To begin with I was pretty clear on a few things in my mind before my summer internship began such as which brands I wanted to target, the kind of work I wanted to do, etc. The reason I was very particular about my internship was that right from the beginning our professors had put a lot of emphasis on the importance of summer internships.
From day one we were told that an MBA is all about connections, networks, relationships and being pro-active. I started with approaching people who were in the field of Finance or those who could connect me with the right people in that field. Brand was my priority and the next important thing in my mind was the quality of work. Hence, I started preparing for the interviews. The most important thing to stress upon while preparing for the interviews to these firms is to have your basics clear and strong. Also, you should be well aware of what you want out of the internship and under which domain do you want to work. I had to go through four rounds of telephonic interview before I got selected for the internship at PwC. The interviews were mostly a mixture of technical as well as HR questions.
For my first two days of the internship, I had to go to the Mumbai office for the induction program. There we were made familiar with the company rules and policies, we were assigned our mentors and were given personal laptops to work on for two months. Then from the third day the internship started where we were required to report at our assigned offices. I have interned in two department over the two-month period. First, I interned in the Tax department. Here, I was working with a client who wanted to make an investment in the alternative investment fund. Hence, he required a detailed research on the same. Next, I worked in the Advisory department. Here, I worked on an Industry Analysis project for a client and made a report on the same.
The overall internship experience was very insightful and a fun learning experience. I got to learn new things and enhance my knowledge to new domains. It has not only helped me to grow professionally but also personally. Apart from all the work there were a lot of team building activities that took place on a regular basis in the office such as team outings, dinners, CSR activities, Tambola, Food Stalls, etc. This not only helped the team get close but also provides a great platform to connect with various people. I was also fortunate enough to attend the training sessions on Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. This was a very enriching and informative workshop and helped hone my skills further in these domains. The internship has helped me to grow professionally and made me go through the pressure of the corporate life.
I was fortunate enough to have two mentors during my internship. It was due to their guidance that I was able to complete my internship without any difficulty. They were very approachable and were kind enough to take out time from their busy schedule to sit with me and follow up on the work I did. They also guided me apart from the internship.