Gaurika Singh is currently pursuing her second year of MBA at IIM Indore. She was a Finance Intern at Philips and has received a PPO from Philips as well. Here is a brief article about her internship experience along with a few tips which she would like to share with the upcoming batches of interns.
What was the selection process followed by Philips for summer placements?
Philips conducted a two-stage process for internship in the Finance domain. The first one was a video upload on the topic ‘Innovation and its importance in daily life’ (paraphrased). This was followed by a personal interview.
What kind of projects were offered?
The projects offered in each domain were quite relevant with the ongoing operations of the company – be it from designing a marketing campaign to launch a new product in the Indian market to assessment and modification of ongoing rewards system.
I got the opportunity to work on two projects – one was related to modeling impact of commodity prices on company margins and the other involved analysis and management of key logistics costs being incurred. I still help my team in making additions to the latter as per emerging requirements. So when you’re working on a project at Philips, you’re working on something that will actually be used and executed by your team.
What kind of support did you receive from the senior leadership?
I was interning at the headquarters – there were no special cabins assigned to the senior leadership. You could literally walk up to someone for their help. My mentor, the Finance Director for the Personal Health division, would hold weekly reviews to get updates on my progress and cater to my doubts. There wasn’t a day when I didn’t get to talk to my guides and team members about the project. They would include me in important meetings and conference calls to get a better idea of the business.
The interns also got several opportunities to have frank conversations with the CEO of the Indian Subcontinent Market (ISC). He was very keen on discussing areas where Philips could improve and the difficulties we were facing with our internships. The Finance interns had one-on-one sessions with the CFO (ISC) about their projects. I think the support given to us made us feel more like employees than interns.
How easy or difficult was it for you to acclimatize to the work environment and how did you go about it?
My very first day at Philips comprised of an office-based treasure hunt, innovative ice-breaking activities to know more about the other interns and an amazing party at a bowling alley. We were encouraged to sit with our respective team members on the floor since day 1 – something, which made it easier for me to interact with the employees. Once I made the effort of talking to them, they were quite friendly and open. They often included me in their Friday lunches at a nearby complex.
The HR team ensured that each intern was well connected with his/her team members. They held regular meets in the first month to help interns who were not able to get a lot of time with their mentors/guides. Overall, I feel the strong support system and extent of freedom given to us while working on our projects made it easier to get used to the work environment.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome it?
Being a finance intern, I worked on projects which were very data intensive. In addition to that, different data points were present with different departments functioning across the country. The biggest challenge that I faced was the collection and consolidation of these data points – there were lots of delays, lots of transfers made to different people and lots of uncertainty, to begin with.
I made it a point to follow up with each person regularly, keeping my guides in the loop. I gave daily updates regarding my progress and understanding of any new information that I found – that really helped me to deal with uncertainty - doing things methodically and checking them with my team. On a lighter note, when it comes to collecting data, the key is to be persistent to the point where they feel they can get rid of you only by giving you the data!
Any tips you would like to give regarding an internship with Philips (Finance)
Keep an open mind since day one – you might feel that you’ve been handed a project that just cannot be done within the stipulated time or with the information known. Make a daily planner of things that you have to do, it will really help in giving more structure to your work. Do not hesitate walking up to your guides with questions. The more you ask, the more will things start clearing up. Remember that you are not alone in this project, your team wants you to succeed and they will help provided you ask for it!
We wish Gaurika all the very best for her future endeavors!