Preparation strategy:
Initially, my focus was to collect in-depth information about the business model of the company. For this purpose, I took the help of the official AHWSPL website and LinkedIn. After this exercise, I noted down what can be some industry challenges that the similar pharmaceutical and supply chain companies might be facing. I brushed up the relevant metrics for the pharma sector and quickly went through the supply chain basics as well. I also participated in mock GDs, PIs and taking continuous feedback from peers and seniors, it helped me to correct the small nuances that I generally used to overlook.
Interview:
My interviewer was Shrikrishna Kotkar, an IIM-C alumnus and Mumbai cluster head at the Ascent. It was more of a casual conversation where we touched upon the opportunities, industry pain points and role data can play in it. We proceeded to talk about the subject revolving around my profile, work experience, and role. I was satisfied with my performance as I could answer most of the questions convincingly and confidently. Once I cleared the round, I was then informed about the virtual technical interview. The interview started with my previous work experience from which we gradually moved towards the MBA learnings and questions about the same. After a couple of days, I was notified about my selection as a Growth analytics intern.
The Journey:
After the virtual onboarding, the respective mentors and projects were assigned to me and my other team members. I was handed over the responsibility to look after the growth aspect of the firm. My mentor and guide briefed me about the project. Both the mentor and guide were my constant source of support throughout the project and the main reason I became comfortable even in a virtual setup.
After the initial discussion, I was given the time to think and present the ideas which can be implemented leading to positive outcomes. We finalized on the three projects involving customer segmentation, dashboard creation and automating the report. Throughout the process, we kept the tab on the progress, conducted reviewing sessions which helped me to resolve, work and complete the project within the assigned timelines.
The internship gave me industry exposure and the opportunity to work on real-life work cases. This experience has benefited me to develop and grow personally as well as professionally.
Key Learnings and takeaways:
- Domain knowledge plays a crucial role while working on the assignment or project.
- More than the tool or technical aspect, it is the outcome and interpretation from the business point of view that matters the most.
- Divide the work into smaller tasks. The goal should be to analyse and solve each task individually rather than directly going for the entire work. This simplifies the process resulting in the quick results.
- Imbibe the art storytelling with your data.
- Try to be open for perspective or suggestions of the team members. This is an opportunity to interact and learn to lead to better results.
- It is necessary to have a result-oriented and grounded approach right from the beginning.
- The first year acted as a solid foundation and provided a confidence boost for effectively working and delivering the projects.
My advice for the readers or juniors is to take ownership of the work and focus on the learning, in the process, you will witness the better version of yourself.
All the best.