Overall Reflections and Future Plans/Improvements

Observations:

During the first few week I had quickly learned that the company culture at Lava Protocols is more of team work, a family and a passionately hard working one at that. I had learned also about how Lava Protocols came about which has led me to admire the founders who are also directors of the company, Mr. Gopi and Mr, Andrew. Everyone calls each other just by first names which is more of a welcoming to me since it was my first time working in an office. The culture at the office its flexible as that people help each other when there are projects, they form groups from different departments just to complete projects which I find very fun and motivating to have such variety of work to do and not limited to one's job scope. Furthermore, the management is also flexible in such a way that there is no gap between high level and low level management communication. Everyone has a right to voice their opinions for the benefit of the company. Every Friday we have employee engagement sessions where one week its Me, my and I and another week its a session called light bulb. Me, myself and I is for mostly self introduction when new employees join the team or current employees updating their life progress in personal and career so as to be more familiar with one another. Light bulb sessions are for employees who wish to share their ideas on ways to improve or move forward Lava Protocols which involves mobile application ideas and etc.

 I also noticed how people at the office make the extra effort to celebrate their colleagues' birthdays which I found very warm and homely like to have such nice gestures from colleagues. The setting of the office is also simple cubicles no matter the level of hierarchy one is in, they all stay in cubicles next to each other apart from the managing director Mr. Andrew who has his own room and the inside sales team as well so as to allow them to make calls in a more silent environment. Mr. Gopi, also a founder of Lava Protocols got elected as one of the board of directors of MDec so it was quite sad to know he won;t be around much due to his new job since he was always making jokes during lunch breaks in the office making me laugh despite the stress I got from my telemarketing task. Lava Protocols was such a wonderful place to intern for someone who has never done an office job, I was so pleased to be a part of such a dynamic team with such diverse ethnics from Syrians, Srilankans, Indonesian, Chinese, Indian to Malay.





Key Learnings:

I learned quite a number of things during my intern- ship. I learned how to properly send work emails. I thought I had a better idea of being professional, but the emails I was guided to send were less rigid and cold from the way I would usually write mine. Also, I learned a new skill which is telemarketing, something I was so terrible at in the first two weeks and got better to a point where I could answer and call almost at default professionalism. It got easier and more familiar. I also learned how to be professional in an office setting something I was not quite familiar with due to my lack of experience. I also learned more about cloud computing and it benefits when used in businesses.I believe cloud computing is the future of business information running and storage. The video below will explain further what I learned on how cloud computing can enhance the performance of business operations of any industry.

Development & Growth:

I've developed networking skills and how to better use LinkedIN for networking and even land on a job. I've realized that opportunities are endless, with the right exposure and networking skills. It all matters in how one handles situations. I've been advised to be more willing to take charge in tasks instead of always referring to my supervisor, I think I behaved that way because It was my first time and I was avoiding making any unnecessary mistakes due to lack of experience. I do plan on taking the lead in tasks for future job positions. Apart from what I've been advised, I feel like I've become more responsible and more independent after having a taste of the real world. Making it in life is not just about hard work and determination, Its about making smart choices as well, because if you work hard on poor choices it will not make a difference. I need to thrive to be better, smarter and innovative as well as bringing out my leadership qualities out without fears of being rejected by others. The future is scary, but I choose to look at the bright side and work hard at my dreams and goals in life. Nothing in this world comes by easy, especially if it is a game changing idea. Success stories always have parts of hardship to a point of almost giving up and that is what I need to prepare for in order not to be one of those who give up. My supervisor and bosses have inspired me to always thrive for better, and accept change as a norm because life is all about changes and growth.

Key Achievements:

My first achievement would be that I managed to complete my intern-ship without any problems unlike other fellow students who had intern-ship that went through alot in the past three months. Another achievement is I managed to survive working in the office, I always thought I would never do well in the office place with all my dreams of becoming a fashion designer. I also managed to develop telemarketing and networking skills which are very beneficial for a business student. I managed to get one deal with a large group of companies after my initiative to contact them and also the field sales team who went to have a meeting with them.


Challenges Faced:

The challenges I faced were learning how to communicate while taking on a telemarketing task, It's not just a skill that is easily acquired, it need some heart to do such a task. Convincing someone you've never met not spoken to before that they need your product/services is not an easy task, it was rather stressful when we couldn't get through to the contacts intended. Asking to talk to someone of the high management like vice president, managing directors and CEOs. These are valuable and busy people of the company that cannot be very easily accessed, you need to play around with words and also adjust the tone of voice to be able to capture the gate keepers's(secretary, assistant, etc.) attention for them to even consider to transfer your call to the person intended. that was the only challenge I faced in my tasks, reaching the contacts intended without being diverted or even disconnected.


Future Career Plans:

For someone who is in her last semester of an International Business degree, I'd say the next step for my career would definitely be to gain more experience whether as an intern or full time employee of any company in any country. The more variety in the countries I'll work in the better it will be for my CV since I am an International Business student after all. I'll work for a few companies or just one company for a 4-5 years to gain experience and increase my network before I venture out on my own. I don't plan on working for someone for the rest of my life so I'll work really hard on my job so I can earn enough to have a good reputation which will allow me to start out on my own in the future. I would like to try a different industry and the more variety the better because different industry has different benefits and experience.

Weekly Reflections

Week 1 & 2: 5th Jan - 20th Jan

On the first day I was very nervous and then quickly felt a little calm with the welcoming environment I found at Lava Protocols office. I didn't have much to do on the first day apart from getting an introduction on Lava and a briefing on what the products and services are all about. On the second day it was one of Lava's Employee's birthday and so we all went out for lunch together which was fun as I got to know my colleagues a little better. Later on that week it was one of our bosses' birthday and we went for lunch as well which was rather refreshing getting to have conversations with our bosses. Week 1 did not have alot of work for me due to not having alot to do in the Renewals and success department which means my assistance was not needed, but I did get a few tasks like ; document/contract proof reading, converting documents into different formats, assisting in extracting files for clients from their documents in net suite and work with another intern who's also from Taylor's to conduct a search online to find companies that would need our products/services and develop leads database on Microsoft excel.

On the first day of the  2nd week we had the Lava Protocols Business lunch and Re-branding session where we listened to our colleagues make their presentations which was similar to having a workshop and also played some educational games. During this week I was assigned to the inside sales team where I continued searching for leads and their contacts as well as approaching these leads through email and phone calls. We are meant to book meetings with these potential clients, unfortunately for me the first week was not so productive. Our supervisor, Mr. Kharbilan gave us some tips and we also talked to the field sales team who also gave us an insight as they also started off as inside sales before moving to field sales. It was helpful and gave me hope for a more productive week in the coming week. In addition to that we also had weekly meetings twice a week to follow up on our progress and get advise if we faced any issues with our tasks.

Week 3 &  4: 20th Jan - 4th Feb

Week 3 when we had our weekly meeting, we learned that Lava was entering their ending of their fiscal year which was ending in March, and so they wanted to try to get new clients to add in their accounts before the fiscal year ends as well as getting new clients for the next fiscal year. Very ambitious and driven individuals gave us the motivation we needed to try and get as much meetings with potential clients as we possibly could with making cold calls since making a call without having met the person nor spoken to before is usually tough as people are not very welcoming nor open to talk when they receive calls from strangers asking them what IT problems their company is facing and how they can help. 

From the meetings we had in week 3 & 4 we were informed that tasks from this week and the rest of coming weeks of the internship were mainly searching for contacts from the leads databases we develop and others that are are already there, contact potential clients from the leads database, sending emails to potential clients, calling potential clients to introduce Lava and the services we provide (Telemarketing), arranging meetings with potential clients via phone or email. We had some problems with the communication skills in terms of telemarketing, we kept getting tips and searched online for ways to improve on our own as interns and shared it amongst each other as well as informing our supervisor on out progress with the improvements. In these two weeks I managed to get 3 meetings.

Week 5 & 6 : Feb 4th - 18th Feb

During these two weeks we faced some challenges, most of the clients which are from the high level management of the companies that we are targeting are not available. Since its the beginning of the year and also with the Chinese new year coming up, there are very busy in meeting and some even in training. We also tried develop our own strategy on how to capture their attention regardless of their busy schedule which was a few words edited from the original pitch provided when on call and also via email.

I managed to get one two meetings in these two weeks and the rest of the interns not far behind either. We looking into working with random industries/companies, doing research, emailing and calling potential clients. Unfortunately, reaching out to a large variety of industries did not seem to be effective because different industry need a different kind of pitching and we were unable to come up with so many different pitches at once so it was a little challenging although we just managed to adjust the tone and words of the pitch according to the type of business the client is doing.

Week 7 & 8: 18th feb - 4th March

During week 7 there was not much to do since there was the Chinese new year in which our office gave us two days off, but the companies we would be calling and reaching out had their high level management on leave for almost the entire week or we just got responses to try the other week.Since we did not have so much work to do, we were given a simple task to redecorate and design the company noticeboard which has updates on the internal operations, achievements and progress. 

In week 8 during the weekly meeting there was a new strategy that was briefed to us by our supervisor, which was to target specific industries which for the two weeks were Universities and pharmaceuticals so as to get the specific pitch for it and search more thoroughly on what exactly they would need from us. Lava Protocols is experienced with Universities since they have at least 2 to 3 universities as clients and a little familiar with pharmaceuticals too so we managed to see what their current clients of the same industry bought from us and we used the same idea to pitch to the potential clients . We worked as a group with our supervisor and other inside sales team to do research, filtering suitable contacts. Targeting Universities and pharmaceuticals.

Week 9 & 10 :4th march - 20th March

These two weeks were rather going a little quiet due to the fact that the company had outsourced some of its Leads work and we were left with a little of it since it was the end of the fiscal year all departments were rounding up their accounts and records for the whole year which kept them all rather busy, leaving to mainly assist in sending work emails, answering calls and searching for more companies to include in the Leads database. We were looking into other industries too such as ; beauty & cosmetics, cleaning service companies, e- commerce companies, recruitment and head hunters agency, retail outlets. 

During our last week we were given a task to reach out to potential and current clients to book for a meeting with them to have the field sales team conduct a face to face market survey and discussion on changes to make or ways to improve Lava Protocols' application developed by their application designers and developers that goes by the temporary name XApp. XApp is a mobile application which I'm unfortunately not allowed to discuss its uses and features since it is not out in the market yet.

My Roles and Responsibilities.

As seen in my documents posted here, I was initially assigned to the Renewals and Success department reporting to Mr. Kevin Chan, my initial supervisor. This was document handling in terms of proof reading, document extracting or assisting in the usage of certain applications like Netsuite and the like. As an intern who didn't understand the cloud computing programs, I had to go through some briefing in order for me to understand a little of the work that was being assigned, I had to get assistance from some of the engineers as well which was fun and educational. I was given work like converting documents from one format to another (eg. from pdf to M.Word), proof reading contracts/licenses and assisting clients to extract files from their documents in Netsuite.

 Not so long after I was moved to the inside sales team where my role was to build leads (potential clients) and try to get their contacts, a direct contact was preferred by my supervisor, Mr. Kharbilan Ratha. I was to get their contacts, send an email introducing Lava Protocols and follow up with a call a day or two after and try to figure out which of our services they may need and book a meeting in which the field sales team will be assigned to go and try to get the client on board aftrer a brief presentation..

Me at the office while taking a break.

I and my supervisor, Mr. Kharbulan Ratha having a brotherly/sisterly moment.

About Lava Protocols

Founded in 2007, Lava has a proven track record of implementing, extending and connecting cloud applications and platforms like Salesforce.com & Google Apps for a broad range of industries in Malaysia; from telecommunications, healthcare, oil and gas to aeronautical, education and even the public sector. Lava Protocols is a Cloud Alliance Reseller of Salesforce and reseller of Google for Work. Lava specializes in providing integrated consultancy solutions and services that supports both small and large corporations to reduce cost and achieve its competitive edge with cloud computing technology and applications.

With a team of dedicated and experienced professionals, Lava believes that the platform and application solutions they provide are pivotal when it comes to managing and operating a business efficiently. What sets them apart from their competition is the difference they make to their customers ; they help them move quicker, think differently, and work smarter.

At Lava Protocols, a satisfied client is their number one priority. From the initial consultation to the final product, they are committed to providing their clients with the best service available and work hard to ensure that their partnership with clients produces solid results

Lava Protocols’ vast array of services is complemented further by two of its independent divisions, namely Lava Media and Lava Labs.

Lava Labs is a global services provider that uses Cloud, Big Data and Mobile Technology to help enterprises redefine their businesses on the cloud.

Lava Media is an integrated digital media marketing agency that offers full suite services that help organisations to establish and manage their digital footprint.

Lava Protocols'  Vision Statement:

■ Lava aspires to be the best; to advance the evolving Cloud computing

technology in Malaysia and regionally; to be field and customer driven,

consistently delivering optimal solutions to enhance productivity and

transform the way of doing business.

■ Lava aims to establish itself as Malaysian hub centre and opinion leader

for Cloud R&D, raising awareness, educating and equipping the local

workforce with skills and expertise.

■ Lava aspires to create a winning working culture; to train and retain

great managers; to build an environment of integrity, inclusiveness and

respect; to give back to the community

Lava Protocols' Values :

Some of the clients of Lava Protocols:

There are few departments the two subsidiaries influence the organisation's organisational structure. The below structure is not the actual structure because it is not provided in any documentation of Lava although this is a rough idea on how the hierarchy works. The founders whom are also the managing directors have access to all the departments, because it is still a growing company by nature, such an organization enjoys little hierarchy. Free from the corporate ladder, all team members are expected to contribute. Everyone on the team must be productive.

I was initially in the Renewals and success Department which is under sales as it is involved in the after sales services which are keeping track of clients contracts, subscriptions and renewing of the licenses and subscriptions. A lot of document handling is involved in the Renewals and success department. In week two I was moved to work with the sales and marketing, inside sales team. Inside sales involves doing sales work on the desk while there is another team that does field work which means they go out to do the sales work.

Intern-ship Preparations

This was all new to me, so I had to do a thorough research online on ways to select a company best fit for me. This means that I had to check the company's credibility in terms of public image and also the kind of business they do. During my research I realized the kind of company culture I wanted is found in startup companies, these companies are still new and on their way to becoming more stable and established companies. These kind of companies are usually not so big in terms of the office space and also employees. They are small, more intimate than large and well established companies. In my opinion from the mini research I did on the benefits of working or interning in a small firm, I found out that its more hands-on in terms of contributing ideas and voicing one's opinions which is exactly what I needed to gain experience as an intern.

Apart from doing my own reading on the type of companies I would prefer to intern in, the University I study in (Taylor's University Lakeside Campus) also helped us to prepare in a few ways. Firstly, we were given tips on writing a good resume during a workshop conducted by Saville Consulting invited by the University's career services which was very helpful, there was also an online platform where we upload our resume and find companies to work in from there under Taylor's University career services supervision called Taylor's SEEDS. This was very encouraging for someone like me with little to no experience in job hunting. There were other workshops conducted that were very educational, encouraging and fun. These workshops consisted of different companies giving talks on different aspects of being a successful intern namely:

28th August 2014 - Effective Cover Letters & Resumes by Saville Consulting, Internship 101 by Career Services Centre 

29th August 2014 - Interview Skills: Get Hired! by L'Oreal, Professional Image & Executive Presence by Samsung. 

09th October 2014 - Ethics & Etiquette at Work by Unilever.

20th November 2014 - ACE Your Internship by L’Oreal

Unfortunately through circumstances that were out of my control, I was not able to go to all the workshops. I should say the ones I went to were very helpful for me. In addition to that, the University placement conducted on the online platform (Taylor's SEEDS) did not manage to book me a meeting nor a job. I was feeling very worried that I would not be able to get a job as an intern in time so I reached out to one of the career counsellor at career services, Mr. Christopher Hor Kean Hao to express my concerns and that was when he told me about the Student and Employer Engagement day which took place on the 15th of October in the University's grand hall where several companies exhibit their firm's products and what they do while also expressing their interests in hiring students as interns or fresh graduates as full time employees. I made 10 copies of my resume and gave it to all the possible potential companies. The event was mostly aimed for engineering and science students so I was limited in the possibility of getting  hired or even getting an interview. I waited for a call back on an email from any company that I had given my resume, but almost 3 weeks later and I hadn't heard back from any of them.

After a couple of weeks of no answer and I almost gave up doing my inter-ship in Malaysia, I was about to call my parents and ask them to send me a ticket to go back to my home country (Tanzania) and do my intern-ship there, I received an email from one of the companies I had given my resume to during the Student and Employers Engagement Day. Ms. Melissa, Lava Protocols' then human resource manager had sent me an email confirming having an interview with me, I was overjoyed! I immediately replied and set a time and date for the interview. On the day of the interview I was a little nervous, showed up at the Lava Protocols office 30 minutes early. As I waited to be called in, I observed the employees at the office and noticed a very calming and welcoming vibe in the air which helped to calm my nerves and felt more confident for the interview. I went straight away into reading about Lava Protocols, their mission, vision and values as well as the type of products they deal with so as I would not be blank if they asked me anything concerning their company. I find it rude, unprofessional to go for an interview and not know at least basic information on the company interviewing you. It is also not a good first impression as you would seem uninterested.

The interview went well as I did not stumble or go blank during the interview and to my surprise I came up with pretty good responses to their questions. It was a little challenging to convince Ms. Melissa and Mr. Kevin Chan, who were interviewing me at the time that I am fit for the job since I am a business student and their company deals with IT. Fortunately It seemed they were convinced and went ahead discussing my pay, what I should expect in terms of my job scope and who I was to report to which was Mr. Kevin Chan.