My Internship Journey at Core Consulting

Written by: Enoch Tan

📚 Table of Contents

Introduction
What is your role and responsibilities
Why did you join Core Consulting?
How did you prepare for the interview?
What is your day-to-day like?
Were there any fun events or social activities at Core Consulting?
Would you recommend Core Consulting to your juniors or batch mates?
Anything else you’d like to add?

Introduction

Core Consulting is an award-winning AIOps consulting firm based in Malaysia that has supported major organizations across ASEAN in enhancing their IT operations and observability. The company serves clients from a wide range of industries, including financial and insurance services, government and public sectors, telecommunications, education, and corporate enterprises to improve their IT Operations and Observability, which contributes to enhancing the overall business productivity.

By applying proven DevOps practices alongside strategic APM deployment and performance testing, the company has successfully helped organizations migrate and enhance their core systems, software, and critical applications, all while ensuring smooth performance and minimal incidents during go-live.

Founded in 2014 by Mr. Khor Shen Chieh, who continues to serve as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the company operates from its main office in UOA Business Park, Shah Alam, Selangor, and has grown to a team of over 50 employees.

What is your role and responsibilities?

My role was AIOps Intern, primarily focused on AI-powered analytical insights by gaining a deep understanding of the clients business operation pain points. Using Dynatrace, a leading all-in-one observability and AIOps platform, my team’s main responsibility was collecting and analyzing high-volume data, transforming it into insightful live dashboards that highlight key metrics, trends, and performance indicators. The objective was to help clients optimize processes, enhance decision-making, and achieve better business outcomes through data-driven insights, while ensuring the dashboards remained actionable and easy to interpret.

Why did you join Core Consulting?

I was eager to gain experience by doing my internship in a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) that leverages AI and Observability to enhance and streamline IT operations for other organizations and businesses. Additionally, the office’s strategic location is a major plus as it’s conveniently situated right opposite the Subang Jaya LRT Station along the Putra Heights – Gombak line, with a fully sheltered walkway connecting the station to the office building.

The main reason I decided to join, however, was because of the job scope which perfectly aligns with what I look for in an internship: the opportunity to work on real-world projects while continuously developing both my technical and soft skills.

How did you prepare for the interview?

My story was quite straightforward. I set my job status on LinkedIn to “Open to Work” about four months before my internship period and posted an announcement sharing my skills and criteria for potential roles. I was then approached by the Human Resources (HR) Executive through a direct message.

The interview process consisted of 2 stages: submitting my CV and attending a virtual interview call. One common tip to ace an interview is to prepare beforehand by researching about the company’s background and services. Most importantly, stay calm and be honest about your achievements and experiences throughout your university journey.

What is your day-to-day like?

The working hours for interns are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In case you’re wondering, there’s no work-from-home (WFH) option or leave entitlement for interns. If you need to take time off due to sickness or emergencies, you’ll need to inform your supervisor and the HR department, then arrange a replacement day according to the number of hours missed.

I usually arrive at the office between 8:45 and 8:50 a.m. and start looking for a workspace with a monitor (sitting is free, regardless of seniority or status). Then, I would login to my Dynatrace account to continue my tasks and open my Microsoft 365 workspace to check my Outlook inbox and Teams messages for any new requests or newly assigned tasks.

During lunch hours, most employees and interns who don’t bring packed meals would head down to the food court on the ground floor to eat together. Occasionally, we’d take a short trip to the SS15 area as it’s just one stop away from the Subang Jaya LRT Station since the area is well-known for its variety of good food.

After lunch, I focus on completing my assigned tasks (while trying to fight off the post-lunch food coma). Much of my day involves analyzing and understanding live data shared by clients, identifying key objectives, and performing data cleaning. My team lead usually schedules sync-ups twice a week where we share our findings and create key metrics for the dashboard. All of this is done using the built-in tools and apps within the Dynatrace ecosystem.

When the clock hits 5:30 p.m., most interns call it a day, but I sometimes stay back a little longer to finish up remaining tasks or wait for the after-office crowd to clear. My personal advice: don’t stay back too late, and avoid wearing your office tag after leaving the building (A safety tip based on personal experience).

Every Friday, my supervisor would schedule a physical sync-up session for all interns to share their weekly progress updates. He also takes the opportunity to share some valuable tech insights and learning tips with us.

Were there any fun events or social activities at Core Consulting?

Occasionally on Friday after office hours, some of the employees and interns would hang out to play console games on the PlayStation or Nintendo Switch. It’s always a great way to relax and connect with colleagues after a long week of work.

Once a month, the company also organizes a team bonding activity on a Friday night, where everyone gets to “touch grass” and enjoy outdoor activities together. Since I’m quite a sociable person who enjoys sports, I was able to join every one of them, except for one month when the company had an overseas trip for permanent employees.

During festive celebrations, the company would also have celebrations in the office filled with yummy food and cheerful vibes.

Would you recommend Core Consulting to your juniors or batch mates?

I would highly recommend this company to students who will be completing their internship during their final year and final trimester, as it allows more time to gain meaningful hands-on experience in managing both frontend and backend operations. It’s also an excellent opportunity to further develop technical and professional skills that will be invaluable for future careers.

The learning curve can be steep at first as interns will need to familiarize themselves with the Dynatrace Ecosystem within a short period of time, but you’ll definitely be able to overcome it thanks to the company’s supportive and collaborative environment, where interns receive guidance, encouragement, and practical exposure to real-world projects. Working alongside experienced professionals allows interns to build confidence, deepen their understanding of industry practices, and enhance both their analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Make the most of your time in university to self-learn new technologies beyond your coursework, build your portfolio, stay active both academically and in extracurricular activities and participate in tech community events whether you’re in foundation, diploma, or degree. Securing an internship can be quite competitive, especially for students like us who only have a compulsory three-month internship period (Trimester 3: August – October) and limited prior experience due to the university’s short trimester breaks of just 3 to 4 weeks.

Don’t feel discouraged if you face rejections or get ghosted by companies during your internship hunting process. My final advice is: persevere, stay confident, and don’t give up until the very end because nothing in life is completely smooth sailing.

Enoch Tan, ex-AIOps Intern of Core Consulting, signing off and wishing my juniors the best of success!!

A picture of me on my first day at office

And that’s a wrap for this blog! Got questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out! You can connect with Enoch Tan on LinkedIn.