Summer Internship Experience 2021 - Red Fort Capital - Michael Soreng, IIM Ranchi

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Hi, Tell us about how you got selected for this internship? Take us through the moment you realized you had got the internship.

The selection process had 3 rounds:

1st Round: Test (Qualitative questions, focusing on research related to Job profile)

2nd Round: Test (included Financial Modeling)

3rd Round: Personal Interview (Questions regarding the approach to Financial Model along with CV based questions)

All rounds were eliminative. It was a total surprise when I heard about the results as there was supposed to be another interview round. Still, as there were only 2 candidates in the final round, they skipped another round of interviews, and I received the news on the day of the last exam of 2nd term, and it was totally unexpected. I had a feeling that my interview went well, but there was still that feeling that it is not over yet. The key takeaway from this experience was always to bring your best foot forward like it is your last chance.

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On joining the company as an intern, how has your onboarding experience been like?

To be honest the onboarding experience was not that fancy with a proper induction and all because I was already introduced to the project in an earlier call and the deliverables were put forward clearly before it even started. But once I joined the company I was thrown into daily business operations task as well where my performance was creating a huge impact and I was directly accountable. I was overwhelmed at first that being an intern so being a little nervous was natural but the sense of getting such huge responsibilities was amazing.

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How has your interaction with the team members and colleagues been like? How will you make sure to leave the best impression on your supervisors by the end of the internship?

The interaction went very well, though it started mainly with working on projects and discussing them and then knowing about each other's interests and strengths. To leave the best impression I'm planning to be myself and not hesitate to put forward your thoughts and point of view and put a good debate in discussions which ensures that you've worked on the problem and working on finding the best optimal solution.

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Tell us in brief, about the project you are currently working on and how is this project going to help the company? 

Currently, I'm working on the new product launch of our Investment business CarDr.com. My tasks involve forming Sales & Marketing Strategy, Marketing & PR Plan and review of Sales Compensation plan. Thus, I'm creating a direct impact that would help the company's market presence and sales generation, which would also help in the company's valuation. Other than that, simultaneously I'm working on Market Research of a new business vertical that will launch before the end of the year. The research would define the overall launch and starting phase of the business.

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Are You The Best Summer Intern Of The Class Of 2022? Share Your Own Internship Experience.

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Give us an overview of how you prepared for your summer placement season.

The first and foremost thing was to be thorough with your CV. As when you enter your B-school your CV completely transforms with the help of Resume mentors and one should be able to justify each and every point with examples and correct data points so that it gives credibility that you know about what you've written.

Then as my background majorly focuses on Finance so I had to be thorough with technical questions related to work experience projects (for instance, I've worked in Investment Banking so I revised concepts like EV, DCF and LBO and backed them with project examples where I've used them) and I also highlighted some sectors knowledge in those examples as well.

Then as there were tests involved in the first two rounds I also prepared on those and prepared a good explanation which was backing my answers therefore one should keep a draft of the answers submitted.

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Based on your internship experience till now, what are some necessary skill sets one must be prepared with before starting an internship? 

In my opinion, the skills or some necessary homework that one must be prepared beforehand would be:

1. Try to know more about the company's business and your vertical where you would be interning look up some past projects and the materials handed over to you.
2. Apart from the general PPT & Excel skills, one should also focus on "Business Writing" and some creative ways to showcase your thoughts, whether in a report format or a PPT format.
3. Work on communication. One should be able to communicate with the senior leadership with full confidence, and if a client is in senior leadership that it becomes even more imperative as you are the face of the company for them
4. Be thorough with the technical knowledge required in your work area. At least a good base is required so that it gives a good impression

 

Overall, one should get the tasks done whether it is of your league, so a comprehensive experience in handling different tasks would be beneficial.

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What are some new skills that you have developed while working in the company?

1. Forming Sales & Marketing Plan for a new product. It involved working on increasing the internet presence of the business then also preparing Marketing collateral material.
2. Business Writing: I worked on several Press releases drafts, which gave me a whole rounded view of how the necessary things are to be conveyed
3. Gained technical knowledge of how a mobile application product is designed by working alongside the tech team and discussing various aspects of the application interface.
4. How to turnaround Sales Compensation of Sales agents to increase competitiveness and benefit the Company's valuation
5. Critical review of an investment deal in the Education sector concerning the Term structure
6. How to assess Real Investment Deals and create an analysis for the same

 

Some of the new skills that I've developed so far.

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What are some of the challenges that you have faced in your internship and how have you overcome them?

Challenge 1: Understanding what needs to be delivered

- I was able to overcome this challenge by taking my time to understand the expectations from the task given and collate every possible resource and do proper due diligence

 

Challenge 2: Managing the work schedule

- Majority of the stakeholders were from outside India, and there were no particular timings given to me, so I tried to adapt to their timings as well as adjust some tasks in my feasible time as well which would help me streamline the work schedule

 

Challenge 3: Communicating the restrictions of the tasks

- I took time to understand the task properly and evaluate every alternative to back my points with proper reasons that this is the expected timeline because of these steps involved

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Tell us about a situation where you were complemented by your Manager for your work. 

One of the tasks related to the ongoing business operation involved creating a Pitchbook and marketing collateral material for the new product of the investment business. My approach was to keep the design simple and accurate, which would show the overall features of the application and product with proper steps and a defined structure. The Pitchbook was highly appreciated as I designed the material with a proper understanding of what needs to be delivered and would help the sales team create a better understanding of the product.

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What have been your major learnings during the internship? 

Some of my significant learnings during the Internship followed:

1. Be open to discussion and put forward your points clearly in a professional manner. One needs to understand the difference between posing an argument and putting your points. The motive is not to prove why the proposed idea is wrong but why your idea is also worth considering.
2. Be open to challenges and any tasks thrown at you. As my primary domain of the internship included Finance, but when I was given the Marketing tasks, I gave it my best shot. Though it was not my domain, I succeeded in completing the tasks well. Different tasks give you a whole rounded learning curve of various aspects of the business.
3. Discuss the details and your approach with your mentor or any superior if a mentor is not assigned to you. For example, I was given an individual task to assess a real estate investment deal. I formed my approach and then discussed with two of my colleagues to get their point of view and included it in the final analysis.

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