After successfully making it to a B-School, the very next question for a student would be “How would my summer selection process go?” I too, was no exception to this.
I am Ganapathy, and this is my TAS story:
Within few weeks of joining TISS, I began preparation. I knew that my strength lay in one-on-one communication, so I started working on that area to make it even better of a skill.
I carefully worked on what I would term as typical questions like “tell me about yourself”, “why HR?” and so on.
Maybe it is the B-School culture, or maybe it is a specific TISS trait, but my seniors were very hands-on with our preparation – always there for us when we needed them, for guidance, or just to rant to! There were enough mocks and drills that helped me gain confidence in areas other than one-on-one communication.
But what you must know about me is that, I had five years of work experience in two completely different domains, and with 27 years of age and visual impairment, I never expected a shortlist from a leading company like TAS! I knew that inclusivity was part of their ethos, but I felt at home from the first interview itself.
As the summers rolled, on the 7th of April, I became a part of TATA Sons, the holding company of the TATA Group. In times of trouble and confusion owing to COVID-19 and an entirely virtual mode of engagement, I embarked on my 2 months journey of internship with an understandable amount self-doubt as navigating a project given the uncertain times was definitely a first, not for me only but for all my fellow classmates.
Despite that, we strode on! But in the back of my mind, I kept hoping that the times would get better and I would one day be able to report to work at the Bombay House. - while that never translated to reality, I do not feel there was any dearth of experiences. The folks at the leadership never denied us time when we wanted to hear from them, and more than that, I enjoy quite a bit of autonomy on my project – which became a purvey to exercise myself to the fullest of my potential and make the most allowable impact.
As much as the experience of it all, the project in itself was a huge learning opportunity, in the sense that, it allowed me to interact with multiple group companies and many external stakeholders, that broadened my horizon and pushed me to think out-of-the-box. In addition, the Leadership organized many webinars so that we all stayed connected, and kept learning.
My stint at Tata Sons provided me an opportunity to understand the group’s structure great clarity. The opportunity to interact with the senior most folks at the group delighted me with a feeling of self-worth. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the experience which I will be cherishing in times to come.
My biggest takeaway would be the inclusive culture at TAS, and how even the smallest of inconveniences were taken care of greatly; and for that I am very thankful to everyone in the Organisation but especially my mentor & my buddy.
As the stint was coming to an end, I felt like I was part of this great company, and I guess they felt that too, for I was at the end of it, awarded a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO). It is not only an honour to have received such a great opportunity with one year to complete my MBA, but also a huge sigh of relief in a tumultuous time like this.
Given the uncertainty and the inconvenience that prevailed in a virtual internship, I would say the firm did all that it could to make our experience a smooth and a delightful one. And I am glad and thankful to have been given this opportunity by the incredible people at HRM&LR of TISS-Mumbai.
About The Author
Ganapathy C A is currently a 2nd-year student at TISS HRM&LR Batch 2019-2021; a PPO holder from TAS. When not studying, and being super inquisitive; Ganapathy likes to spend time thinking about how good Bangalore is.
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