Most of my batchmates thought that I would go to fashion related companies like Loreal etc. Can you blame them! Looking at my own career path till now even I thought that would be great for me, so yes, Loreal was in my list of target companies. But we all know what happens on "The Day", I chose to go with Mahindra thinking that it would challenge me further and I somehow was inclined to take General Managment role. When I got further details about my project at Mahindra, I found out that I am alloted in their internal consulting group and would be doing a typical consulting internship. So I guess you end up where you are exactly suppose to be and what is good for you.
Take a step back and look at the bigger picture....
Not knowing even the C of Consulting, I started with the first week of internship. I was facing difficulty in handling a typical consult work and getting acquainted with their style of working. Knowing that I have solved enough cases and frameworks, I was still not that confident. More than that, I was scared to discuss this either with my buddy or my mentor in the fear of getting judged. But then I gathered all my courage and talked to my buddy as I thought asking direction does not make you any less of a consultant. He gave me a great advice that whenever you feel stuck in your work and not able to see how you are suppose to solve a particular problem, always take a step back and see what you were suppose to do at the first place and then dive deep again. This really helped me in defining the hypothesis for my analysis which was suppose to answer the major questions for our client.
Shifting of attitude from cracking a PPO to learning.....
One month into the internship, we all interns were struggling in their own way. Though all our mentors and buddy were trying to make the whole digital internship experience as enriching as possible but due to lack of physical interaction, there was small room for making any assessment about the work you were doing. This led to lot of unrest among many of us that whether our efforts are at par with a PPO holder. After interacting with our seniors who were working at Mahindra, I realised that adapting, making peace with uncertainties and concentrating on rewards/learning are major traits of a MBA student and therefore it is more important to focus on learning and doing your best.
Start with your final show preparation from Day 1....
I know this works in modelling world very well, you need to prepare and work on your appearnce from day one. But at Mahindra, when my mentor asked me to start making the final ppt in the first week only, I was surprised. I told him that I am not even done with all my research and analysis to put it into a ppt and his response was pretty simple and clear "You will see". Thinking that this might me another way how consultants work, I jumped into it. To my surprise, making the ppt from the start helped me in giving direction to my work- I exactly knew which data I need and from where, I could innovate in collecting the primary data, I could plan my rest of the month effectively, I got continous feedback on what I was working, I did not had to put any extra effort in the end to give the report. This experience was quite different from what we are all used to from our engineering days - doing all in the last minute. But working and planning your final deliverables/ life goals really take you towards it in a much easier and effective way.
Faith restored in the great leaders from good educational backgrounds.....
I continued modelling on side while I was working in a typical corporate world before my MBA. Sometimes unitentionally people effect you with their perception of what you do apart from your job. I was very deeply effected by it at many times which was another reason of founding the women empowerment group (LeanIn). I lost the hope from this corporate world especially startups to ever become empathetic and respectful towards such choices of mine. But the maturity, respect and ethics of such a great company restored my faith who not only valued what I had achieved but also motivated me to keep going. I still can not forget the moment when Anand Mahindra himself told me that he is so proud of the courage and achievements I have till now and that I chose Mahindra.
These are few of the many professional and life lessons this internship has taught me. Also, I never thought I would love consulting so much. That is why I believe more firmly now, that whatever happens, happens for good and whatever you are suppose to get you will get it anyhow. All we have to make sure is to be our best self.
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