'It’s Cut-Throat Competition Out There' - Priyanka Grover's Internship Experience At Kellogg, India - IIM Lucknow

Media and Communication Cell, IIM Lucknow along with InsideIIM bring to you this series where Hel(L)ites will share their summer internship experience. In the first episode, we have Priyanka Grover who interned with Kellogg India:

SUMMER CALLING

When I first landed at the Mumbai airport, I wasn’t really sure of what to expect from the two long months that lay ahead. New City. New People. New journey.

My summer internship was a window into the corporate world and the learnings have been etched quite into my skin. As most of you would have their experiences to share and some experiences like this to come, I won’t bore with the details of it all. Rather, I would like to describe my internship as three learnings which were imbibed during the course of these two months.
I interned at Kellogg India, Mumbai. I was assigned a project under Masterbrand, one of the biggest categories of Kellogg’s. The induction was a 2 day process and hence, started my internship chapter.
So as promised let me talk about what I learnt during these 8 weeks. Some of you who already would have had an experience will nod your heads and go like “Ah, My story!” while the others might get a glimpse of what the corporate world entails.

  Learning 1: Don’t just exist, build relationships. This learning is by far the biggest takeaway that you can get from your internship. Pushing people to give you their time, interacting across functions, making contacts and developing relationships is a skill you must acquire during your two months. Speaking to people across companies and organisations related to your project is something that you as an intern must aspire to do. Your internship is not just a 9 to 5 desk job. It’s a platform to become more adept at what you do, strengthen your contact list as well as grow as a professional.  

Learning 2: Provide a structure to your internship as well as your summer project.

Initially, any new project seems vague and amorphous. It is your job to give a direction and purpose to your internship. Making a task sheet for at least a week has helped me on my project. Dividing the project into goals, resources and providing a comprehensive timeline did wonders and made my project much more measurable and easy to approach. A bottom-up approach worked beautifully for my project. Make sure you find your mix and make sure you stick to it during the two months.

  Learning 3:  It’s not always about a PPO.

It’s cut-throat competition out there. Yes. The task of sitting through your final placements is troubling. Agreed. But your internship is not about a PPO. A pre-placement offer is just a big plus but not the end of the road. Enjoying what you do, analysing the industry to understand whether you are a fit or not are as essential as your consideration of comfort after you bag that PPO.
So work hard, choose wisely, and most of all have the time of your life.