My ABSCBN Production Assistant Trainee Experience
I applied last April 2014 as a Production Assistant via Jobstreet. An HR Personnel contacted me I think a week or two later for an exam. And so I went. The test consists of Math, English, Logic, and some behavioral questions (PS. we were told to bring calculators so don't worry about math *wink*). I was late for 15 or 20 minutes but I was still able to finish the exam. We were given 2 hours for it. If you're done, you can go. So after the exam, the test administrator told me they would contact me for further details and whether or not I passed the exam. So just like any person who was told to wait (and who were willing to wait), I waited for their text.
Come May, June, and July... During the second week of July, I received a text from Miss Monica Pacifico informing me that I passed the exam and that the training would start sometime in October or November. She asked me if I'm still interested for the position. After 3 months of waiting, of course I'm still interested! So another text came from her telling me that I need to make a short story (approximately 2 to 3 paragraphs) with a beginning, middle, and end, in any genre and to send it to the email she provided. And so I did.
In the month of August, I think it is during the second week, Miss Monica once again contacted me for an initial interview plus another writing-a-short-story test, this time with a given character but still any genre you want. Then September came and Miss M sent me a message regarding the panel interview with 2 Executive Producers. The interview was fine, there were 3 applicants including me but we were interviewed individually. It was a one-on-one interview, just taking turns. I don't really have to speak in English because the EP was talking to me in Tagalog. It is like a chit chat but they have a pattern or series of questions to be asked to the applicant.
The first EP who interviewed me was very particular to the pattern of questions while the second one asked questions like "why did you choose ABSCBN? why not other companies?". The first one was longer than the second one. I think the first interview took about 30 to 45 minutes while the second one lasted for 10 to 20 minutes.
After that panel interview, the HR personnel told me they were going to contact me if I passed the interview or not and if I did, I would be scheduled for a final interview with Direk Lauren Dyogi or LMD.
October came and I did not receive a text from them about the final interview but a "Congratulations! You passed the panel interview" text. In that same message, they told me I am going to have an orientation for the PA Trainee Post.
I went to the orientation and glad to see the two other applicants during the panel interview.
When you hear the word orientation, I am pretty sure what you are thinking is the same as what I am thinking: introduction to coworkers, information about working hours, place of work, performance standards, benefits, facilities, and names of the immediate and other officers. But, in that certain "orientation", though we all introduced ourselves, we were given a task. The task was to make a 5-minute video presentation about our own made-up story. We were grouped into 4/5 members each. We were to make a trailer about a fictional/non-fictional character (but the basis of that character should be a real person), any genre, any whatsoever. The orientation was a Monday and the deadline was Wednesday of the same week. So from pre-production to production to post-production. And we have to do it in less than 48 hours. Luckily, we made it in time!
Then the HR Training Assistant told us she was going to contact us for the "defense" of that video. They didn't tell us who the panels would be but they named Miss Linggit Tan. Thinking that it is TV Production, LMD came into mind. And boom! He was there!!! Together with LMD and LT, there were other BUHs (Business Unit Head) for Drama, etc.
After the defense, the HR Training Assistant, Miss Jewrish, told us they were going to contact us if we passed the defense. According to her, there were instances where only one in a group was evicted, and there were other instances where the whole group was evicted/eliminated.
After how many days, I received a text from Miss Jewrish saying I passed the defense and that I need to come to ABSCBN for the pre-employment orientation. In our group, all of us were still qualified. To our surprise, no one was evicted. We were 22 all in all, and 22 people showed up in the pre-employment orientation.
We were given a week to complete the requirements. The week after that is the start of the training for the PA Post. Here's the schedule we went through:
Monday, Tuesday (November 3 and 4, 2014): Two-day Classroom Training where several PAs, EPs, and Ms. LT gave a talk about the stages of production, what it is like in the field of Production, etc.
Wednesday (November 5, 2014): start of immersion where the PAs were deployed to different Drama shows like Dream Dad, Be Careful With My Heart, MMK, Two Wives, Pure Love, etc.
PS. I did not make it to the immersion due to some reasons. According to my friend who is still in the PA Training, another 3 people had already quit.
After that immersion, the PAs would be evaluated by their EPs. For those who will pass, they will undergo a 10-day classroom training. After that, I think it would be the 6-months immersion to different shows. In that immersion, the PAs would still be evaluated by their EPs. If the PA did great during the 6-months immersion, she would be offered a job.
So it is really a matira matibay industry. If you really, really, really, really, really love Production work, go for it. But if you do not, do not waste your time. If you love sleep, don't go into Production. According to one of the PA who gave us a talk, a PA is lucky to have a 2-hour sleep a day.
PS. ABSCBN TV Production only conducts PA Training yearly. Therefore, they only hire PAs yearly. It is like a one-year process because I took the exam in April, the training started in November, and the 6-months immersion would end in April next year (2015).
Come May, June, and July... During the second week of July, I received a text from Miss Monica Pacifico informing me that I passed the exam and that the training would start sometime in October or November. She asked me if I'm still interested for the position. After 3 months of waiting, of course I'm still interested! So another text came from her telling me that I need to make a short story (approximately 2 to 3 paragraphs) with a beginning, middle, and end, in any genre and to send it to the email she provided. And so I did.
In the month of August, I think it is during the second week, Miss Monica once again contacted me for an initial interview plus another writing-a-short-story test, this time with a given character but still any genre you want. Then September came and Miss M sent me a message regarding the panel interview with 2 Executive Producers. The interview was fine, there were 3 applicants including me but we were interviewed individually. It was a one-on-one interview, just taking turns. I don't really have to speak in English because the EP was talking to me in Tagalog. It is like a chit chat but they have a pattern or series of questions to be asked to the applicant.
The first EP who interviewed me was very particular to the pattern of questions while the second one asked questions like "why did you choose ABSCBN? why not other companies?". The first one was longer than the second one. I think the first interview took about 30 to 45 minutes while the second one lasted for 10 to 20 minutes.
After that panel interview, the HR personnel told me they were going to contact me if I passed the interview or not and if I did, I would be scheduled for a final interview with Direk Lauren Dyogi or LMD.
October came and I did not receive a text from them about the final interview but a "Congratulations! You passed the panel interview" text. In that same message, they told me I am going to have an orientation for the PA Trainee Post.
I went to the orientation and glad to see the two other applicants during the panel interview.
When you hear the word orientation, I am pretty sure what you are thinking is the same as what I am thinking: introduction to coworkers, information about working hours, place of work, performance standards, benefits, facilities, and names of the immediate and other officers. But, in that certain "orientation", though we all introduced ourselves, we were given a task. The task was to make a 5-minute video presentation about our own made-up story. We were grouped into 4/5 members each. We were to make a trailer about a fictional/non-fictional character (but the basis of that character should be a real person), any genre, any whatsoever. The orientation was a Monday and the deadline was Wednesday of the same week. So from pre-production to production to post-production. And we have to do it in less than 48 hours. Luckily, we made it in time!
Then the HR Training Assistant told us she was going to contact us for the "defense" of that video. They didn't tell us who the panels would be but they named Miss Linggit Tan. Thinking that it is TV Production, LMD came into mind. And boom! He was there!!! Together with LMD and LT, there were other BUHs (Business Unit Head) for Drama, etc.
After the defense, the HR Training Assistant, Miss Jewrish, told us they were going to contact us if we passed the defense. According to her, there were instances where only one in a group was evicted, and there were other instances where the whole group was evicted/eliminated.
After how many days, I received a text from Miss Jewrish saying I passed the defense and that I need to come to ABSCBN for the pre-employment orientation. In our group, all of us were still qualified. To our surprise, no one was evicted. We were 22 all in all, and 22 people showed up in the pre-employment orientation.
We were given a week to complete the requirements. The week after that is the start of the training for the PA Post. Here's the schedule we went through:
Monday, Tuesday (November 3 and 4, 2014): Two-day Classroom Training where several PAs, EPs, and Ms. LT gave a talk about the stages of production, what it is like in the field of Production, etc.
Wednesday (November 5, 2014): start of immersion where the PAs were deployed to different Drama shows like Dream Dad, Be Careful With My Heart, MMK, Two Wives, Pure Love, etc.
PS. I did not make it to the immersion due to some reasons. According to my friend who is still in the PA Training, another 3 people had already quit.
After that immersion, the PAs would be evaluated by their EPs. For those who will pass, they will undergo a 10-day classroom training. After that, I think it would be the 6-months immersion to different shows. In that immersion, the PAs would still be evaluated by their EPs. If the PA did great during the 6-months immersion, she would be offered a job.
So it is really a matira matibay industry. If you really, really, really, really, really love Production work, go for it. But if you do not, do not waste your time. If you love sleep, don't go into Production. According to one of the PA who gave us a talk, a PA is lucky to have a 2-hour sleep a day.
PS. ABSCBN TV Production only conducts PA Training yearly. Therefore, they only hire PAs yearly. It is like a one-year process because I took the exam in April, the training started in November, and the 6-months immersion would end in April next year (2015).
Still glad I was able to own this even for only 2 days! Heh, heh! By the way, this temporary ID has a deposit amount of 400php. If you quit, you have to surrender it to the HR Training Assistant so you can get your money back.
I really thought number 8 is my lucky number. Maybe it was, maybe it saved me from being a sleepless lady.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can :)
xx
Yam
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