One of the most important things that need to be kept in mind while preparing for an interview is to get a brief knowledge of a particular sector, which was FMCG in my case.
I got an opportunity to intern with ITC Limited, particularly in the Tobacco domain. The first and the foremost important thing was carrying out a brief study of the variants of ITC’s cigarettes, followed by a comparative study with other competitors pertaining to the tobacco products.
Apart from industry knowledge, being well prepared with hygiene questions is also very important. Additionally, basic HR theories like Maslow’s theory, Herzberg’s theory should be well read by the interviewee.
Since the internship was in a manufacturing unit of ITC, a brief overview of Labour Laws was a key component determining the success of the internship. It played a pivotal role in understanding the functioning of the unit. Statutory Compliance is one of the key factors determining the success of the unit.
A brief knowledge about various labour laws like Factories Act, Industrial Disputes Act, Standing Orders Act, Trade Unions Act during my final trimester before the internship helped me understand the functioning of trade union and manufacturing unit as a whole. Human Resources Management module taught during the final trimester provided an overview of various functions of Human Resources Department like Recruitment, Performance Management, Learning and Development, Compensation and Benefit.
I worked on two projects during my 8-week internship with ITC Limited. The first project primarily focused on Recruitment. It involved analysing various sources of recruitment for the unionized forces and then coming up with a non-traditional method for absorbing fixed term associates.
The second project was centred on Compensation and Benefits domain of the Human Resources wherein I was asked to analyse the existing trends in the Medical Centre of the establishment, brainstorm and come up process improvement plans to enhance the overall functioning of the HRD and the Medical Centre. This project required a complete analysis of Employee Medical Books, the Sick Leave Abuse trends and methods to make it function better. Further, I worked on designing a structured interview questionnaire and took interviews to understand the roles and responsibilities of the employees.
I was also given a chance to work in the Employee Engagement function of the HRD, wherein I worked on organizing the Employee Engagement event for the union employees.
Change Management, in today’s era, is really important to determine the success of any organization. Interning with ITC, helped me learn the importance of the same based on the initiatives taken up by the Human Resources Department to sustain the values, vision and mission of the company since its establishment.
Throughout both the projects, I had the constant support of my company mentors, despite their prior commitments and busy work schedule. They helped me draft a blueprint for both the projects at the beginning itself. Weekly review meeting with my mentors ensured that I was going in the right direction. The help and motivation provided by them shall carry me a long way in the journey of life on which I am about to embark.