Learn as much as you can. This is what one needs to do in a B-School. MBA will not give you much if you concentrate only on your academics. It is an opportunity one chooses to grab for the development as a Whole. The one-year journey, ranging from multi-tasking to prioritizing what needs to be done in the first slab, exposure and networking, academic projects to organizing events has groomed me to become the person I am today. A person who is more focused, confident and independent while making decisions. There is another world you have to manage in an MBA and that is adapting to the new environment. Your whole batch is like you, having the same goals. Competing is what you learn over the course. Attending mock interviews, guest lectures held by industry experts, participating in case study competitions did help me to crack my final interview at Pay1. Further, if you are a fresher, you need to add some brownie points to your CV. I did that by getting selected for live projects provided by MC Donald’s and Doctalk. It gave me insights and a pre-reality check on how things work inside a organization.
"Sakshi, you have been shortlisted for Pay1. The telephonic interview is scheduled on Monday", said the mail. The next thing which anybody would do is go through their Website. Read everything about them, blogs, articles etc. But how are you so sure that the interviewer will not know this reaction? Having knowledge just about the company is not enough. One needs to be updated about the market constantly. A prepared but restless candidate said, "Hello Sir". "Hey Sakshi, So tell me about yourself", the expected reply. Not something that he already knows through my CV, but my nature, likes and dislikes are what i described, genuinely. Not one question about the company was asked in the half an hour interview. But Why A Startup?, is what he wanted to know. Responsibility plus authority to express my ideas was my answer. A lesson learnt after the interview was "A genuine smart worker is all what recruiters search for".
Three months later, 1st April, 2019, dressed in formals with all the documents, in front of the HR was a girl eager to take the first step in her career. Is a polite welcome speech too much to expect? was my reaction an hour later. 9 hours, 6 days a week which on not being fulfilled would result in loss of pay was what we were informed. That is when i realized this is how the corporate world welcomes you, not so nice!
It was not smooth sailing. We almost drowned under the pile of work assigned. An 8 o’ clock alarm was my Good Morning and a tiring auto ride back home would put me to sleep. Files, Campaigns, content structuring and communication planning. Only these four words describe my two months in the city that never sleeps, Mumbai. Motivation to learn, Desire to perform better and self-satisfaction in the last hour of the day were the things that kept me going. Stability, Discipline and order is what I Learnt. And knowledge, its all on how much you want to and you can take it in two months. For me, it was A LOT. Running live marketing campaigns on all marketing automation plans. Only a few companies trust an intern with such important aspects of company. Your work there should be to strive until they tell you, “You did it.”
Explaining my work at office, I was extensively involved in multiple marketing campaigns that aim to increase the user base and help the company reduce their app attrition rate. Apart from strategizing the marketing campaigns I have also assisted the team with content marketing which involves photo shoot and ideating on the script for the promo video related to the aforementioned product/marketing campaigns. While working on these, I got exposed to the various digital marketing automation platforms that companies use to gain visibility on social media.
Having a supportive and motivating mentor is a blessing out there. You are like an open book in the start. Your mentor helps you with the words to be written down. And I got lucky again to have Shishir Sharma as my mentor. He was there, sitting right besides throughout my internship duration. He did undo all my mistakes, guided me with the execution of my ideas. On a whole, he was more of a teacher to me than the marketing and content head under whom I was working. All that is left after your internship is over are the relations that you have made. This is what he taught me and helped me earn this. To not only perform my best at my allocated tasks, but also connect to those working outside my team.
All that I have gained till now from MBA and internship is experience and to stand your ground no matter how challenging the situation is. All my developments and advancements, as a person, have taken me a step closer to reach where I wanted to.
