Recently, I received a message from Abi, my schoolmate in college (I was a senior while she was a sophie) who will have her practicum this summer 2008. And her message, I posted below...
Hi ate monette! Still remember me? hehe Ate OJT na nmin this summer and gusto ko po sana itanong kung anu ung mga dapat ilagay at di dapat ilagay sa internship resume. Eto po kasi ung resume ko. ok lng po ba to? Advice naman po, ate salamat po., Pasensia na sa istorbo. Godbless po
Of course, I replied as soon as I read the message. There's this feeling in me of being an "ate" to Abi to give advice (hope it's a good one) or should I say there's this feeling of confidence to say, been there, done that!
Hoo! Time flies, I remember the days when I sought for advice as early as a freshie student about practicum and was very excited about it. And now here I am, giving advice. Is that a sign of old age or a sign of wisdom? Either way, I am happy everytime I share what I've learned to others coz by that, I am assured that learning will come my way. That's the principle of giving and receiving
Now, as a graduate of Communications (it's been a year but it's still fresh in me). I give every communications student advise of everything I have learned in my practicum days. From the experience itself, from the people I've met, from my co-practicumers, from my supervisors, from my professors and from my classmates who ventured to different fields (print, advertising, public relations, etc). Communications is a huge field but I'll be focusing in general so please bear with me. If you are a communication student, treat this as an "ate's advice," if you are in the field already, feel free to post a comment and share your wisdom as well, if you're just reading this, just enjoy and I welcome you to the field of Communications! (Waah, I miss college days!!)
Advice number 1: Dress appropriately
In this field, you have to attend a lot of events. As in! Yes, it could be one or two but if you'll be fortunate to land in the news department and most of your time will be in the field, gathering news, get ready for the approriate "get up." From my experience, I attended a sports event in the morning then headed to a "sunog," at Sta. Mesa, then rally in Makati. Everyday is full pack so you have to be prepared by dressing appropriately. I remember when I interviewed Mr Requintin of Manila Bulletin when I was a sophie in college, he told me that and now, that's what I am doing. (If you are in the news, dapat madalas may collar ang suot mo. That shows formality).
Advice number 2: Be friendly
Attending a lot of events imply that you will meet a lot of people. From the powerful senators to ordinary men like "ate" and "kuya" sa kanto. Even your supervisors and co-trainees, the trick is establish friendship (Of course, the genuine one). You are in this field and you know that communication is all about people. You don't have to please everyone coz that will never happen. However, be who you are, show your true color and I tell you, you will attract good friends that you can keep for life. Let me mention of ate Michelle and kuya Edward of RPN, we establish good friendship, also with my co-trainess in PBS, until now, we're texting each other and updating each other's lives. Believe it or not, we have reunions and I think it's yearly. All of you have same interest and same passion and you gotta pull each other up. I remember Rico Hizon when he said, establish friendship not enemies. That's a great advise!
Advise number 3: Be a hardworker
Given that you will have home works, do it properly and do it with hardwork. You will have lots of research and just enjoy it. It's a learning experience for you. It's not gonna be that hard anymore to do some research stuff coz we're in the generation of technology (thanks to the web, it makes life easier). When you are hardworker, people notice it especially your supervisors and they will commend you for that, believe me.
Advice number 4: Learn everything you can
Seek advise, that's what I did when I had my practicum. It varies from person to person so you have to prepare yourself to be a sponge and don't be shy to ask them. They have a lot of experience, wisdom I may say than you do. They've been in the industry for 10 or 15 years so respect their wisdom by listening to them and put every learning inside your heart. You can learn even from everyone even the camera men and the drivers. Sometimes, you'll question yourself, "bakit kaya di na lang to nag reporter?" He can tell stories in a good, appealing way! (I miss kuya Jerry!)
Advice number 5: Take advantage of the experience
It happens only once so make the most of it. Enjoy and love every minute of it. Even if you feel tired for the next day, it's a NO-NO to be absent coz everyday is a new journey. Two days are never the same. From my experience, I feel so accomplished coz I've done a lot of things for a day and so excited to wake up the next morning for another adventure. Like what I've mentioned, two days are never the same. Because of taking advantage of every experience, I've learned how to live in the present (everything is in the "NOW"). Hehe
Advice number 7: Apply the Code of Ethics
You will have your co-trainees from different schools so different cultures and different backgrounds. You have to be who you are so NO pretensions! Some students are rich and some students are in the middle class but you have to look them staright in the eye. You are all equal, there's no superior or inferior though we can't separate the tradition of connections in the media field, you still need to be brave alone. You have to stand your ground always, stand in what you believe in. Stand in your principles and apply the code of ethics. Yes, we have Envelopmental Journalism, we have the image building in Public Relations but you really have to stand your ground! You'll know this for sure.
Advice number 8: Express yourself well
You chose this field so you gotta prove it. Learn to express yourself well, whether speaking or writing. Of course, we still have a lot of things to learn but practice it everyday. Speak English well. Nakakahiya naman kasi coz we're communications student and we can't express ourselves freely. It should be in the blood. In brain storming, express ideas and pour out your mind. Make suggestions, they'll appreciate it.
Advice number 9: Be your own documentarist
I've been keeping a folder with all the lessons I've learned and all the photos I've captured. My close friends have known about it and my classmates have seen the photos I've captured coz I pasted it as the front cover of my notebook when we were in college. (Yea, personalize ang notebook ko!) Hehe. If you have a DG cam, bring it all the time, I'm telling you, it's worth bringing coz it will never happen again. Yea, you may meet the people again once in a while but the event, never. Blogs? Yea, I advise that you blog everything so that you can share your experience to the web or to the public (Just be very mindful of what you post, 
).
Advice number 10: Bottomline, just ENJOY
Dont think about it as a pressure or as a requirement but treat it as a precious moment of learning and penetrating little by little in the media industry. Believe me, I have good friends, classmates, batchmates who are now working in the media field and they love every minute of it. Though it's tiring but it's worth all the effort and hardwork, I remember when I visited my close friend and classmate Gaile in ABS, she said, Monette, ang sarap ng feeling na makita yung name mo sa credits! Some people may not understand it but that's the feeling of people in the media field, though the salary was not that appealing at first, one day, you'll see the fruit of your toil.
These are the top 10 advice I could give to Abi and her batchmates and to other practicumers in the communications field this summer 2008. If you're scheduled for an interview, just be confident, (not to the point of bragging, you should know the difference) be honest, and just be yourself.
God bless Abi, hope to hear good stories from you.
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