My Media Master Journey Part 1

My media masters journey has come to an end.

And, I'm back to share my experience about how I became the chosen one, one of the 12 "lucky" people to have ever hold the title "Media Master".

1. Applying for the job

The job application was quite simple. The advertisement was featured on jobstreet but I applied on jobvite just because it seemed like a better chance for my resume to be considered.

 I don't really remember like literally applying for the job and being so ohhh I want the job kind of thing.

So yeah, one Friday afternoon, I got a call from them asking me what GroupM is about and etc - a quick chat on the phone and the girl, Shalini told me that I've been called for an interview.

At that time, I'm like yay! And the email was very detailed in terms of what to expect during the session - this includes communication skills, pressure test, english, maths and etc.

The email also gave a list of courses that we, the potential candidates will be able to learn if we are accepted into the programme.

This includes;

Programmatic Marketing, Performance Marketing, Digital 101, Media 101, Excel 101... 

2. The first encounter

So, the first time I went to the office, we were asked to wait into a room where we mingled with the other candidates. Then, Shalini brought us into a conference were two HRBPs sat to judge us on our potentials.

We were tasked on what I called 'impromptu speaking'. I was the second to present. I took a yellowish paper inside a jar which read:

"A client is heavily investing in traditional media. Convince your client to invest in digital media".

When I received the question, I was like... Alhamdulillah, this is easy and kind of started talking...

Afterwards, I had to listen to the remaining 10 candidates as they presented theirs.

After everyone presented, we were then asked to answer an English test and Math test. The English test was quite easy for me but the Math test was quite difficult as I was not familiar with the advertising jargons used and also because of the time.

Here's a photo of us:



Thoughts after the first encounter: I felt really good about myself as I know that I am really good in presenting and I prepared like really hard before that. And was really really excited to join the company. 

2. The second encounter

Just within a week after the first encounter, I received an email stating that I am chosen into the second round.

So for the second round, it was a whole day assessment with c-suites directors and exco members as our judges.

There were 30 people in the room.

Our first task was to present ourselves to the CEO, at that time, Girish Menon. We were asked to use a hashtag that defines us. My hashtag was #ShawnshankRedemption and proceeded into explaining how this movie impacted me in some way.

Next, we were split into five teams. and then given a laptop, a media brief and time to prepare for the final presentation.

Halfway into the preparation, we were called back into the room for a surprise. The surprise was someone had to swap teams. All teams will swap one of their team members with the other and vice versa.

Yup, so the pressure was high.

Then, we had lunch coupled with CEO engagement where the MDs will come to our desks and talk to us during lunch.

Then came the presentation -- I really felt good about myself I presented the introduction and gave comments on the media mix and conclusion. Audience were nodding their heads so I felt I was in the right direction.

There were six of us in my group.

After each group presented, there was a session with the MDs were we could ask anything and everything that we want to know.



3. The results

A week after, I received an email stating I was selected into the programme. Out of the 30, only 12 made it.

I accepted the offer..

Read my Media Master Journey Part II to know more!