Catharine Chia (2nd from right), an intern at Anacle’s HR department (Photo courtesy of Catharine Chia)
It is very rare that a diploma in business engineering sparks one’s passion for HR, but for Republic Polytechnic graduate Catharine Chia, that was certainly the case as she fell in love with the intricate world of HR when she had to take on a compulsory HR module as part of her engineering studies.
That was the start of her dream to work in the HR sector, and it’s quickly becoming her exciting reality as she is currently an intern in the HR team at Anacle! The ambitious student in her is ravenous to learn everything that she possibly can about HR, and is not hindered by the steep learning curve that might overwhelm others who are new to the sector. “I enjoy interacting with people and I especially love that I am given actual responsibilities here by the head of the HR department. I am deepening my knowledge of the concepts that I had learnt in the poly, as well as getting practical experience,” she gushes. Some of her responsibilities include arranging interviews for potential candidates, as well as providing them with the necessary placement tests.
In fact, the hands-on experience that Catharine has gained during her HR internship has fueled her decision to leave the world of business engineering behind and pursue a degree in HR, while continuing to work part-time in this field. Her hope is to build up as much job experience in this sector as possible, as she has lamented that many companies, when looking to hire fresh graduates for the HR role, demand a number of years of experience before considering them as viable candidates.
To all the students at the tertiary level who are thinking of seeking out an internship, Catharine has salient advice to share: “You never know what job you might be looking for in the future or what job comes your way, so keep an open mind during your internship and gain different skill sets along the way. Every internship leads you to achieve a better future for yourself!”