll get a chance to take part in various cultural activities: chatting with dignitaries, helping out in the community, and participating in homestay programmes.
It might be too late to sign up for this year’s programme – it starts 23 October – but you can most certainly plan for the year ahead. Heads up: the application period is usually between February and April.
Internship focus: To broaden international outlook
Requirements: Singaporean citizen between 18 to 30 years old
Find out more about Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Programme here.
Image credit: @unicef
If you’re pondering between volunteering or getting work experience, then the UNICEF Internship Programme is a solid choice. If you like kids, then you’ll thoroughly enjoy working behind the scenes to help disadvantaged children around the world.
Contradictory to its name, it’s not just one structured programme with specific intakes. Instead, they’ve got plenty of specialties you can take up from offices worldwide. From Adolescent Development to Finance and Administration, there’s a huge array of internships for uni students or recent graduates.
UN’s Office in Geneva.
Image credit: @mrt.szameto
Check out their employment listings – they’ve got everything from a 2-month paid internship in UNICEF Geneva’s Migration Section to a 3-month paid accounting internship at New York’s Division of Finance.
While the flight to such far-flung countries will cost more than your pay – it’s OK, some internships even have stipends to cover travel costs.
Internship focus: Programme and Policy, External Relations, and Operations
Requirements: Be enrolled in a university programme or have graduated within the past two years (Full list of requirements here)
Find out more about the UNICEF Internship Programme here.
Your AIESEC internship could bring you to places as exotic as Egypt.
Image credit: @5alphabet
With AIESEC Global Talent Internship, you’re given a massive selection of internships that’ll bring you to countries like Belgium, China, and the United Kingdom. Whether you’re looking for experience in sales and client management with an Austrian startup or you’re keen to learn about cyber security engineering in Sydney – they’ve got some serious roles that’ll help ease you into the working world.
Internship focus: Business Administration, Communications, Computer Engineering, Marketing & Sales, and Teaching
Requirements: Enrolment in relevant university degree
Find out more about the AIESEC Global Talent Internship here.
Here’s a government stat board that matches you up to internship positions around Southeast Asia. With Enterprise Singapore’s Go Southeast Asia (Go SEA) Award, you’ll be attached to one of their partner companies – for 12 weeks or longer.
You’ve got blue-chip companies like DBS, PWC, EY, and Atkins participating in the programme, so if you’re looking for an easy way to travel around Southeast Asia, sign up once applications open. There’s even a $12,000 lump sum, company stipend, and funds to cover your living and travel expenses.
Internship focus: Infrastructure development
Requirements: Open to all Singaporeans and Singapore PR undergraduates from local participating universities
For our very own TheSmartLocal.com (TSL), some interns have opportunities that take them across the world. Whether it’s taking the Trans Siberian Railway from Beijing to Moscow, or travelling around Europe under a $1,000 budget, TSL sends plenty of interns overseas – giving you a chance to develop media skills through real-life experiences. But do note only the best get to go travelling.
We usually have 2 intakes a year – January and July – but occasionally have internship openings at other times. Check out here for updated opportunities, with internships like Food Writer, Video Post-Production Editor, Media Monitoring Analyst, and Graphic Designer.
Internship focus: All media facets, including Editorial, Sales, Content Strategy, Photography, Videography, & Technology
Requirements: 6-month commitment & relevant portfolio
If you’re procrastinating clamping down an internship, it’s most likely because you’re dreading doing the grunt work and occasionally making coffee for your bosses. Not with any of these internships, especially with P&G’s Internship Programme 2019.
P&G’s Gillette Ah Boys To Men campaign cleverly thanks NSmen for their hard work while positioning Gillette’s razors as part of everyday life.
Screenshot taken from: J Team Singapore
With brands like SK-II, Gillette, and Oral-B, you’ve definitely seen Procter & Gamble (P&G)’s work around, whether it’s in the aisles of supermarket shelves or featured in award-winning campaigns. Any role in P&G is definitely not your average job, since they encourage new perspectives, new ideas, and new ways of thinking – sounds like one of the best jobs for fresh graduates in Singapore!
P&G’s Singapore office has an open-concept pantry space.
Image credit: Human Resources Online
The internship lasts for 8 weeks, and you’ll get plenty of hands-on experience and exposure to how a giant FMCG company operates. As Regional Assistant Brand Manager Ms Mariel Chavez says:
“At P&G, you own and influence the brand from the very first day. You are answerable to everything that happens to the business and that trust is incomparable.”
But before you think you’re going to be thrown into the deep end – they also place a strong emphasis on mentorship, so you can learn and get support from those more experienced.
Image credit: P&G
As part of the programme, the P&G CEO Challenge is a 2 to 3 day event that’s jam-packed with workshops and seminars, showcasing the massive array of P&G brands.
There’ll also be a networking lunch where you can mingle with senior management to better understand what everyday life in P&G will be like. Finalists will also get to go on an all-expenses paid trip to Dubai, to compete against finalists from around the world.
Compete with finalists Dubai for P&G CEO Challenge.
Also, there are plenty of opportunities to go overseas once you start your internship – especially if needed for your project. For instance, during Regional Assistant Brand Manager Ms Si Min Yun’s internship, she had the chance to go overseas to Bangkok with P&G.
And it was an opportunity well-cherished, since she got to work on a brand project that spanned across markets – with accommodation paid for and a travel stipend too.
Since an internship at P&G will open your eyes to the business functions of one of the world’s leading FMCG companies, there’s a chance for all interns to get converted to full-time employees and get started on your journey with P&G Careers.
Requirements:
This post was brought to you by Procter & Gamble.
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