When I entered my B-school, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, I did not have a very clear idea of how an internship works as I hadn’t done one in my graduation also. Being a fresher, I was told multiple times that I must build my resume as it was already way shorter than those who had some work experience. I realised that getting a good role in my internship was mandatory for me so that it reflects well for me. In the first two months, I realised the importance of my summer internship project. After analysing the situation and talking to alumni and faculty, I decided to make my concepts stronger, get some more knowledge in the subjects I am interested in and get some practical knowledge too. The lectures would take care of the subject and technical knowledge. I decided to pursue some certificate courses for the purpose of deeper knowledge on the marketing domain to stand out. So I studied adwords, google analytics and a couple of other courses like video marketing etc. To understand the practical side of the subjects, I decided to carry out some live project. These kinds of opportunities kept dropping in our mailboxes regularly and as soon as I settled with my curriculum and other college activities, I opted for two live projects; one of which was a post opening analysis for an outlet of McDonald's and the other one was a project on B2B marketing and sales for a start-up called Janta app. These projects along with the book helped me understand the implementation part of the concepts which we studied in our classrooms.
Finally, after all these efforts put in to become a fairly decent candidate for the internship project, I got placed as a Tra-digital marketing intern in COA Store which is an online organic fashion apparel brand and I was supposed to carry out multiple projects on marketing and sales. My internship project included projects on influencer marketing, content strategies, research etc which was a core marketing and branding job. COA Store India offered a culture for professional, as well as personal growth. The marketing, design thinking concepts and the soft skills ingrained through the first year of PGDM course were very helpful. The company allowed me to explore my area of interests in various domains such as traditional marketing, digital marketing and communications to external stakeholders. COA Store wishes to hold customer experience as its topmost priority. As a Marketing Intern, I got to know that it is primarily important to keep the customers happy for a brand to evolve. One of the most important lessons learned was no matter how innovative the company is, the most important aspect of a successful company is employee satisfaction. The invaluable knowledge and experience gained will continue to shape my professional development.
My only advise is that don’t let anyone or any situation let you believe that you can't have something that you are really passionate about. There is always more than one way of getting something. All you have to do is find that way and work towards it with complete dedication and believe in yourself without any doubts.
My company mentor, Mr. Naman Agrawal is a partner at the organisation and is the graduate from Symbiosis College. Having his own family business in Uttar Pradesh, he was passionate about starting something of his own. Extremely driven, he has a deep sense of entrepreneurship and his patience and damage control skills are inspirational.