Internships and Work Placements

John Christopher Romero

Foreign University International School Manila Philippines - John Christopher Romero - Internship



As a 2nd year student at SISFU, I am required to undergo an internship program as part of SISFU’s requirement for Edexcel Graduation. I sent my resume to different companies, I joined different job fairs, and I visited different company websites to find a perfect company for my Internship. 

I found out all about Marriott from our Internship coordinator, Ms. Yvette. 

During the process of applying at Marriot, I make sure that all my requirements are complete and ready. Finally, after a few days of waiting, I got in. I was assigned to the Purchasing and Receiving Department of Marriott Hotel Manila. I started at Marriott Manila last April 2, 2012. My main boss is Ms. Janeth Bardaje, Purchasing Manager of Marriott Hotel Manila. I also reported to other Purchasing and Receiving officers; for Purchasing, my bosses are Sir. Anthony Gonio, Ms. Mean Bernal and Sir. Paul Canua. I assisted them if ever they need my help with the POs (Purchase Order) they were handling. For receiving, my boss is Ms. Cecile Luna, same with my other bosses I assist her with the receiving task of Marriott.

Foreign University International School Manila Philippines - John Christopher Romero - Internship

For two months and nine days, I was exposed to how a five star hotel performs its procurement process, the way they handle the demand of their consumers, the supply available and how they maximize the use of the time to cover the needs of the company. It is very difficult to be in the Purchasing and Receiving Department; all your decisions affect the whole hotel. Once you neglect a need, it can result to problems that could lead to negative perspective of the hotel. My job at Marriott is to assist a very active department. I confirm and speak first hand to their suppliers, and I see how they choose their suppliers, to what are the requirements and the process of obtaining Vendor Accreditation for the supplier to supply items to the hotel. Different Outlets cannot just request any items; there is a proper way on how to request an item, it is mandatory for all the outlets to complete the process, and I was amazed on how controlled it is. I personally observe on how each Purchasing officers process all the requests of different department, all the Purchasing Officers know where to order that item of the best quality and best price. Normally, they have fifty or more suppliers but they are able to remember who has the best item. During my internship, it is also better to have a good supplier-client relationship, I was able to learn this based on how my bosses talk, handle and interact with their suppliers. They show formality, respect and fairness. I think it is very important to show those traits.

Foreign University International School Manila Philippines - John Christopher Romero - Internship

Aside from the purchasing knowledge, they also thought me how to receive an item, while making sure that it is top quality and meets the standards of Marriot; I sometimes receive and check the items delivered to the hotel, making sure that the expiration date, quality, appearance, quantity and price are correct. Before receiving it, I need to make sure that there is really a request for the following item, to avoid double delivery. In the later part of my internship, my boss Ms. Cecile Luna, thought me how to post invoices to the system they are using. At first, I was really confused and nervous but a few minutes later, I finally got it. She rarely let me touch the system, since it is really confidential and it’s not easy to let others touch it, since it may cause problem to the system and also to the financial reports of Marriot. So I only do it when she is around or if she is not that busy, she lets me post invoices under her observation. 

When it comes to the culture of Marriott, it is really a good place to work. Why? From what I have observed, the management has a good employee relationship, they have days where they celebrate, and they have events that employees can join, they have benefits, they give extra training to their employees, they give fair judgement on how an employee performs his or her job, and they give promotions to deserving employees. To make everything shorter, they handle their employees fairly. As a Trainee, they do not treat me like a student, they treat me like a real employee, and they let me experience how a real Marriott employee works. They observe my work; they correct my mistakes and make sure that I perform it properly. Because they treat me as a real employee, the spirit of responsibility is always there. This enables me to learn, observe and understand more. Since I am treated that way, I figure out what are the things that should be done, I also learn to trust my instinct and assure the quality of my job.

Foreign University International School Manila Philippines - John Christopher Romero - Internship

The culture at Marriot is really light; everyone is smiling, very friendly and also very welcoming. You can easily have friends and have good working relation with different employees; because of this, it easy to adopt the Marriot Culture and blend in with the environment.

What I learned during my internship is that, there should always be a systematic way that will integrate the job of different departments, I learned proper way of receiving and Quality checking each items, posting invoices to the system that the company used, I learned how the process of ordering and itemizing is done, how to interact with different suppliers every day, and how to handle matters by your own. I also learned other important lesson from Marriot: having good relationship with everyone you interact at work gives you an assurance of a good quality job. Handling matters with no pressure enables you to lessen errors and cost, that is what I learned from Ms. Janeth. Other than that, having a very good working environment gives you a push to make your job better, and a reason to go to work every day with no negative feelings. Other than that when you are in a different environment, do not expect that people around you will adjust for you, but instead you learn how to adjust to them.