We were finally free from the gruelling three months of the first trimester when the summer internship process started. From attending mock GD’s to reading up resource materials provided by our college committee and clubs, the race had started. I would read all the HR websites and keep a tab on the latest news.
Finally, my first interview was scheduled. The first round was a basic HR telephonic interview followed by the second round by the senior HR manager. We were given a case study to solve and the interview revolved around the solution that was provided and about the project that I would be getting. The second round went on for about 20 minutes and then we waited for our results. I was coming home after giving the interview for my second company when the result came out. I was selected.
My company guide was the HR Director who had extensive experience in all HR functions of over 20 years. She was spearheading the whole department and through her keen insights in all matters, the company was able to effectively manage its manpower.
My internship was in Gurgaon and as I had already worked there I was thrilled to be back. As I was working directly under the HR Director, I got the opportunity to learn from the ground up. These two months were extremely eye-opening and filled with learnings.
Some of the key learnings are as follows:
- HR as a core strategy division: As the company was in a growth stage, it became crucial to effectively analyze the goals of the company and filter it to the employee hiring. Since the company was moving into IoT and AI, there was a need for technical staff in the same domain and the HR department was able to strategize the manpower planning accordingly.
- Transparency: Although the company had been in the business for almost two decades, the culture was that of a startup where people collaborated cross-functionally seamlessly, feedback and communication were informal and very frequent instead of structured yearly activity, the semi-formal dress code for the office and open communication of the organization strategy with the employees. All these factors accumulated and formed an engaging environment.
- Accountability: The organization had a very open environment where employees readily took responsibility and were responsible for those projects entirely. The CEO would personally review and guide the employees and share his vision for the company. This not only helped the employees in understanding the objective and meaning of their work but also kept them more engaged and involved.
- Recruitment process: As the project was concentrated on hiring, there were many learnings with respect to the whole process from sourcing a candidate to his/her onboarding. Towards the end, I also worked on the job portal Naukri, to create a pipeline for some of the open positions.
- Technology in HR: There has been a lot of research and talk going on about HR becoming obsolete because of technology and how it will impact the HR department. Throughout the internship, I got an opportunity to dig deep into the use and impact of the lightning fast technological advancements specially in the HR sector. The technology has changed the face of HR and will completely augment the HR functions in the future. It will not make the HR obsolete but enable the department into becoming more efficient and strategic territory.