Let's Learn Together - Summer Internship Experience At JSPL

But truth be told, having analyzed my interviews threadbare, I still don’t know why I was selected in JSPL and not in others (before JSPL). Honestly, I am still baffled.

Be that as it may, I would still want to underscore the need to be honest in one's preparation, because deep down, I still believe “Luck favours those who are prepared and it will continue to do so!”

Looking back, getting an SIP after so many failures can be overwhelming. But then, that is just the first step towards a long and arduous journey. In my case, even before we joined, we were suggested a few books to read (Romancing With Balance Sheet by Anil Lamba) and for that instance, I was glad that I am interning in a company where knowledge is appreciated.

I vividly remember my first day was filled with mixed emotions, happiness, pride, and anxiety all at once. We were made to meet senior leadership at JSPL including CEO, MD and Director HR, Corporate HR Head at JSPL. It was a fascinating experience, meeting such stalwarts. In hindsight, it is uncanny how all of them emphasized on one thing-“learning with fun”.

In general, the best part about interning at JSPL was that everyone was willing to help you. My mentor, Ms. Alekya Nathulakanti (AGM), was one among them. She was always willing to guide me. In my first meeting with her, she told me that we would learn together. She always used to ask me my approach for the project, helped me arrange the meetings with people in other departments (she probably knew that I was an introvert). She would have gauged my personality and thus nurtured me accordingly. This, in itself, was a sign of a great manager.

If I analyze, before my JSPL stint, I was the most uncreative person on this planet. I was one of those annoying people who believed putting bullets points is the most you can do to make a great PPT, but my mentor guided me to make better PPTs. She taught me how to attract eyeballs with PPT and it was eye-opening.

Moreover, what helped me during my SIP was my learning appetite. As a child, I was interested in learning everything. I still want to do Ph.D. in mathematics, Law, OB, IR, Economics and this list is endless. So, even during my SIP, I used to grab every opportunity to learn. I read 4-5 books for my project and also leaned video making as my project was a niche one - To develop an e-learning module based on JSPL competency framework.

At last, if you ask me my most significant learning from my SIP, it would be being open to learning from every possible source. And that’s how I rolled - keeping a perpetual tab on all the time for whatever they decided to share with me!