Summer Internship Experience 2021 - Grivaa Capital - Harsh Gupta, TAPMI Manipal

In this article, Harsh Gupta, a student of TAPMI Manipal who interned at Grivaa Capital in Banking and Finance Domain 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.

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Hi, Tell us about how you got selected for this internship? Take us through the moment you realized you had got the internship.

Personal interview was the only round that was to be cleared to bag this internship. The interview went on for an hour, wherein the Principal was quite impressed with my prior work experience and I got some hints that I might get selected for this internship. The moment I got the mailer stating my selection, I was super delighted with the fact that I got a chance to intern in the field of stock market which had always excited me and that I would be mentored by a person who is a pro in the industry. On a personal front, the number of phone calls and congratulatory messages which I received was also overwhelming.

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On joining the company as an intern, how has your onboarding experience been like?

It was pretty exceptional. This is because, we were given an overall perspective of several allied business functions, besides finance. The thought process behind this was that being future leaders, it is very important to have an idea of everything going around us. Moreover, it was made clear from the beginning itself, that even though we are going to be finance majors, we need to have a close eye on the marketing and human resource side of several companies as well, as they are good indicators of an organization's future and hence the quality of investment one does.

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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?

As per the trend, the very first thing we did was create an unofficial WhatsApp group. Once all the members were in, it never seemed that we were from different colleges.
So, things have been pretty calm and interesting. As most of the work allotted to us involves teamwork, the bond has only been getting stronger. We also share our online class experiences and that undying hope of going to campus. We also have fun by doing group video calls and also playing some online group games like scribble, after office hours.

This is the second week of my internship and I have noticed that my supervisor wants us to stick to the pointers mentioned by him. Neither should be creative nor should we try to miss out on the hygiene factors mentioned by him. So, my major objective is to stick to his guidelines. One more interesting observation has been that when he gets enthusiastic replies from the interns, he seems more involved and gives us more insights. Besides, he likes simplistic yet insightful PPTs and I have reached a good milestone as he has started liking my PPTs and recommends others to follow mine. So I am trying to remain involved, stick to his guidelines to the best extent, and keep delivering the best quality work. I hope, this is how I would be able to leave the best impression on my supervisor.

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Tell us in brief, about the project you are currently working on and how is this project going to help the company? 

The Company is into investments in the equity markets. So, my job over the last two weeks has been to minutely track the Indian stock markets besides doing fundamental research on sectors and companies. Till now, I have done research work and prepared PPTs on the Indian sugar and Indian chemicals sector. Also prepared reports on some of the listed companies in this sector, wherein the Company wants to invest. So, my work would help the management in making decisions on whether they should invest in those companies or not. Besides, it would also help them in getting detailed insights into the sector and its functioning. Thereby, making them aware whether they should watch out this sector going forward for potential investments or not, even if they are not interested now.

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Are You The Best Summer Intern Of The Class Of 2022? Share Your Own Internship Experience.

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Give us an overview of how you prepared for your summer placement season.

Honestly, for the internship, I wanted to be more open and natural, hence I did not do that much homework. Just ensured that I was thorough with my CV and brushed up certain finance concepts which I had came across over the years. Moreover, I emphasized my work experience part and how had I added value to the enterprises I had been associated with.

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Based on your internship experience till now, what are some necessary skill sets one must be prepared with before starting an internship? 

One must be very flexible and be ready to take up any responsibility which is allocated to her/him. Good research skills also give you an advantage.
These would be helpful for any internship profile which you get. Flexibility will make you a good team player and more approachable by the Principal, whereas polished research skills will give an edge to the work you deliver.

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What are some new skills that you have developed while working in the company?

I have been able to enhance my research skills as I am supposed to get details about several Indian listed companies and business sectors.
My leadership skills have also improved as I have been made the team lead for finance interns, so I am responsible for the quality of work that they deliver. Hence, I also need to review their work besides my own job.
I have become a bit more flexible, accepting different tasks which are being allocated and not sticking to just one.
Being an intern in the Equity markets segment, I have started thinking about the reason behind every event in the stock market, which has gradually crept in deep within me and I have improved upon my questioning and reasoning skills.

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What are some of the challenges that you have faced in your internship and how have you overcome them?

Taking up jobs that I did not like was one of the biggest challenges, but I thought that it was time to take it up and remove that feel to avoid this kind of work. So when I took it up and delivered it well, that hesitation of taking up this kind of work went away.
Secondly, I was made responsible for other interns' work and managing them. It seemed to be a mammoth task to me and something I was not expecting. But I thought that this is what MBA is all about. With that positivity, it started and everyone gradually started supporting me and things got along well.

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Tell us about a situation where you were complemented by your Manager for your work. 

I prepare some detailed PPTs for some companies and sectors which gave the Manager a clear perspective regarding those companies as well as sectors. It was then that I was complimented by him. Besides, he made it compulsory for all the other interns to follow my style of PPT and stick to it.
This is because the slides in the PPT were like a story and flow which would make it easier for anyone to understand the current status of the company and the future prospects it has got.

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What have been your major learnings during the internship? 

There have been several of them and I believe, they would be really helpful, both in my personal as well as professional space.
The most important one being to remain open to different responsibilities, as one never knows what self-discovery she/he might come across.
I observed and got to develop a bit more of team handling skills and the technique of strategically allocating work, besides helping them to accomplish tasks, wherever they get stuck.
Undoubtedly, the financial terminologies and the thought process which goes into investing in the equity markets and investment, in general, was enthralling and I have got glued to it, which I believe will help me not only in my placements but personal investment decision as well. One general financial advice would be to invest not only in different asset classes but also in different geographical markets, and not hesitating to book periodic profits.
Last but not the least, I also realized the importance of work-life balance and how much important it is to give time to yourself and have fun. This is because that one day off a week recharges you and gives you the push to deliver your best for the remaining six days of the week.

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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 toughest question was about the significance of cash flows in an investor's job and how analyzing it can make a hell and heaven difference to an investor's portfolio.
My answer to this was that cash flows have significant decision-changing power. A company might be showing profits in the book but its actual cash book might be in a terrible situation. With a bad cash position, a company might have to borrow loans, the interest incurred for which might start eating up profits. In no time, the company's profitability might start falling and the books turn red. At the same time, several companies try to escalate profit by several unfavorable means, however, doing the same in cash flows becomes tougher and easier to grab the culprit. Besides, if a company currently is slightly into losses. but has strong cash flows, it will be able to take up several steps, with regard to expansion or diversification and create opportunities to generate profits in the near to medium term.
Luckily, my manager was convinced of my justification.

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Some advice that you would like to give to your juniors based on your internship experience.

A piece of advice which I would like to give my juniors would be that, apart from the core job which one has been recruited for, one should be open to taking up several other responsibilities as well, you never know, what new thing you might get to discover about yourself.
Just in case, one ends up getting an internship which is not providing them with any work and responsibilities, the best would be to take up an online course because this would be the only time when one can do something extra and add to the resume. I mentioned this because given the last 2 years situation, getting internships with no work has become a common phenomenon with the best of the B-Schools as well.

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What was one of the best moments according to you during your internship?

I was made the leader of several other interns and responsible for verifying and approving their work. This was one of the best moments during my internship. Apart from that, when my Manager was impressed with my research work and presentation style, I felt a bit satisfied with the fact that I am on the right path.

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