The pilot
Alarm clock rings. Report office at seven-thirty A.M. No walk today. “The two months would be what you make of it.” exclaimed the Fun Office executive. Well, if Fun Office is unheard of, this is Capgemini for you.
Data is my third language, after English and Hindi. As the last six years progressed, I uncovered the linkages between courses studied in high school and college and their real world applications. My academic curriculum and professional experiences have transcended the boundaries of theoretical concepts, as the language of data is omnipresent.
While my professional stint at EY and classroom quests in finance and analytics form a strong footing, I chose to intern with the Insights and Data vertical of Capgemini to help me build the next layer upon it. Coming from a rare-to-be-found non-technical background in an Indian B-school, I set my foot to learn from this multinational technological behemoth. The timing of my internship coincided with both my near-term career aspirations and the natural plateauing of my learning curve. My assertions were confirmed on Day One of our Induction weeks which kicked off on 3
rd April 2017. It was a warm welcome to the firm’s splendid Talawade campus in Pune by the Fun Office (a team that manages orientation programs of new joiners) where I observed a Q&A round in action with ambitious joiners seeking to contribute to collaborative discussions. The interactive mode of learning was magnificent, the synergistic symphony exciting, and the abundant knowledge sharing impressive.
At our formal best
The bunch of interns, in what they call the Chrysalis batch (exclusively for MBA interns), was as diverse at it could be with students from IIMB, IIMC, IMI, IIFT, XIMB, SIBM, among others. The fun-filled ice-breaker activities marked the beginning of the two months of internship at Capgemini, and at the end, the executives had a surprise awaiting us. Yes! You read that right. The ice-breaking sessions ended with the new batch of interns walking the aisle and guess what! The audience was then asked to vote for the Best Male and Female intern. And what else could you ask for than walking away with an award on the first day at the office? The day spanned out with a business induction program which included an overview of the company, business units, HR policies, PPO evaluations and a brief interaction with the HR business partner.
First-day jitters?
Prayers on our lips and songs in our hearts. The leadership talks helped us sketch the internship period in our minds. It represented our career as one pyramid on top of the other. The bottom pyramid represented analysts and associates; the top pyramid, senior partners. At the fulcrum were the consultants. Ten new e-mails. Five voice messages. Stay up to date with competitor announcements in the national dailies. Client calls. “Can we have a mid-review of the presentation?”, “Meet you at 8 AM, UK time.” The best part of the job is that you see the impact of every key you press on the keyboard. You design a proposal and present it to your manager. You watch your director question you on every minute data point. The analyst reminds you of his planned leave. You reshuffle your work calendar. The day ends with sending a progress update to the client. There is no typical day at Capgemini, thus it is no easy task but everything would be fine. It always is. That is how we envisaged the eight-week period to be.
The road ahead
As we spoke to fellow interns from different colleges, we had a lot to introspect. What will an internship add to our career trajectory to get us to the next level? The reason for choosing to intern with Capgemini was an important element to ponder upon. While many people seek the certificate, the firm wants to invest in those who can use it most effectively. Perhaps we are seeking an internship for personal and professional credibility, or maybe we want an internship to learn specific skills to change careers. Additionally, we realised that engaging with partners as part of the induction program will cultivate the leadership qualities and management abilities necessary for progress. The impetus for steering change is leaders who combine business strategies to achieve competitiveness. I intend to be one of these leaders and the Capgemini internship program is crucial in making this come true.
The internship had a lot to offer to the new recruits and as an aspiring consultant with the company. On contacting several employees, I was reassured that it is the ideal place to meet my industry peers. While coming back home on my first day, I was determined in my mind to set foot again inside the training campus, only this time as a full-grown professional.