Microland had asked for our video resumes, instead of resume documents, as a selection criterion and I vividly remember the night of one of the usual, hectic, drawn-out, first-year days when I sat down to make one. At the end of the two enormously long hours, I could make a two and half minute video that I could resist laughing at.
When Microland entered our campus, later in the same year, I knew two things about the company – it was a pioneer in hybrid IT services in India and that it was not going to conduct Group Discussions, which had been a constant irritant with recruiters throwing clichéd business problems and students shrieking out their ridiculous solutions based on the kindergarten stage of the business course. Surprisingly the interview turned out to be about myself and my passions, I wasn’t asked about why I chose business management, but about the incidents that I thought added value to my life. I wasn’t asked what electives I would like to take the following year, but about the lessons, I learnt from not-so-pleasant incidents of my life. It was more a discussion with experienced personalities than a competition vying for their attention. Result – At the end of those twenty minutes, I was happier with myself!
Microland connected with me a month before my internship began, informing me of what my project and deliverables would be and set up an introductory session with my mentor. The advantage of doing this was twofold. There were no pretentious three-day induction program and secondly, all the interns had a thought out idea about the approach to their respective projects.
I had a notion that the four Ps, the three Cs, the STP theory and other marketing concepts were just like trigonometry, I would never find their application in the real world. My internship at Microland told me I hadn’t invested in the wrong course. The entire product plan was to be developed on the basis of these very concepts and nothing is more exciting than to be able to use bookish knowledge in the field and watch it shape strategies.
Microland is a very proud cultivator of the start-up culture. It is amazing how it pulls off this feat, considering it is a 29-year-old company. Here all the ideas are heard, all the initiatives are encouraged and managerial qualities are honed. The leadership consists of extremely experienced veterans, the treasure of Microland – a five-minute interaction with them could teach me what a hundred articles could not. An ex-employee of Infosys, I watched as my corporate experience underwent a sea change during my internship stint at Microland. The leadership loves a personal touch; a customized greeting never goes unnoticed. People are valued, not only for their ingenuity but also for their team-spirit. Every one of the employees is unique, in his ideas, projects and method of execution. There is never a dull moment in the office-hours – everyone is as talented as they are friendly and enthusiastic. And this is how Microland has been able to maintain its start-up culture.
My internship period at Microland was made even more enjoyable by my co-interns. They contributed to the feeling that I wasn’t very far from the very happening nights in my own college. Hailing from the premier b-schools of the country, it’s amazing how close we became in the duration of these two months.
As of April 2018, Microland is a Digital Accelerator, providing enterprises with the means to undergo next-gen digital transformation and evaluating us on the basis of visumes was just the beginning of their acceptance of the role.
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Kashyapi Rath
Class of 2019
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar