Biswadip: Hi Shubhangi! Initially when you joined the Aditya Birla Group, you underwent various stints. Could you walk us through them and share the learnings you gained from each?
Shubhangi Jain: Just to give you a brief context, I did my Summer Internship with Aditya Birla Group through their Group Internship Program and was awarded a PPO. They asked my preference in terms of functions and specific area of interest post joining.
My first stint was with Novelis, Atlanta, US in Global Talent Management.
The second stint was with Group HR in Mumbai with the Organization Effectiveness team.
The third stint was in one of the central cells, Data Analytics team in Bangalore and there I was a part of the Learning & Development Team.
So, when you go through these stints, you learn a lot about the functions and gain expertise. You learn very little through the bookish knowledge taught in B-schools, but the practical implementation about how it actually works in the company can only be understood when you are a part of these programs and these stints helped me to get a holistic exposure.
Biswadip: These stints were of 4 months each?
Shubhangi Jain: Exactly.
Biswadip: These stints were across various diverse industrial aspects; did you face any challenges during these stints? And if yes, how did you overcome these challenges?
Shubhangi Jain: Yes, these stints were across different functional aspects and they make sure that you go through them not only location wise but also through different cultures. This way you get to experience the best of both worlds. There were no big challenges as such as these were small stints of 4 months each. In fact, they were very intriguing to work on and the Young Talent Management (YTM) team made sure that these stints were a smooth sail.
Biswadip: How does the work culture at ABG foster creative and innovative thinking among its employees?
Shubhangi Jain: Whenever you are given a project, you are given complete autonomy to work on it and you can choose how to implement it as well. You won’t be micromanaged. Whenever you give an idea, you are always encouraged to go through with it even if it fails. This is the kind of environment that ABG fosters and they understand that it is okay to fail at times.
Biswadip: What qualities does ABG looks for in a candidate when they recruit students for summer internships or final placements?
Shubhangi Jain: ABG expects the candidates to have basic technical knowledge as the candidate is from premier B-School. But the main focus is on whether the candidate is eager to learn and has the factor of inquisitiveness in him or her which matters the most.
Biswadip: How is life different after an MBA? And what piece of advice would you give for students who wish to work for ABG?
Shubhangi Jain: To answer the first part, as compared to MBA, here the stakes are high and you need to work diligently and sincerely. In B-schools, you rely on social groups or projects groups to work on things at the last moment but here the contribution is consistent. Yes, you need to brush up on the concepts learnt at the B-School as well.
The advice that I would give is that you should be inquisitive. Inquisitiveness is a must. You should be able to adapt easily because ABG has many different businesses. One should not be finicky at the start and learn to adapt.
Biswadip: Thank you so much for taking time out and sharing your experiences with us.
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