I never tell people that I am from Kanpur. Have you been to Kanpur? There are more pigs per kilometer than lamp-posts. I was born in Kanpur and brought up in Faridabad (NCR). Where ever possible, I omit this fact about myself that I have a in-borne “Kanpuria” inside me.
I feel most of the MBA students have very complex decision-making processes. I always encounter peers contemplating their careers as if it was a Rubik’s cube. I on the other hand, am more into Lego blocks. I try to experiment with my decisions in career and sometimes end up building things I wasn’t even intending to build!
For my summer internship, I got a thrilling opportunity to work in the Brand management and communication team at Bata India Ltd. When Bata had come to our campus for recruitment, to tell you the truth, all Delhiites sat for the process because we desperately wanted a break from Bangalore. (Yes, whether is nice, but we miss Delhi).
Although my intent for application was not so ideal, but as soon as I sat through their pre- placement talk, I realized that the profile they are offering in marketing is probably one of the best in my campus. I come from a fashion background, having done fashion technology from Nift Delhi, this was like coming full circle.
At the day of our recruitment process, fifty or so of us sat in groups. It always amazes me, the friendship that exists before a GD, the throat slitting that happens during the GD, and the friendships that remain after a GD. I salute friendships that survive recruitment processes.
Also, a thing to notice is that day by day in an MBA, you don’t see a change in yourself. But when an introverted, kind, non-shouting person like myself demands the attention of the room to listen to her arguments with confidence, you do realize that you are not the same anymore. The grind has made you aware. The grind has made you sharp. The grind has made you focused. You know what you want, and you will prove that you deserve it better than any other in the room.
This attitude, I believe is the only preparation you need to crack an interview. If you really want to crack an interview – just prove that you deserve it better than anybody else in the room. If it so happens that you are not the best person in the room – you need to step back, step up, raise your own bar, level up, and then come back to the playing field.
Like I said, my thought processes are simple. No cerebral thinking involved. With this attitude, I researched on everything Bata has been, is, and aiming to be. Irrespective of whether it would have been useful in my interview or not – I researched through the areas of work that would interest me. I even prepared my career goals to share with them, if they were to inquire. A solid “where do I see myself in their company” in 5, 10, 15 years. I had also aligned my entire introduction “Tell us something about yourself” to the role they were hiring for. If their recruitment process was a puzzle, I intended to communicate that they couldn’t miss the piece that was me.
For me, Cracking Bata interview equalled 3P’s of placement. Profile, Place, and Paisa. It was everything that I wanted out of my internship.
I was fortunate to work for a company which has a very thorough and well-developed internship program. The interns from various business schools underwent a detailed week-long induction together which covered company history, their current business, their future business goals, products, trainings, etc. Bata has a dedicated retail training academy, where you walk in as a clueless MBA student, and walk out a foot anatomy expert. (Did you know there are 26 bones in a human foot?).
In one of our Induction sessions, Mr Praveen, product training head at Bata said to us – “Being and MBA does not mean that you start at the top, and so we will begin this session from the bottom – your foot”
This was a valuable lesson for us. In retail organizations, it is very important to have your feet on the ground to be successful. A rule, that every employee of Bata follows.
My mentor at Bata was Mr Bibhuti Singh, Assistant Vice President, Marketing. He is one of the most vibrant bosses I have encountered in my working experience. Being a busy man, we used to meet scarcely for discussions on my project work. But when we did, it was astonishing how he would remember everything from our last discussion, have bullet points ready in his head for my next task, and simultaneously give me feedback for project work done till date.
I would work for a week, and I needed to sum up my entire week’s work in 3 bullet points for a five-minute discussion time I get as an intern– and this, I believe is the most important learning that I had in my internship.
One day he calls me over and says, “I have a very important question to ask you”.
This was not a scheduled discussion meeting, so I get a bit nervous and wait for him to ask me something I am not prepared for.
“What sir?” I ask.
“I was wanting to ask you this since a long time”
“Yes sir?”
“Are you having fun?” He says and laughs. “It is more important than your project”.
Mr Bibhuti was from Kanpur too. As an extension to our project discussions, we often shared 3 bullet points on why we hated the place!
My experience at Bata was seamless. The work culture, the people, the quality of project work given to me, everything was wonderfully executed. I did not know what to expect out of my internship when I had stepped in, but a simple thought is to keep building.