Platoon Bejer

BS Civil Engineering
Technological Institute of the Philippines - Manila
Second Semester SY 2021-2022

Self-Assessment and Improvements (Week 2: February 7 – February 12)

After the pre-deployment orientation, I asked myself whether I will take the work-from-home on-the-
job training in a company or the alternative on-the-job training of TIP, where I will design and estimate a two-
storey residential building. It has been three weeks since I started searching for a company that offers a work-
from-home set-up of internship. I’ve looked within the region, within the country, and within the southeast
Asia. However, I did not find any. Despite that, I strived to find a company and successfully managed to find
one.

On February 7, I decided to stop searching for a company that offers work-from-home, but just any
construction company, consultancy, design company. I started in facebook, I searched for the word
“construction” and visited every construction page that came out. I listed their company names, emails,
contact numbers, location, and industry. My plan was to send an email to every construction company that I
can find and send them my resume. I thought that they may reconsider their internships when they saw my
credentials. On February 7, I stopped searching at 100 companies. Although there are some companies that
did not disclose their emails and contact numbers, I still included them in my list as I can message their page
anytime to inquire. On the next day, February 8, I continued my plan. Unlike the previous day, I have a class
on this day which is why I divided my task into groups. At first, I searched and recorded the information of 20
companies. After my first course on that day, I recorded another 20 companies. At the end of the day, I
recorded another 100 companies. On February 9, I planned to gather another 100. However, perhaps due to
fatigue from constantly facing my laptop, I was not able to complete it. I settled at 70 companies. Then, I
started to select which companies do I think I can work in and learn the work of a Civil Engineer. I eliminated
Architectural firms that are also construction companies. Among them, I selected which do I want to work in.
On February 10, I was planning to email my selected construction companies. However, I realized that I may
be interviewed on the spot. Hence, I verified every information that I included that in my resume. I visited my
training providers’ websites and verified my certificates.I successfully verified 6 lean six sigma certifications,
2 Department of Labor and Employment safety training. Lastly, I individually downloaded and verified my 28
certifications from the different international universities in Coursera. At 10am to 12pm, attended the Online
Student Development Program (OSDP) Module 4 of the TIP Career Center. It is the last module in the Student
Development Program of the said department, the first three of which (i.e. Modules 1-3) I already took in my
NSTP. At the end of the lecture, we were asked to submit our essays and responses to the different
assessment questions in every part of the OSDP Module 4, namely: Module 4.1, Module 4.2, and Module
4.3. On February 11, I emailed 166 companies in hope that they will reply and hire me as their intern. I sent
an email to my list one by one, dedicated to stop only when at least one of them replied. After 166 emails, I
received my first reply then following by 4 more offers. By then, I stopped sending emails and started
discussing the On-the-Job training conditions with these 5 companies. It took around 4.65 hours, but I
managed to secure my position from their company. Then, I focused on my OSDP Module. Since we are
given two weeks to complete the requirements, I only answered Moidule 4.1. I dd not want to exhaust myself
answering three extensive assessments. Lastly, on February 12, I prepared my endorsement letters,
company information sheets, updated my resume, and other OJT-related documents as well as complete
another module of the OSDP. I answered around half of the OSDP Module 4.2 problems, completing the rest
on the next day.

This week, I realized that I should not give up in doing what I love. If I have given up my desire to
work in a company for my On-the-Job Training, I may not have ben accepted to 5 companies. Also, I realized
the actual significance of my training credentials. They really helped me prove my knowledge and skills to
the companies I was applying for. Starting next week, I will take Construction Estimation and Construction
Scheduling training courses to prepare me for my Estimation works in Primebuilt Construction. I chose it
among the other companies that it is the first company that accepted my offer, and its owner is also a TIPian.