If you think all Summers' are just about sitting in front of an excel sheet or doing market research or even selling a product, then you haven't met me yet. Very few places sound as frenzy as a media house, even fewer when the place is one of the largest news broadcasting houses in India. Yes, I did my internship at Essel Group – ZEE Media Corporation Limited.
My first day at ZEE was quite something; I still remember sitting in the workspace at the top floor of Essel group – ZEE Media Corporation Ltd's head office at Noida Film city, anxious to know what was coming ahead, what kind of projects was I going to end up in, what kind of a workplace would it be for an intern like me, and many other questions rattling in my mind. While my mind was flooded with these thoughts, I was introduced to my mentor Mr Mayank Aggarwal, Assistant Vice President, Strategy and Financial planning and Executive assistant to the CEO of ZEE Media. He had spared almost an hour getting to know me as an individual with questions about my background, my academics, and my hobbies. My anxiousness came to a halt when I met Mr.Mayank, who ultimately turned out to be the coolest mentor I ever had. A majestic voice intervened in our conversation with a few syllables as in quotes, "Mayank! Aaja na" and he rushed to Mr.Rajiv Singh's cabin, who apparently is the CEO of ZEE media. In this way, I had an informal meet with the CEO, on the very first day. He proposed to meet me formally soon to discuss with the proceedings. Eventful first day ✓
Though my formal meet with the CEO had taken several weeks to come into the picture, which did not stop his everyday direct surveillance as I was allocated a seat right in front of his cabin. He is an early bird, and one such day I was caught off guard when he gave me a patronizing gesture with a friendly pat on the back and questioned about the happenings after I had stepped in office, a conversation that lasted for 5 to 10 minutes. And the most awaited day for the formal meet happened at the end of the third week. It was more like a review meeting where I had presented details on the project works done over the period. It included an in-depth Industry analysis of eSports, the prospective domains for investment and also a business model proposal for eSports ecosystem. I was genuinely surprised by the fact that the CEO had given his utmost attention towards my presentation with a high level of patience. He was curious about finding out the intricate details, and so the post-presentation questioning session extended for about 20 minutes. Later he gave me insights into what I had done best and what I had missed out. He also made it a point that I should do some more scrutinized research over the topics for the remaining days. Meet with the CEO ✓
Following this, my mentor and I discussed and fixed deadlines for the work proposed to a week from that day. And finally the day arrived and we were waiting for the CEO to give us time for presenting the findings. It was 11:15 pm when we were called in, and I had been instructed by the CEO to jump into the details directly. So I kept it short and the CEO was quite impressed by the outcome. Later, he inquired about my experience at the organization over the weeks and assured it would have been great to work under Mr.Mayank, a gem who neither collaborates with partiality nor builds walls of hierarchy. I couldn't say otherwise because it was the fact. It always is a great experience to work under experts who can bestow good traits alongside industry knowledge. The meeting ended with a note that I take up the experience for building myself more strategically and that he would be glad to see me in flying colors in the near future. My mentor with his ever-bright smile wished me luck and dropped me home. Amazing People ✓
The second phase of my internship involved collaborating with the various divisions under ZEE such as Digital, Content Development and Social Media. In the Digital team, I came to know about various analytical tools available and also had an opportunity to learn them with the help of the access given to me by them. I had a hands-on with tools such as Google Analytics, Comscore, Chart beat. The critical part of which, was to figure out how these tools can be implemented in my project. Having that figured out, the following week was spent with the content team. I took an observatory period to analyze what kind of work is being carried out carefully and then later used Analytics tools to increase the views based on user preferences. The next week I was pulled into Social media team where ad campaigns were running on Google Networks and on Social media. I was instructed by the CEO to run three of the ad campaigns regarding the cleaning of River Ganges all by myself. Putting the analytical tools into practice to find the reach, I had completed the task at hand. Digital Marketing✓
Networking played a significant role in paving the platform to build connections across departments at ZEE. My mentor was a one-man army who handles several groups under him but always works with other teams if needed. Having to work as an intern in a one-man show, I understood that my networking skills would be the need of the hour had I to make the utmost use of my internship at ZEE. During the tenure of my course, two recruits were made for the HR team and through them; I had made stronger contacts with a few other HR personnel. This opened up doors into Digital, Editorial and Social Media team too. With the sole purpose of cross-functional team prospects, I had tried a hand at the Broadcasting and Promotions team also, that gave fruitful results. Through these endeavors, I had confirmed to my mentor how crucial it is to have an Analytics team in ZEE. Networking ✓
As a final take away from ZEE, post-review meeting session with the CEO and my mentor, I got to receive the words of enlightenment from the CEO himself. I say it out here because I felt it applies to every one of us be it in any sector or level of life we are in at present. "Whatever be your position, wherever you may be, never stop learning! Never stop giving the fruits of your experiences to the ones who are really in need of them. Sharing is growing. Networking always comes in handy during situations of crisis." Words of Wisdom ✓
That moment it struck me, it isn't always about the great brand you work for or how much stipend your internship gets you. It's always about the kind of work you do, the amazing people you meet and the memories, which you create. That's all you are going to remember forever. Memories to cherish ✓
P.S: Heartfelt thanks to the team at ZEE Media Corporation Limited, Noida for making my internship unforgettable. To all the wonderful people I have met, Mr.Rajiv Singh (Acting CEO, COO & ED), Mr. Mayank Aggarwal (AVP – Strategy and Financial planning), Mr.Rohan Tyagi (Digital Head), Mr. Akshansh Yadav, Mr.Ashish Saket , the two HR BPs – Miss. Neelam and Miss. Komal and the best company I had throughout, my fellow intern, Mr. Naman Pandey.
