The summer internships are a milestone for any MBA student in the path of shaping his/her career. The first 4 months is tough for any MBA student in any institute, with competitions, live projects, assignments lined up one after the other. And all these to land the perfect internship. I too had my share of ups and downs during the placement week, but I kept my calm and patiently waited for my chance.
My interview was conducted by Vignesh CV, who is a Director at the company and the interview was centred around understanding my strengths and weaknesses and how I would fit into the company. Questions were related to the statistical domain, and puzzles, to which I presume I gave satisfactory answers. The overall interview was smooth, and in a very casual mood; I was never quite tense, and the interview went with flying colours.
But as my joining date loomed near, the pandemic struck. And with it came the news of companies and brands deferring their internship offers, even from some of the top brands to students from top institutes. Under this scenario, I consider myself extremely grateful that Bridgei2i Analytics Consultancy not only kept to their word but also facilitated a smooth and effortless virtual onboarding process for my summer internship.
However, within just a few days into my internship, my locality was struck by the cyclone Amphan, rendering the area powerless. The lack of any kind of network connectivity meant that I could not do any of my internship work for almost a week. In such a scenario, Bridgei2i was very supportive, and helped me easily come to track once I resumed my work.
I am penning this down with two months into my internship at Bridgei2i, where I am working in the marketing analytics domain. I am required to study one of their marketing mix modelling and optimization solutions and come up with improvement parameters for the same. I am also working on a project to identify means for faster and real time measurement of ROI across different channels, both traditional and digital.
I am working under the guidance of Arjun V Shenoy, Director, Digital Solutions segment, and Pradeep Ghimirey, Director, Service Delivery, for this project. They have helped me to understand the relevant set of requirements, the different processes that are followed in the company, the terminologies used, and how various departments interacted with each other. I was supported through relevant training and demonstrations necessary to understand the company solution so that I have a clear understanding of what is expected of me. I also got to interact with Ashish Sharma, COO and other higher-end dignitaries to get industry-relevant insights about my project.
Although working for the internship in an entirely virtual scenario has its own sets of challenges, the entire team at Bridgei2i is very supportive and despite their busy schedule, always manages to provide me prompt feedback and support, so that my work does not take a lag.
Key learnings:
1. Our batch was special in the sense that the entire internship was work from home. This paves the way for new challenges and new ways of conquering them. Work from home is going to be even more pronounced in the coming years, and this opportunity let me tackle work and personal life in an effective manner.
2. There will be times when the people will not be able to make out time from their busy schedules. It pays to think ahead and schedule the week in advance so that you can accommodate as per their free time.
3. It is important to talk to people, to listen to their opinions and incorporate their ideas into your solutions if relevant. The internet, although a good resource, cannot beat the individual experience of the senior management in your team.