In this article, Mrinal Kashyap, a student of SIBM Pune who interned at Bajaj Auto Limited in the Sales and Marketing Domain talks about his summer internship experience. Find out about how his onboarding process went, what his learnings are and his experiences during this internship.
The hunt for India's best summer interns for the class of 2023 has begun!
Hi, Tell us about how you got selected for this internship? Take us through the moment you realized you had got the internship.
Bajaj Auto is a name that we as Indians have always associated with. Growing up, I would see countless Bajaj vehicles zooming in and around the streets. So working at Bajaj Auto, being a part of the 75-year legacy would be nothing short of a dream come true. It was late in the night when we received the Opt-In form for the organization. I filled it as soon as I got it and waited for the shortlist to be released. Another ping a few hours later, and I had my chance. I was called for the GD/PI process the next day. It wasn’t even 9 a.m. when my group was called to the Process room. I hastily arranged my notebook and grabbed my pen. It was supposed to be a 30-minute case discussion on a new product launch, and given the online scenario, my plan of action was to make an impact early. I ensured my statements were backed by facts and data, and that my group reached a consensus towards the end. We thanked the panelists, and back in the waiting room we were. Soon the PI calls started rolling in, and I distinctly remember waiting for what seemed like hours till my name was called. The PI went smoothly, and after, the 20 of us were told to wait for further instructions. Soon I received the call for my 2nd PI, and it was down to the 10 of us. I was the 4th one to be called in for their PI. It had been an arduous process, but having reached this far gave me the confidence to make it all the way through. The interview revolved around my background, my family, my work and surprisingly, Marvel & DC movies. I’d mentioned I was a fan of the fantasy genre, and the whole interview turned into an interaction. After the final interview, I waited anxiously, like everyone else for the results. It was soon when the placement team came out with the results, and 6 of us had made it! I was brimming with joy, and the only one happier was my mom, who, owing to the pandemic, was in the next room.
On joining the company as an intern, how has your onboarding experience been like?
It was March when we received the communication from the HRs at Bajaj Auto about our Induction and Onboarding process. Despite the Pandemic putting a damper on things, Bajaj Auto left no stone unturned to ensure the transition was smooth and a delightful one. Things were looking good before the 2nd wave set in, and I was one of the few on campus to have been asked to visit my project location, Bangalore. Bajaj Auto went above and beyond in arranging my travel and accommodation, and I landed in Bangalore on the 19th of April. The Onboarding began the same day, and I was in my cab when HR asked us to introduce ourselves to each other. Few were given project locations owing to the growing Covid cases, which led to an interesting interaction between us interns. The process carried on and we saw names we had seen in newspapers or on TV speak to us and answer our silliest of questions. Bajaj Auto welcomed us with open arms, and the entire team reflected the company’s ethics. World’s favorite Indian indeed!
How has your interaction with the team members and colleagues been like? How will you make sure to leave the best impression on your supervisors by the end of the internship?
From the first day at the Regional Office( RO ) itself, I was introduced to the entire team working on and around my project. The plethora of experience the cadre brought was immense, I ensured I took time to understand their experiences with the product, the target segment and the business landscape in general. Never did I feel I was new to the team, and everyone was extremely accommodating. Internships, apart of a learning experience, are also about making sure you make a lasting impact on those around you so as to ensure the desired results. So instead of jumping straight into the project, I went about understanding the current baseline, processes and insights the veterans of the business might have to offer. This made sure I was on the right track, and that I didn’t duplicate efforts that’d already been enacted, and propose fresh ideas, just the thing I was brought in to do.
Tell us in brief, about the project you are currently working on and how is this project going to help the company?
I was given an opportunity to work under Mr. Raghavendra A, Divisional Manager ( Sales ) in Bajaj Auto's Intracity Business Unit. Due to the confidential nature of the project, all I can divulge is that the project was geared towards further establishing the strong market presence of one of its commercial 3 wheelers. Talking about what a day during my internship looked like, well, it included conducting Primary research over hundreds of phone calls, understanding the competitor and their efforts, and understanding the current process to provide areas of improvement. The culmination of which resulted in the enhancement of the said product’s presence in the market.
The hunt for India's best summer interns for the class of 2023 has begun!
Give us an overview of how you prepared for your summer placement season.
I’d say the preparation for bagging an offer for summers happens in two phases. The first being crafting my Resume, and the second preparing for the actual process after being shortlisted. Now I was a Marketing man through and through, and since I already had plenty of Digital marketing experience, I wanted to add a touch of traditional marketing as well, so I did a few relevant courses from online platforms like Coursera. This gave my resume a 360-degree appeal. As for preparing for the GD/PI rounds, I began getting my answers for the basic HR questions ready. Now this required introspection and foresight as to what questions the panelists may ask. Next came reading up on current affairs and business know-how. As I was seeking a Sales & Marketing internship, I began going through the basic materials on the topic - The 7Ps, 4As, and the likes. Religiously following newspapers and online sources took care of the current affairs part of my preparation. I believe this gave me an edge and prepared me well in advance for the upcoming placement season.
Based on your internship experience till now, what are some necessary skill sets one must be prepared with before starting an internship?
As for the necessary skills for an internship, Market Research is the first thing that comes to mind. As for me, I had to conduct extensive Primary research to ensure I understood the business and the consumer sentiment, which required an in-depth understanding of Marketing research techniques and know-how. This is one of the most crucial subjects taught during our first year of MBA. Next comes Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint. I cannot stress enough the importance of these couple of tools. With MS Excel, one can summarize huge chunks with Pivot tables and graphically represent them to analyze or establish trends. Which is exactly what helped me get to my conclusions swiftly. A lot happens during an internship, which needs to be presented succinctly and neatly in front of the senior leadership, or your mentor. Having a solid working knowledge of MS Powerpoint went a long way in enabling me to accurately and dare I say, creatively present my findings and recommendations during my Mid and Final Reviews.
What are some new skills that you have developed while working in the company?
During the 2 months with Bajaj Auto, I communicated and interacted with several key stakeholders, which required countless hours of analyzing data, discovering the right questions to ask and from whom. I believe this has enhanced my Critical thinking abilities and allowed me to be better at solving problems. The amount of work that comes your way during an internship can be taxing, and overwhelming. However, learning to manage my time and prioritize my work allowed me to be more efficient and result-oriented.
What are some of the challenges that you have faced in your internship and how have you overcome them?
With my project location in Bangalore, the majority of my target segment was fluent only in Kannada, which I was not. This posed a severe problem whilst I was conducting my Primary research. However, with a little ingenuity, I managed to figure out a workaround for the same. I made a confidant of a Kannada-speaking Passenger auto driver who I then compensated well for helping me with my primary research. Another major challenge was implementing my recommendations in the real world, which required constant monitoring and discussions with internal stakeholders to map the most suitable plan of action. What worked best for me was making a list of planned actions and mapping internal stakeholders that were required to implement the same. This ensured that I hadn’t missed anything crucial and that everyone was apprised of the impending actions.
Tell us about a situation where you were complemented by your Manager for your work.
An instance that comes to mind is during the pilot phase of one of my proposed recommendations. Having toiled hard to finally implement my proposed actions, the results at the end of the first phase were very encouraging. I was to run a Digital Ad campaign for one of Bajaj Auto’s commercial 3 wheelers, which resulted in actual sales conversions at the end of the two-week pilot phase. This was one of my major achievements during these 2 months working with Bajaj Auto and was the day when my reporting manager complimented me on a job well done.
What have been your major learnings during the internship?
Work Ethic: An internship is where one needs to work hard because they want to, and not because they need to. It depends completely upon us the kind of work that we want to do during the 2 months, and being ethical about one’s work will go a long way to securing that PPO. I would make sure I sent weekly and daily updates to my manager regarding my progress at work.
Being Motivated: I went above and beyond my project deliverables to ensure the areas of improvement discovered during my primary research were met. This helped me be on top of my project brief and allowed me to present data-backed recommendations during my review.
Goal Oriented-ness: I made sure that through regular contacts with my manager, I was always on the right track and never out of scope of my project deliverables. Ensuring a comprehensive action plan at the end of 2 months is what was required of me, and I made sure to deliver just that.
Tell us about your final presentation of the project to your manager in brief. What was the toughest question asked during the presentation and how did you answer it?
The day arrived and it was the President of the Intracity Business Unit on the screen. I was nervous. Despite having presented multiple times to Industry stalwarts during my first year of MBA, the thought that so much depended on a few minutes of presentation was nerve racking. However, I knew I had done the work, and was well prepared. 15 minutes in, and I’d completed my final presentation. Then began the QnA, which included a wide array of questions ranging from my approach towards primary research, the efficacy of the Digital campaigns I’d run to the toughest of them all, out of the various actions proposed, “What would be the one actions I’d recommend to be started in earnest for maximum output”. Now as far as I was concerned, all of my recommendations were necessary to achieve the desired outcome, however, I did have an answer in mind. While proposing action plans, it's vital to pick the one thing that will have the most impact in the shortest amount of time, and I did just that with my recommendations here. I answered confidently, which concluded my final presentation and my 2 months of Octane Journey with Bajaj Auto.
Some advice that you would like to give to your juniors based on your internship experience.
Consistency: This word is of utmost importance in the communications role, you just can't keep changing the tonality and the creatives of the plan for every different activity. Keep it simple and basic: You need not require high thinking power, just put yourself in other's shoes and design the campaigns, accordingly. Brand guidelines: In this hyperactive world, it is very much needed that you understand the brand guidelines, be it related to logos or font colors or the designing. The earlier you get an idea, the fewer approvals require, the better you perform.
What was one of the best moments according to you during your internship?
I had carefully curated a list of proposed actions during the 5th week of my project. One of which I felt I could implement. The necessary requests and arrangements were made a week later, I was in the final phases of my pilot. The results were promising. Without going too much into the details, all I can say is that the pilot resulted in sales conversions. A few days later a meeting had been set with me and my manager to discuss the results and further actions from the pilot. My manager was satisfied with the outcome and complimented me on a job well done. Needless to say, this was one of the best moments of my internship and gave me the confidence boost to continue the good work throughout my internship.