Summer internships while pursuing an MBA are a great way to take some time off from books to explore different domains, functions, and industries. This two-month stint often helps future managers chart a clearer career path by immersing them in the deep end of a live business problem that needs solving.
As the academic year picks up steam and second year IIM Shillong students return to the chaotic normalcy of early morning classes and late night submissions, we asked them to reflect on their summer internship experiences.
Unlocking the secret sauce to consulting: Arumuga Vinayagam, Deloitte
‘Learn’, ‘Network’, ‘Engage’ and ‘Contribute’ were the four words that defined my 8-week experience at Deloitte. From graduating as an engineer to working as a Business Analyst before my MBA, this consulting experience is something I longed for and I believe to have made some meaningful contributions to my client in the telecom industry during my internship stint. While cross-industry knowledge, Presentation skills and readiness to travel are key to becoming a successful consultant, I learnt that staying inquisitive is equally important, if not more.
Riding the digital wave: Adarsh Rajput, ICICI Bank
The scope of my internship module included studying various digital platform services of ICICI Bank and major competitors and preparing new use cases for them. It was a bit of challenge to complete competitor analysis due to problems in accessing online banking portals of some of the foreign players in the market. We derived some necessary quick-fixes and suggested other products for online channels keeping in account their relevance in long run and compatibility with change in technology. With time, it has become a necessity for the banking industry to focus on its digital channels as it is now a preferred mode of communication between bank and customers.
Venturing beyond my comfort zone: Promita Banerjee, Deloitte
The two months of my summer internship at Deloitte Consulting have been the most exciting part of my MBA journey so far. Being a part of the Strategy Life Sciences team, I got an opportunity to visit the client site and work on the project closely with the key stakeholders. There were also ample instances of where we worked on internal initiatives, networked with the top management at Deloitte and contributed to the firm in our own unique way. The culture taught me how to function outside of my comfort zone and gave me opportunities to learn and utilize my strengths to the fullest. A place with amazing people to work, I’m looking forward to being a part of the firm full time!
Work hard, party harder: Trisha Waghela, Goldman Sachs
One of the dream jobs of a finance enthusiast, an internship at Goldman Sachs was an exciting offer. I interned as a sell side equity research analyst involved in fundamental analysis of single stocks traded. The two month journey at Goldman was like a roller coaster ride, right from the long training sessions to the hectic work schedule, nevertheless, it was an enriching learning experience. The major takeaways from my internship were firstly, to stay updated with the latest developments in the industry. This is very important as it gives one an edge over others. Secondly, networking is the key. Talk, talk and talk to everybody. And finally, confidence is what sets you apart. It’s okay to be wrong but if you are low on confidence, then you’ve already lost the game. Overall, it was a ‘work hard, party harder’ kind of internship. Goldman Sachs provides ample opportunities to all its employees to explore and experiment, and I am glad to have been a part of such an encouraging company.
Applying past expertise to a new role: Kaustubh Jagasia, MetLife
As I began my summer internship journey with MetLife, I had little knowledge about how much the BFSI sector had to offer to a person like me coming from an engineering background. I got the opportunity to work with their Business Transformation function and identify new business opportunities for automating their back-end operations. This gave me a platform to apply my technical expertise in the insurance sector and add value to their digital automation strategy. I had the privilege of interacting directly with the higher management of the MetLife Global Operations Support Centre and their inputs constantly motivated me to broaden my perspective and approach towards my project.
Teamwork makes the dream work: Tanishka Gupta, RBL Bank
Getting the opportunity to work in the profile of your choice is a dream come true, and this happened to me. I got the chance of interning with RBL Bank in the Corporate and Institutional Banking department. My internship location was Bengaluru, a completely new place for me. I knew a lot was waiting for me there, in personal and professional aspects both. Being the fresher, this was my first corporate exposure. My project was to conduct the research on the Pharmaceutical sector to help the bank to streamline the prospective clients, keeping in mind the industry trends in the medium term. I got a very supportive team and thanks to them, my most significant learning is that work seems to be fun with an excellent team.
Working through challenges to deliver: Garima Singh Nahar, Xiaomi
My project while interning with Xiaomi was to modify the market share computation model for existing categories of the company for more realistic results in addition to analytically scaling down numerous best selling products on online channels based on various parameters to come down to handful of products that Xiaomi should consider for expansion. Both aspects of the project were challenging and interesting. Challenging because they witnessed a process of continuous and endless modifications throughout the tenure, and interesting because at every phase of modification, there were numerous insights and learnings. All in all, I feel fortunate to be chosen to be a part of this project.
Hands-on experience in Financial Modeling: Vasundhara Singh, Nomura
I feel blessed to have landed one of the most coveted internships among MBA students – The Investment Banking role at Nomura. My project was to present potential strategies for a UK-based company which required the development of financial models from scratch which was fun learning. We had to make assumptions regarding revenue growth on basis of industry growth and then linking its assets, liabilities and expenses. Furthermore, using the future predictions, we estimated the current value of the business of the client. Thus, the key takeaway was learning the practical aspects of financial modeling.