Stephanie Mystica Yauri

Over the course of three and a half months, I have embarked on a workplace learning internship journey at Klook Travel, a unicorn start-up company based in Hong Kong. Klook itself is a travel website and mobile application established in 2015 that aimed to eradicate the fragmentation of in-destination travel services, making it easier for everyone to travel and discover local experiences. On their five years anniversary, Klook has successfully transformed the travel industry into a digital platform that has reached a healthier and more diverse local tourism ecosystem with more than 70 offices all over the world.

Apart from my day-to-day tasks which consists of executing cold-callings, managing partner accounts, and strategizing on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for our products, I was given the amazing opportunity to conceptualise, manage, and execute several organic and seasonal marketing campaigns and programs to promote Klook’s new food and beverage business venture in Malaysia. These campaigns were carried out in order to influence more people into utilizing our application, educate people on what Klook is and the services we offer, transform new users into recurring users, impacting people to purchase in-destination services digitally, and most importantly, inform the public about our newly-released Food and Dining category. Furthermore, my supervisor entrusted me with full control over the campaigns, from managing market research projects to generate consumer insights; implementing effective local market & growth strategies on our products to boost sales; handpicking the participating merchants; to the execution of the campaign itself. One of my most prominent projects is the ‘Merchant Ambassador Programme’ in which we offer on-site RM1 deals for Xing Fu Tang, Fire Tiger, Brownies Bar, and KGB Burgers. Hence, the daily assignments along with my marketing campaign projects have immensely improved my time management skill, as well as, enhanced my communication and coordination skill. Both of which are vital qualities that someone has to master when delving in the field of project management.

As someone who has never gained any practical insight into the working sphere, I realized that the internship programme is a valuable stepping stone to delve into the ‘real’ world. This experience has ingrained three remarkably important qualities in me: the ability to communicate efficiently, problem-solving skills, and how to take constructive feedback from my seniors. Firstly, as my project involves various parties from diverse divisions and even different countries, it is essential to evolve strong communication skills in order to deliver and understand information quickly and accurately. By demonstrating the quality above, it would be more effective for everyone to accomplish the targeted result of my project. Secondly, because there will always be roadblocks waiting for me on every turn (i.e. delay from the printhouse, technical problems from customers, and so on), it is necessary to develop the ability to solve problems promptly. Since my project requires me to deal with customers directly, effective problem solving skills have enabled me to analyze and identify the severity of a problem and assess the impact of alternative solutions immediately. Lastly, as my job scope requires me to collaborate with professionals who have been exposed to the industry for a long time, I have been tirelessly gathering feedback and guidance on how I can flourish while suppressing my weaknesses. I learned that those criticisms have provided me with a new perspective on details that I may have overlooked and it has greatly ameliorated my personal growth by shedding light on my errors and giving me room for improvement.

Nevertheless, despite the challenges that I faced during my internship experience, I am beyond thankful for the courses that I have undertaken at Monash University's School of Arts and Social Sciences, as it has significantly helped me on many aspects in the workplace. AMU3744 has allowed me to practice the theoretical concepts that I have gained from my preceding years in the university into the complexity of the real working world. Moreover, the learning outcomes from the courses that I have undertaken has provided me with valuable lessons that I could apply in real-life situations. This was especially helpful during the process of organizing my marketing project, in which AMU2814: Transforming Community had equipped me with community engagement strategies and public relations campaign tactics. Furthermore, my Global Studies units, such as AMU3650: World in Crisis had polished my communication and negotiating skills which is useful when managing merchant accounts. Lastly, my Communications Studies and Journalism units have considerably impacted my decisions when building the campaign, as it has helped me in gaining perspective on the characteristics of audiences and what appeals to them.

The years that I have spent in Monash University Malaysia have undeniably prepared and briefed me to critically analyse the societal effects that communications have upon the broader socio-cultural context. I was able to both learn and practice how messages in campaigns are carefully curated in order to convey certain ideologies to its targeted audiences and how communication is utilized as a powerful social tool that could shape people’s beliefs. Furthermore, these courses have affirmed me on what career that I wanted to pursue in the future, which is in a field that allows me to make positive changes in the society.