I did my internship from April 2019 to May 2019 in MMTC Ltd. in Kolkata. The company deals in various metals and minerals, buying it from suppliers and selling it to their customers. My internship was divided into 3 stages: the first week comprised of analysing financial statements, followed by 6 weeks of working on the company's ERP software and the final week comprising of a brief understanding of Gold Remittance Mechanism of the company.
I had an amazing learning experience during the eight weeks of my internship. I got to learn about the various linkages that one can and needs to establish while analysing the mammoth data that the financial statements have to offer to its intended users. This analysis in needed to summarise and provide relevant data to the different users. Apart from that, I worked on the ERP software of the company wherein I got to understand the functioning of two of its major cost centres namely pig iron and steel billets. Various parties involved in the dealings of these cost centres, how the purchase and sales cycles are met, I got to know all the information during the said period. During the end stages of my internship, I also got to learn the various formalities and legalities involved in importing gold from foreign countries, what are the various documentation done for the said purpose and how are the parties remitted for the import that is taking place.
To give the readers (especially those who are freshers) a heads up, an internship is the first stage of the corporate learning experience. You get to know a lot about how a corporate entity works, how each department is synchronised and how the work of one department can be related to that of the other. You gain experience and knowledge in your area of work which is very crucial once you enter the placement phase of your life. Theoretical knowledge can be gained in classrooms but the application of theoretical knowledge is equally important. The intern gets to know how to use their theoretical knowledge in the practical field and compare whether they are in tandem to what is being followed in the actual scenario.
To give some pre-requisites, it is very crucial to have a thorough knowledge of the basics in your area of work and it is equally important to know about the company as well. This helps the intern to understand the workstyle, culture and work environment and it makes it easier for him/her to adapt to it. Also, it is very important to stay motivated throughout the tenure of the internship. It may so happen that the work that your mentor allows you become monotonous and repetitive but you should not give up that easily. You should seize every opportunity to gather knowledge and learn as much as you can from then internship. My mentor was Chief Manager in F&A. Despite being busy, he made sure that he takes out some time to make me understand the work thereby making me comfortable both with the work and the environment. You should also be that comfortable with your mentor. You should ask for help whenever you get stuck with something, or seek his/her advice during times of need.
The internship is a very crucial and vital phase for any student as it shapes what the student is going to do in future. It is the stepping stone for a person’s work life.
