Having a graduation degree in Economics, I did not harbour hope when one of the most prominent IT companies in India was established to be visiting our campus for a summer internship in the HR domain. Cognizant was expected to pick engineers, and being an art student, I was pleasantly surprised to get a shortlist for the same.
My interview preparation involved brushing up on HR concepts we had been taught till then, and also acquainting myself with what the company does, how it functions, its culture and values. The selection process at Cognizant consisted of 3 rounds of interview. The key to cracking the interview lies in having your concepts clear, being very clear about your own preferences and being very alert and attentive when the process is underway. A major chunk of my interview was spent in assessing my clarity of thought and the understanding of the role they came for. It also does help to be very prompt in asking questions in case of doubts, as not clarifying them and assuming things may eventually backfire.
Having cleared my interview, I braced myself for new experiences and a whole new world of learning. Webinars with the leadership at Cognizant also made us aware of the need to be updated with the latest trends in IT. This was particularly imperative to work for a company like Cognizant, which has always stayed up on its toes dealing with digital disruptions that frequently change the existing course of things in a fast moving world like the IT industry. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Blockchain were the most discussed topics.
Having come from a Consulting background and being born and brought up in Delhi, my internship in an IT company in Chennai required me to be very adaptive not just in terms of the work but also the location and culture. Excited with the prospect of what lies ahead, I began my internship. My project was in the area of Talent Supply Chain. In a world where recruitment is the more highlighted function of HR in the corporate world, Talent Supply Chain represents the underrated process of internal fulfilment which is critical for an organisation’s success. Any organisation that has a strong internal fulfillment function, wherein it fulfils its resource demand from its internal pool of candidates, saves on the recruitment cost which they would have incurred if they hired an external candidate for the same.
Over the course of the next two months, I worked on a project relevant to their internal portal, diagnosed certain roadblocks that hindered its efficiency and effectiveness, and gave recommendations to minimize the same. My project gave me insights into the functioning of the IT domain, the concerns both Project Managers and Associates might have in reaching out to each other and how HR can help in facilitating that. It also introduced me to a grey area in organisations wherein an individual’s goals and aspirations of career advancement do not align with the organisational goals, and the challenge that reconciling them brings. It was almost surreal to see textbook concepts that we had been studying over the course of our first year playing out in real life.
Every task that seemed daunting at first was made simpler by my mentor Mr. Chandran, who extended his full support throughout my internship period. Right from making sure I had adjusted well in a new city, to guiding me and giving me feedback and nudges in the right direction, I could not have hoped for better.
My internship journey, beginning with a healthy mix of excitement and nervousness, has given me takeaways for a lifetime. The much needed perspective it has given me will surely prove to be invaluable as I navigate through my second year in college.