They say internships create a foundation for a successful career in an organisation. But mine went a step further and created a launch pad which shot me right into the sky among the busy stars! My two-month stint at
Bajaj Auto was a journey full of excitement, exuberance and emulsification under the continual guidance of senior leaders and the HR team.
It all started with an interview at
IIM Kozhikode by the General Manager of HR who was looking for people who were lively & energetic, who had the right attitude and discipline for work. A twenty-minute conversation proved that I fit well with the requirements! And no more than half an hour later, there I was, with an internship offer from Bajaj Auto starting April. My project would be in the sales domain for
KTM, an Austrian company in which Bajaj Auto has a 48% stake. But the communication with Bajaj did not stop there. All us interns were kept engaged by the HR team throughout the time till our joining. A WhatsApp group was formed where all the interns could interact with each other and all important communications would be shared before we started our internship. This ensured we were never disconnected from Bajaj Auto at any time.
Come April, and I found myself walking through the busy streets of Delhi, visiting KTM dealerships and various Auto Hubs around the city to gather data for my project. Thanks to the immense guidance from my mentor, a regional sales manager at KTM, I knew exactly what to do to complete my project successfully. Gathering data was important, as it would form the basis of the framework I was supposed to deliver at the end. The work was tiring and required a lot of talking and thinking. The summer heat of Delhi took its toll a few times, but I managed to persevere throughout the internship. A few times I did get lost. I could not understand how to progress further. This is where my mentor’s guidance came in handy and his insights and valuable experience brought me back on track.
All those daily metro/taxi rides, interactions with dealers in showrooms, interaction with brokers in 2
nd hand bike markets, weekly reviews by my mentor, fortnightly reviews by the HR team finally shaped my internship into a memorable experience. I was fortunate enough to witness a stunt show organised by KTM during my internship, which was a clear indicator of what KTM and its orange colour stood for. Thrill, exuberance, passion and enthusiasm, all packed in an hour of stunt riding! And what’s more, I was made a
Pre-Placement Offer at the end of my internship!
How to go about the recruitment process?
I’m sure your college would prepare you for the GDs and CV building. So I’ll only share a few interview tips.
1. Be honest – I cannot stress this fact more. Interviewers will appreciate the honesty in your answers. Your honesty directly translates into a good attitude and discipline for work.
2. Know your CV in and out – Your interviews could be based on all the learnings that you have gained through your past work experience, academic achievements, extra-curricular activities etc. The interviewers will want to know how you’ve grown personally and professionally throughout your life from these achievements.
3. Have an ambition – Interviewers will admire the fact that you have a genuine purpose in life and would like to know how an internship with Bajaj Auto would help you shape your career in such a way that you could realise your ambition. So figure out what you really want to achieve, jot down your long term and short term goals and see if and where Bajaj fits in the timeline. But don’t make up new ambitions just for the sake of the interview (read point 1 again)
How to go about the internship?
1. Understand your project thoroughly – If you are not clear about the objectives and deliverables of the project, then no matter how hard you work, it gets very difficult to deliver an effective output. So, schedule an appointment with your mentor and get all your doubts cleared well before you begin your work.
2. Show commitment to work – It might happen that you get a project which does not excite you much or is very difficult to execute. But putting an effort into making these projects successful shows a high degree of commitment toward work and is appreciated by everyone.
3. Give more than expected – An advice I received from my seniors, “
If they ask for X and Y, give them X, Y and Z!” Of course, this may not be possible always, but do try to see beyond your project and how your project will impact the company as a whole. Think whether your project would create a future business opportunity for the company (it most certainly will, as Bajaj Auto designs its projects in that way!). If yes, then how would you go about it?
4. Be comfortable – This was the best advice I received from my mentor. No matter how taxing your work is, first make sure you are in a position to do it comfortably. Given a sales internship, and hot months of April and May, one can have health issues while working. So don’t exert so much that it makes you sick. Be comfortable.
All this being said, I wish all PGP1s the best for the coming placement season and their summer internships!
*Share your internship experiences for the Summer Saga competition on InsideIIM.com to win cash prizes upto 10,000 Rs!