Life of an intern crossing countries
By
Prince LauView All Posts
Sports fashionista by Puma on the front, game developer at the back.
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1 - Life of an intern crossing countries
Upon being notified that I was selected for an internship at Farfetch, I was thrilled.
It would be the first overseas working experience that I was about to undertake. Coming from Singapore, the chance to take on an overseas internship, coupled with being under the wing of such a prestigious company like Farfetch, I knew this was the golden opportunity that one would be foolish to miss.
Being assigned to the Lisbon office, I was enthusiastic to indulge in the different work culture that Portugal had to offer. Although I had some worries about the language barrier, I was pleasantly surprised that the majority of the community can converse in English fluently, even though Portuguese was their native language, which helped me integrate into the workspace of Farfetch fairly easily.
It took some time for me to familiarise myself with the Farfetch tools, programmes and systems. However, being new and an intern, the team I was assigned to were all more than willing to support me in terms of explaining the workflow and systems of how Farfetch operates, including the different platforms Farfetch runs on.
The position I accepted was UI/UX Front-End Junior Developer Intern. However, I was assigned to a full-stack project, meaning it involved both front-end and back-end. I was elated to know that Farfetch entrusted me with the task, allowed and motivated me to learn things that were out of my comfort zone. Although there were times that I struggled, the team was always ready to help me out in any aspect as they consisted of many people with different specialities. This enabled me to learn many other skills and not just those limited to my job-scope.
One thing that stood out to me was the fact that Farfetch enforces a good work-life balance. Even though there is a goal to be met, the culture ensures that you don’t over-work yourself, resulting in a sudden loss of motivation. At the start of the project, I was overly engrossed and wanted to get things done. Which was when my team intervened, telling me to take a step back, progress gradually and spread out the workload. Else, the fuel would run out really fast.
One thing I felt a contrast with Singapore was the office environment. Back at home, they are very traditional and corporate. The Farfetch office is very casual, with interesting props and areas which, along with being surrounded by an awesome team, make it a very comfortable place to be. It just lifts the overall mood of doing work in the office, making time here very enjoyable, instead of feeling like I am slogging in a mundane setting.
Looking back, joining the Farfetch team was a decision that I would never think twice about. The lessons I have taken with me, along with the wonderful culture and enjoyable environment have made this one of the best periods of my life. I hope that I have also done my part and contributed back to Farfetch as much as I have received from this journey.
It would be the first overseas working experience that I was about to undertake. Coming from Singapore, the chance to take on an overseas internship, coupled with being under the wing of such a prestigious company like Farfetch, I knew this was the golden opportunity that one would be foolish to miss.
Being assigned to the Lisbon office, I was enthusiastic to indulge in the different work culture that Portugal had to offer. Although I had some worries about the language barrier, I was pleasantly surprised that the majority of the community can converse in English fluently, even though Portuguese was their native language, which helped me integrate into the workspace of Farfetch fairly easily.
It took some time for me to familiarise myself with the Farfetch tools, programmes and systems. However, being new and an intern, the team I was assigned to were all more than willing to support me in terms of explaining the workflow and systems of how Farfetch operates, including the different platforms Farfetch runs on.
The position I accepted was UI/UX Front-End Junior Developer Intern. However, I was assigned to a full-stack project, meaning it involved both front-end and back-end. I was elated to know that Farfetch entrusted me with the task, allowed and motivated me to learn things that were out of my comfort zone. Although there were times that I struggled, the team was always ready to help me out in any aspect as they consisted of many people with different specialities. This enabled me to learn many other skills and not just those limited to my job-scope.
One thing that stood out to me was the fact that Farfetch enforces a good work-life balance. Even though there is a goal to be met, the culture ensures that you don’t over-work yourself, resulting in a sudden loss of motivation. At the start of the project, I was overly engrossed and wanted to get things done. Which was when my team intervened, telling me to take a step back, progress gradually and spread out the workload. Else, the fuel would run out really fast.
One thing I felt a contrast with Singapore was the office environment. Back at home, they are very traditional and corporate. The Farfetch office is very casual, with interesting props and areas which, along with being surrounded by an awesome team, make it a very comfortable place to be. It just lifts the overall mood of doing work in the office, making time here very enjoyable, instead of feeling like I am slogging in a mundane setting.
Looking back, joining the Farfetch team was a decision that I would never think twice about. The lessons I have taken with me, along with the wonderful culture and enjoyable environment have made this one of the best periods of my life. I hope that I have also done my part and contributed back to Farfetch as much as I have received from this journey.
