In this article, Pramit Ghosh, a student of DMS IIT Dhanbad who interned at GlobalData Research Centre Pvt. Ltd., talks about his summer internship experience. Find out about how he prepared for the summer placements, his onboarding process, his experiences & what his learnings are during this internship.
Hi, Tell us about how you got selected for this internship? Take us through the moment you realized you had got the internship.
I had applied through a link posted by the Director - Mr. Birendra Shekhar Pandey.
I had filled the form and 2 days later, a test link was mailed to me with a deadline of 24 hours.
It contained 7 sections including General aptitude, Reading comprehension, Logical reasoning, and the most interesting in my opinion was the Writing section wherein we had to write two different essays on the topics - "Women are better managers" and "How I had to take a difficult decision in my life".
After a week or so, I got a call from the HR informing that I had been shortlisted for the Internship and that was the moment which I would never forget because that was the call that woke me up that day and also, I started my day with this great news. My favorite domain after I started my MBA has been Market Research, but I couldn't get that role through my campus placements even after being one of the first students to get placed for Summer Internships. When, GlobalData had opened recruitment, I was truly elated and focussed on achieving this and finally when I did, it was the best feeling ever.
On joining the company as an intern, how has your onboarding experience been like?
The onboarding was very overwhelming and at the same time checked our patience a lot because the waiting period between our first day at work and the day I submitted the test was nerve-wracking. But without any complaints, we were given a very warm welcome from our Team lead and Manager - Mr. Ratan Katiyar, and then Ms. Sneha Nigade (after my team was changed). Even the top level management - Mr. Kiran Raj interacted with us explaining details about the company and the kind of work GD is involved in, which gave me at least, a lot of clarity regarding what my aim should on a broader perspective.
Overall, this was one of the smoothest onboardings I had ever received
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?
Its been a great journey so far. Even after being part of a WFH internship, me and my team are pretty close knitted together. We connect with each other on Skype and share all kinds of issues or any good experience we've had. One of my batch-mates is also in the same team as me which is a also a good thing because it helps us correlate with things we've learnt during the classes we've taken in the 1st and 2nd semester.
Our work involves a lot of reading and research regarding new disruptive technologies and innovations that are being patented or invented everyday. Based on this, we are required to write business articles that are uploaded into the Disruptor Tool of GlobalData. It is very crucial for us to take care of the most minute details involved in the particular tech we're writing about and also be as crisp as possible. This is where the real game lies. The more research we do, the more apt our content would be. This is where my focus lies and also the basic requirement of my team leader is exactly this. So that way I hope to impress the management with my performance.
Tell us in brief, about the project you are currently working on and how is this project going to help the company?
Since the actual project is confidential, I have the liberty to share what the gist of work involves.
As briefly mentioned, my internship is based on extensive Market research on various disruptive technologies from various sectors of numerous industries ranging from Automotive, FMCG, Pharma, Power, Robotics, etc. We are required to write articles with a strictly business-based format for the reference of many clients and top level executives in both the Corporate and Public space.
Give us an overview of how you prepared for your summer placement season.
Frankly speaking, the placement experience I had during my BTECH in VIT Chennai, had helped a lot in preparing for my SIPs.
When the admission process was on for DMS IIT Dhanbad, I had already decided that I would not make the same mistakes I made during my engineering.
Therefore I gave myself a second chance, left my placement job at L&T Mindtree Ltd., and joined DMS.
Then, the first thing I decided to do was build my CV which was one of the major reasons why I could not bag a better campus offer during placements at VIT.
I took some courses related to managerial economics, Advanced Excel, BI tools like SQL, Python, Tableau, etc., and also leadership and strategy formulation from Coursera and Udemy mainly. The second step was to organize my LinkedIn account which I thought didn't have any significance until my graduation and eventually I did help me bag the internship I wished for.
I have already been good at logical reasoning and quantitative aptitude because of the preparation I did earlier during UG which made it easier in a way for me to crack the questions during the test.
Now, my communication skills have been kind of a barrier in my opinion because I tend to stutter when I don't know answers to certain questions and my mind, somehow tells me every time to not leave them unanswered which puts a negative impression on the interviewers. But, thankfully, being part of the student Admission committee for the 2023 batch in DMS, I was required to speak to many applicants which improved my confidence, people skills and communication abilities to a great extent which indeed reflected in the interviews I appeared for.
Therefore I conclude by mentioning that my wonderful faculty of DMS IIT Dhanbad and my batch mates had a lot to do with the improvement I made. All of us would take suggestions from each other on every aspect and get guided on some pain points of the selection processes from the faculty which I'm grateful for.
Based on your internship experience till now, what are some necessary skill sets one must be prepared with before starting an internship?
In my opinion, knowing Advanced Excel, MS PowerPoint, and MS Word are very important for at least the beginning phase.
Then working on certain skillsets like primary and secondary research, presentation and communication are crucial to any internship in any profile or specialization.
Lastly, I think, knowing how to make an impression and be data-driven to an extent will do wonders for any candidate because as they say, "It is not your grades which describe your intelligence but your approach and personality."
What are some new skills that you have developed while working in the company?
Advanced Excel, Presentation and Communication skills
Python, SQL and Tableau at some extent. I am still working on them as they haven't been required yet.
What are some of the challenges that you have faced in your internship and how have you overcome them?
Even though this internship was very much aligned with my interests, I’ve had a fair share of challenges that I faced during my tenure. But, as far as the most significant ones are concerned, I would like to mention about two of those which I felt were the most cumbersome in terms of overcoming with passing time.
The very first feedback I received regarding my work was that my content wasn’t very attractive in terms of the crispness of it and the reason was mostly the fact that I tend to overanalyze the innovation that was assigned to me and capitalized on what I would think after reading it. But my manager directed me to take a CXO’s point-of-view because they are the ones who would be consulting the profiles the most, and due to their extremely busy schedule, they won’t be able to read a detailed depiction of the concerned technology. As one of my managers stated, “Use the details that are need-to-know, and not good to know!’
Thereafter, I etched this in my memory, inscribed it in my checklist and followed the same procedure, and tried to control myself from extra-procurement of details. With the subsequent profiles. The quality checks that came right after I implemented this attribute, were flawless as far as the expectations from me were concerned.
Secondly, the challenge that I faced would also sound very silly coming from an MBA student, but the fact is I’m an engineer at heart too. The issue was that of time management. Our work hours during the tenure of the internship are pretty flexible. We are assigned our targets for the day at around 11 am, and were expected to submit them by 8 am the next day at most. But, now that we were being assigned smaller targets during the initial phase, the engineer in me started to procrastinate, and later when we were assigned more targets, I had to stay awake at night to complete the work, because of the habit that I developed to start the work late.
This led to my schedule becoming like that of a nocturnal being, sleeping during the day, staying awake at night which was hampering my overall health in a way. What I did do to overcome it was to realize the fact that if I get over with the work, at least the majority as early as possible, I can try to sleep early or at least get enough rest for the night. I chose a weekend to troubleshoot my routine thereafter, and on a bright Monday morning, tried to implement the strategy. Fortunately, it all went according to plan, and now I’m well-rested and at the same time one of the most punctual interns in the team.
Tell us about a situation where you were complemented by your Manager for your work.
As far as the appreciations are concerned, I have received a handful amount of those during my internship period. But there was one instance when my manager has made a note of appreciation in the official skype group and later during a zoom meeting, which had come after a series of poor performances because of the same reason of me overthinking and overanalyzing.
So, that being said, it was a profile that I was assigned that turned out to be very interesting in terms of its innovation. I cannot discuss further details but it involved the robotics industry. This was before the time when I properly rectified my work w.r.t., the accuracy and aptness of the content. Therefore, when I submitted the complete set of the work which included that profile too, and 2 days later when the QCs came in, I noticed that the particular profile was flagged in the tracker. I started thinking that there we have it have again. Another rework for an unsatisfactory job. But, just an hour or so later, my manager called us for a meeting, and along with that copied the entire article that I had submitted, and wrote a note, “Here is a topic written by u guys that we have published while reflecting on the front end of the database. Keep up the good work and observe the construction”. This is a moment where I had heaved a sigh of relief briefly. In the meet, he mentioned my name in front of the entire team, which was very satisfying and encouraged me to see this whole deal through.
What have been your major learnings during the internship?
There have been a lot of debates regarding whether online classes are beneficial for MBA students or any course for that matter. But, for someone like me, who has always been concerned about what my mentors and teachers think about me, I can confidently say that I have understood the significance of acknowledgment and attribution during an online meet or a lecture session. It gives the person on the speaker's side, a sense of reliance and assurance. Also, as far as managers are concerned, I have noticed that it is very professional to address what they direct and acknowledge even if they criticize their juniors for work that is not at par.
Secondly, technical skills, on one hand, change with increased development and technological enhancements around the world. But, it’s the soft skills that stay with people for the rest of their lives. One of them, which I will take back from this internship is time management or rather scheduling. When it comes to punctuality, I have always been very particular, but that commitment leads me to overlook the effect it has on the daily routine and the long-term health effects. For a person like me, who is significantly a health and fitness buff, things like this are very crucial and it should be for everyone. This is one aspect that we can really learn from the gentlemen cadets at armed forces academies.
Finally, one very important learning would be the importance of keeping a checklist in every work or task we do. Generally, people ignore the fact that when we begin to work very hard, multi-tasking at that point, with pressure and deadline scares bugging us at every moment, is very difficult unless you are a superhuman. Therefore, keeping a checklist is that one thing that can change the whole game for an individual which undoubtedly did for me. Initially, I didn’t lean upon following it too much, but as the expectations increased with passing time and growing experience in the craft, I realized that it won’t harm to have something to rely upon for the final satisfaction of quality adherence.
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?
After the internship, we didn’t have any presentations as such. We had a long interaction combined with feedback and casual sessions with the entire team wherein we shared our experiences and the takeaways.
We also discussed any future opportunities that might arise in the team and the value we could add considering the experience we had gained in Innovation Exploration of Disruptive technologies.
Some advice that you would like to give to your juniors based on your internship experience.
I would give just three crucial pointers for my juniors.
When you look for an internship, don’t do so just for the sake of it, because you might not know whether you will like it or not. You also wouldn’t know whether it would be relevant to your career interests. Therefore, be smart, keep upskilling, and also update your CV as per current norms.
Secondly, do not keep the money as a parameter when you look for internships. Yes, the stipend is very fulfilling for the mind, but knowledge and guidance are what would matter when the actual doomsday will arrive.
Lastly, think of your team leads and managers as your godparents while you work during the tenure of your internship. Remember they have an experience sometimes equal to half your age and that makes them credible enough to constructively criticize you for your wrongdoings, so make sure you keep your ego aside, treat them with respect and work harder and with complete dedication. Gain an ample amount of knowledge and takeaway as much as you can from your stint.
What was one of the best moments according to you during your internship?
I think the best moment of my internship was when I was made a task coordinator for my team. I was responsible to ensure the proper updating of the tracker, giving daily updates to our lead, and also ensuring proper assignment of IE profiles to everyone in my team, and whether there are any discrepancies in the same. It gave me a sense of satisfaction to be able to act as a representative of my teammates and fulfilling yet another position of responsibility.
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