The summer internship is the first real-time learning experience at MBA where you apply your knowledge and concepts learnt throughout a year. The first thing in an MBA is to not run behind marks, run behind the learning you get out of it. You should get your basic concepts crystal clear as they are the building blocks of further concepts. JAM – not a yummy sweet paste but ‘Just a Minute’ extempore was prepared as groups to improve the communication skills. It provides great confidence to put forth your points during interviews. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself and try converting weaknesses into strengths where you can create value. Prepare small handouts on the topics and form groups to discuss the topics in which you are not comfortable with. Always remember that ‘The first impression is always the best’. Make sure you get the attention of the interviewers in the first 5 seconds of your interview which will set a base for further discussions. Make sure that you are formally dressed (non-wrinkled shirts, pants especially) with minimal makeup and decent grooming. There should be thorough knowledge about the company, sector, their products/services they offer and recent news if any. Be bold and provide answers crisply if needed with an example.
My experience at the internship was extremely amazing with awesome colleagues and founder who treated me as a part of their family. It was so easy for me to perform my tasks every day because of their extended co-ordination and constant support. I had an excellent opportunity to build my social and professional network to a greater extent. The company gave me new opportunities to explore and get into your internship with an open mind and look for chances to make an impact at the company.
Working as a Business to Business (B2B) and Market research intern gave me an opportunity to use my subjective knowledge to apply in the real-time scenario. When B2B seems to be sugar-coated outside, but the real challenge of converting a client is a huge effort. I have learnt how to prepare my sales pitch and customize it accordingly to each and every client based on their needs, sector, size, type of company and so on. Working in B2B has given great exposure and experience. I have done research on the challenges faced by the clients and catered to them providing solutions. As a part of the Business Development team, it is mandatory to understand the delivery team and their work to have a better relationship with Clients. I have got an opportunity to review the dropped clients, gather information about the inconvenience caused and resolved issues to get them on board with the company. Team co-ordination and communication skills played a major role. Several business meetings are being attended during the closing of deal which gave a great experience and a lot of learning about how B2B sales work. I was also involved in the market research for the new business idea proposed and made a business plan presentation which gave me a new perspective in the field of research and business plan formulation.
Grasp as much of concepts and basics during your first year along with fun and parties. Try connecting all these concepts with a real-time scenario/examples so that it would help you understand the concepts better. Analyse the concepts and try implementing those during the internships and create value addition to the company that you are interning with. Participate in more and more case study competitions which would really be helpful in solving a problem using logical and analytical thinking.
I was mentored by the VP of Delivery team and Business development head where I was given insight about the complete understanding of the business as well as about B2B sales. I was shadowing them for initial few days to understand the nitty gritty of the responsibilities undertaken. I was provided with proper training sessions before the commencement of my work.