My learning-packed internship at Linenwalas

This summer was all about stepping a foot in the corporate world. Although I was nervous, I knew the key to learning lay in facing my fears. My interactions with my seniors about corporate experiences resulted in a decision to intern. I had been searching for an internship which could provide me insights on the functioning of an organisation and push me to the limits.

After days of fruitless search, I finally came across a business development internship at Linenwalas, a brand of Singhal exports, an e-commerce company which manufactures, supplies, and exports bed, kitchen, and bath linen. I applied to it and was asked to visit their office for an interview.

Since I was based at Varanasi and the company was in Jaipur, I was interviewed over the phone. The telephonic interview started with the most common question which was to describe me, followed by questions about the company and what it dealt in. The HR also asked questions regarding my specialisation and technical knowledge. Then she asked me how I would ensure working as per their expectations being a novice. I didn’t quite know how to answer it at that instance but I convinced her that I was ambitious and dedicated enough to fulfil their expectations. As the next step in the process, I was given an assignment which aimed at testing my computer skills. My ongoing exams made it a little difficult to submit the assignment before the deadline, but I somehow managed to complete it on time. After few days, I received an email stating that I had been hired as a business development intern and my happiness knew no bounds.

Linenwalas has more than twenty-five products and several departments; I knew interning there wouldn’t be a cakewalk. During my internship, I coordinated with customer relationship management department to communicate the demands and grievances of the customers and interacted with the production and the quality check departments to produce goods ensuring quality. I did order analyses in order to manage the inventory ensuring that only in-demand goods were produced owing to the limited capacity of warehouses. I also worked as an account manager for e-com listings of products on Amazon, eBay, Shopclues, and Craftly, which helped me gather details of the products. I took on various promotional strategies such as exhibitions, social media advertising to increase the visibility of the brand, email advertising, and messaging customers via Zoho to inform them of the new products. Another responsibility I undertook was helping the organisation increase sales and reducing returns. While working on reducing the returns, I found that there wasn’t a timely tracking of the shipped products which resulted in delays in delivery. So, I began seeking feedback from the customers, analysing the problems, and communicating the same to the respective departments.

The journey never fell short of learning. Each day brought new challenges and I accepted them gladly. My mentors and the CEO of the company, Madhur Singhal, guided me throughout my internship tenure and I learned a great deal from them.

Author of the article: Sushmita Sharma