In this article,K S Vijay Balaji a student of SIBM Pune who interned at Hexaware Technologies Limited in the Banking and Finance 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.
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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.
Post the final interview, maybe in some time, I was called and briefed about the performance and status. It was a wonderful moment to hear the news that I had been selected.
Post the process, a small photo was taken with the organization. While we have candidates who work hard at one end to give their best performances, the organizers on the other end had worked tirelessly to execute the event. So I thanked the HR team, my college placement team, and the interview panel in bringing the exercise to a successful closure overcoming all handicaps, virtual logistics, etc. and that too during a pandemic.
I just felt successful, grateful, relieved, happy, positive and motivated. All in one go!
On joining the company as an intern, how has your onboarding experience been like?
The onboarding procedure was well-structured and was planned with precision. Every item in the list was planned with keen attention to detail. For example, orientation sessions had information in a crisp, clean and concise manner. The events were started right on time, ended with feedback sessions, question-answer sessions, and was equipped with a robust attendance protocol.
We interns, were fortunate to be a part of a call with the Chief People Officer of the organization on a detailed session guiding us on our future roadmap, current deliverable, how to best utilize our time and add value to the organization. It was so inspiring to listen to senior leaders at such close levels.
The team where I interned fostered an environment that promoted originality, freedom and high involvement to work. They were a constant source of inspiration and guidance. My mentor had groomed me and made me well equipped to bring out the best version of myself, by the time the final presentation happened.
It was indeed a great journey of 8 weeks of learning, fun, hard work, execution, motivation and inspiration.
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?
Interactions have changed from the way it used to happen. Virtual interactions are limited to standup calls, texts on teams, video conferencing with peers. But this should not be just seen as a limitation but as an instrument that has improved focus and efficiency. Every interaction, since it comes under meeting schedule is under time control and we have the power to search for people via LinkedIn and internal communication networks for many companies thanks to technology. So I see this as a great way of adapting ourselves. In fact, this is now helping me to streamline the way I operate, bucketing time, energy, and focus in right pockets. My Notion workspace helps me to keep track of my work. My LinkedIn premium account lets me connect with people across the domain. Research portals are giving access to great research papers. Other portals like Scribd and Amazon Goodreads have opened the doors to great articles. On top of this, my college professors are ready to help when stuck which is a great help that any student might need. I think to sum up, all it takes is to ask out, reach out and share our experiences to stay on the top of the game.
Tell us in brief, about the project you are currently working on and how is this project going to help the company?
The project I am working on is a very research heavy one in the domain of Banking. Banking is the core pillar of commerce and is very vast covering various processes and stakeholders. Thus given this context, the project I am working on, goes one step ahead in overlaying technology on top of it which is even more exciting. My day starts with researching articles, reports and gathering domain knowledge. Post which, I read on the technology that powers such functions and the market for the same. Thus having a solid foundation, I start working on my project by bringing devising ideas and suggestions and put them on the paper with backings to these research articles and cite them at those places as needed.
The hunt for India's best summer interns for the class of 2023 has begun! Summer Saga 2022 is now live! Participate here!
Give us an overview of how you prepared for your summer placement season.
The preparation was holistic but structured. It started from the way I drafted the CV, preparation about sectors, keeping updated with news , etc. I feel if we are truly interested in upskilling ourselves in the business domain rather than preparing for just summers, I feel the outcome will be more fruitful and much more than what we would have planned. I strongly feel there must be a natural and innate desire to know how business is done, decode how things move, and understand the thought process of how business leaders and visionaries think. Any effort in this direction will reap true results at least in the long run.
I first started reading about the sectors from which companies could come. E.g. If it was BFSI - then I saw the latest IBEF, CNN, Gartner reports on the industry. From CMIE I was able to get a quantitative sense of how companies are performing and solid statistics. Post knowing about the industry, I dived deep into the latest happening in the sector. E.g. If the digital transformation was one of the latest happenings, I'll search for particular key phrases in thought leaders' websites, blogs, and video platforms to know more about what is buzzing around. One more key addition is- we have to help our peers. By helping them and sharing information, we make ourselves better and learn more in that process. This truly I believe is a leadership trait as it inspires others and also gives us learning in the process.
This really helped me to gain a true understanding of what was happening in the world, my fitment to the sector, and the possible trajectories within that sector. It also helped me immensely in my Group Discussions. My thoughts and views were well-rounded, unique, and diverse when I had my chance to present my view.
Post this, I started reading the placement reports from previous years and read more in detail about the companies that visit. Thus this phased approach helped me to a) gain an understanding of broad sectors b) important things happening in those sectors c) knowing more about the recruiters
Apart from this I had subscribed to 3 newspapers - Economic Times, The Hindu, and Wall Street Journal. ET focused on crisp business news, The Hindu on good editorials and viewpoints and WSJ on international news.
Every day's highlights, news, and important points were maintained in a logbook and then I later started a blog where I started writing about these aspects. This helped my friends also as they also started sharing news articles that they found interesting and we had a central repository of sorts to store our learnings. Key takeaway: This helped me indirectly in my interviews whenever I quoted my blog.
Based on your internship experience till now, what are some necessary skill sets one must be prepared with before starting an internship?
- Self-motivated - Very little support could be available at times.
- Asking questions without fear - If we are sure about our standpoint, the skill of asking questions should be honed. Right questions at the right time will clear misunderstandings, misconceptions and will set the way for high-quality work.
- Extremely Agile- Internship is a place to prove ourselves. So we have to make sure our speed of work is so fast that roadblocks are cleared as soon as possible
These three are enough to support other auxiliary traits that will make you a great intern
What are some new skills that you have developed while working in the company?
Structured Secondary Researching - the skill to research in a phased and structured manner to do secondary research by working in a virtual mode
Presentation skills- Presentation is not just PPT. It's above how to structure, emphasize, add points make a logical statement, etc. I really have learned the art of making structured logic, arguments, and of course PPT preparing skills -
Specific tools for designing- Designing includes font stack, color scheme, icons, illustrations, Using features of PPT in detail. I am very confident to state that I have really understood how to make awesome PPT slides.
Collaboration skills- While operating remotely, I have understood more about my team and have got a deeper understanding of how to collaborate effectively. Right from scheduling meetings, texting at the right time, asking right questions at the right time. This is a key skill that I have learnt and I am confident that this is going to help me in the long run.
What are some of the challenges that you have faced in your internship and how have you overcome them?
Peer 2 Peer Interaction: The nature of P2P Interactions had changed and there was a darkness in easy availability of information. This was especially hard when doing primary research, sharing information, and getting to know what the other person is doing.
Soln: I was able to schedule weekly meetings and informal tea times at 4 PM where we met and shared information. This made the sessions informal and very interactive.
Team Dynamics: In a virtual setup, knowing the team, other verticals, members of other departments were hard. It was essential to know how the team is and interact with all the stakeholders. Also interacting with others gives us an idea of how the work culture, the employee-spirit and inspiration is.
Soln: I joined the COVID support group at Hexaware which was a community of employees giving 24*7 support to the employees. I was really amazed at the coordination and planning that was done between employees. Usually, I start working and also help the group simultaneously in the operations. I had a feeling of happiness and value as I was able to support those who were needing help due to the pandemic. I also interacted with other departments, verticals, and teams which really impressed me about the work culture and team dynamics. I must say, I was really happy and inspired by the COVID Support Group for the amazing job we did.
At the outset, I want to share only one note with the readers. Barriers exist in our minds. If we truly want to perform well, the universe helps us to do so. Be always optimistic and hardworking, opportunities will automatically appear our way.
Tell us about a situation where you were complemented by your Manager for your work.
PPT Skills: My presentation skills were much appreciated and it was well-received. Thanks to few courses that I did proactively before joining the internship, it bolstered efficiency and speed in the way I designed content.
Research Methodology: I had access to many research portals which gave me an advantage in bringing new ideas and insights while working on the project. A new framework of thought came up which was well received.
What have been your major learnings during the internship?
- 1. Being efficient and self-made while working virtually.
- Understood technology services from a business angle.
- Precisely identified my target and worked in a structured method to bring efforts to fruition. This was a great learning.
- The structure of writing a whitepaper.
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?
I had prepared for the final presentation well in advance. Having paid attention to every line item in my presentation, I was working in bringing a structure and robust coherence in the way I had to put forth my view point. Those were weeks where I would hit the dictionary for synonyms, sentence constructions, PPT depth, icon verification, checking whether the images were licensed, attributing the images at respective places, quoting data sources, detailing with facts, logo, font stack, etc.
With a strong idea at the core and following a data-driven approach, my final presentation was in a good shape to be presented to the panel of evaluation.
The questions which I really liked and raised my bar were those on Research Methodology, Relevance of past data, Insights for the given problem, Importance of presenting a trend as a bar graph vs a line chart vs a stacked chart, Sources of data that backed the insights that were proposed and how these fit in my overall deliverable's mission.
The questions were really good and fortunately, I had prepared for all these and had the backings with me. I also had a statistical model which was built to support my hypothesis when asked. The executive summary slide, framework slide, a slide about myself and additional exhibits came in handy whenever I wanted to explain a question on those lines. I also kept a tab on the timings and made sure that I stick to the allotted time and address the questions as precisely as possible.
Some advice that you would like to give to your juniors based on your internship experience.
- Count every day right from the day you start till the day you end your project
- Follow TMRR framework - Target + Measure + Review + Reflect on your objective
- Be in a constant loop with your mentor and always give meaningful updates that add value.
- Every week, summarise your work and start building your presentation
- Collect all data sources for primary research and name them accordingly while saving in your folders. This will help in retrieving them when needed.
- Use software like Notion or Evernote to keep track of your target and actuals. It also helps to keep you in time, set reminders and work in a more methodical manner.
- Network professionally and learn the art of building virtual connections. This will help immensely
- Help your friends. You will learn something and add value to their work.
- Give your best, stay motivated and focus on becoming the best version of yourself via this opportunity
- Be calm and composed and execute a strong strategy right from day 1.
What was one of the best moments according to you during your internship?
- Learned the art of making good, clean, and convincing frameworks that summarized ideas in a clear and concise manner.
- Being appreciated by my team for the attention to detail that I bought in my work
- Being appreciated for undertaking additional projects and adding value to those.
- Felt great helping my friends in resolving their doubts and issues
- Completing the internship with a sense of joy, motivation, and satisfaction