What lies ahead of us shall remain undiscovered until we make endeavors to explore it. Challenges and opportunities are an important ingredient in the recipe called ‘Life and Success’. Those who grab opportunities and turn them into something eventful are the ultimate heroes. One should challenge oneself to become better and to attain great heights. The flavor of this recipe is improved when we achieve our set goals and become successful.
The most recent challenge that I encountered post my admission at NMIMS Bengaluru was to sail in the ship called ‘Summer Internship’ and sail smoothly without any turbulences. The challenge was multi-fold: Firstly, I was a fresher with not enough hands-on experience and with no exposure to corporate culture. This was a major competitive disadvantage for me. Secondly, I had chosen Finance as my area of specialization on the grounds that I am interested to learn the subject and explore the various sub-domains of the same. Thirdly, I was competing against some extremely bright minds who had prior knowledge and some of them were also CA and CFA aspirants.
To prepare for my interviews and to ensure that I am able to sail smoothly, I started with three main things- reading about the changing business trends and world affairs, brushing my basics of finance that I had learnt so far and preparing a better version of myself. To crack an interview, in my opinion, it is very important to strengthen your foundation to prevent the structure from collapsing. The foundation here was my basic knowledge in this domain and my attitude towards learning new things. I made it a part of my daily routine to read news articles and understand what implications could they possibly have on the Indian economy. This exercise is also very important from the GD perspective.
My interview with PAY1 was telephonic which was taken by the CFO, Mr. Abhinav Mathur himself. It was mostly based on my knowledge and understanding of economics which happens to be my area of specialization back during my under-graduation days. It also revolved around a research paper which I had written along with three of my batchmates titled ‘The Impact of Globalization on Inequality: An Empirical Study’. It was a very short and crisp interview with a few HR questions like what are my areas of interest and what am I following currently and other related questions.
I cracked the interview exactly a week after my birthday and celebrated the day partying with friends. This internship was something I was eagerly looking forward to for two main reasons: my first corporate experience and also, an opportunity to learn something new and take an extra mile to achieve my targets.
The two months of my internship were loaded with learnings and some great memories. My project titled ‘Market Research and Insights on the Microcredit Sector’ required me to understand how the micro-credit functions globally and within the country. It was a research-intensive project and required quite some analysis of data to understand the performance of the company in relation to micro-loans, a financial service which is of very high value for small scale retailers and kirana stores. I was also required to devise plans as to how the company could improve its market reach with minimum drawbacks like defaults and inaccurate underwritings. All my concepts of strategy, positioning and marketing came in handy while dealing with this aspect of my project. While my analytical skills helped me in analyzing the data and draw meaningful insights from the same.
I have made some good connections with the finance and marketing team members and gelled along with the other interns. The company’s culture supported flexibility and cross-learning which were added boons and made me feel comfortable. In all this, the most significant role is played by my company mentor, Abhinav Mathur. He guided me with the project, helped me in better understanding of the service and the application and most importantly, was welcoming of my suggestions. He also encouraged us to make field visits and have one-on-one conversation with the company’s retailer network. He is probably the coolest and most supportive mentor that I could have asked for. Under his guidance, I was able to complete my project in time and meet all my targets.
My advice to my juniors would be to connect with people and indulge in meaningful conversations, match the pace of this rapidly moving, dynamic business world and build a strong foundation. Also, face life and the challenges that it throws at you with a positive and determined attitude to smoothen your journey.