Adriel Tjokrosaputro: Make Them Glad They Hired You

Adriel Tjokrosaputro, a fifth semester Music Business student interning with Warner Music in Indonesia, shares his thoughts on taking charge of the internship search process and how he secured an overseas internship

In the first week, I assisted mainly the Marketing Department with administrative tasks, including re-organizing and cataloging tracks and artworks for 11 local artists held under WMI. Even with 45 hours of internship/week, I was not able to finish the work until the very last hour on Friday. Since Wednesday, I had decided to work on the project at home as well, approximately 2 hours/night. On Friday, I submitted everything for review to my supervisor and she was really pleased. “Wah! Cepet banget!” she said, which means, “Wow! That’s quick!” in Indonesian.

As a minor project, my supervisor also asked me to make promotional materials for a new music video of a new single by a local band. For this particular project, I worked with the other 3 interns that are currently interning at the company. It is very nice that my supervisor gave me a group project, as this is a great opportunity to mingle with the other interns.

On the second week, I was assigned to assist the department with the marketing plans for upcoming-release singles by international artists. I was really excited because some of the artists are huge in the U.S.. The fact that I had listened to the tracks before they were even released in Indonesia is really something that I am really grateful for. My supervisor asked about the presence of the tracks in the United States, and I shared my thoughts and opinions on what we could do in Indonesia. These would be some of my long-term projects at the record label, until the end of my internship in September, and I am very ecstatic to be given these responsibilities.

I think in the first 2 weeks, I learned that it is important to give your supervisor the best of yourself. Give that extra edge that makes him/her think, “Yes, I made a great decision by hiring this guy/girl as an intern!” Make your supervisor think that you deserve the spot that he/she gave you! Giving that extra “push” to your projects would show how much respect you have to your employer, even if he/she did not thank you back to your face.

When you are doing things right, your supervisor would trust you more with more challenging jobs. In this case, I was given the task to assist the Marketing Department with promoting upcoming singles by the big artists (I AM SO EXCITED!). So make sure you push yourself throughout your internship. Show your employers your passion and hard work!

Bio

Adriel Tjokrosaputro is currently a 5th semester student at Berklee College of Music, majoring in Music Business/Management in Marketing track. Currently, he is working as a Marketing and New Media Intern at Warner Music Indonesia, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group headquartered in New York City. In the future, Adriel hopes to work in the marketing/promotion side of live entertainment industry, particularly in the field of touring concerts and productions.