The beginning of my new career with an internship at Mindtree
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write,
but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler
As required by my MBA course, I was looking for internships in the field of human resources to enhance my learning, and gain some practical exposure. The mere thought of working as an HR intern excited me since I considered it to be my very first step in the world of HR. I, being someone who seizes every opportunity to achieve my goals, wanted to ensure that this step was a strong and memorable one.
I still remember how thrilled I was to receive a mail from the placement cell regarding Mindtree inviting applications for a summer internship. Mindtree is an organization known for its open and convivial work culture. I immediately customized my resume in order to make it more relevant for the organization and uploaded it hoping to get shortlisted for the interviews ahead.
I, along with few other students, was selected and called for the interview. I knew I could leverage my previous work experience as an engineer – my most valuable asset. I spent the next few days keeping myself updated with the current trends in the HR field because if I had to make the interview click for me, my conceptual knowledge had to be beyond the curriculum, and more applicable in a real sense to the corporate world.
On the day of my interview, I was competing with students from various MBA colleges in Bangalore. My interview lasted for about 30 minutes. I believe the key to making an impact in your interview lies in your ability to convincingly craft a story about your life, bringing out the chapters which reveal your true potential. Being questioned over everything that I had mentioned in my resume made me realize the vitality of a fact-based resume. At the end of the interview, I was asked to tell them something about me that was not mentioned in my resume. I found it particularly interesting because it was asked to know the person I was beyond the labels associated with me – my work experience and academic achievements.
Four of us got qualified for the final round of interview. The questions I was asked during this round tested my ability to think on my feet. I managed to stay calm and answered every question with a reasonable justification. Post this round, I was offered the internship.
During my internship, I worked on assessing the prevailing culture of corporate meetings at the organization. My objective was to uncover the productivity of these meetings. In order to achieve this, I analyzed various types of meetings on a daily basis and identified areas where control had to be emphasized so as to minimize the wastage of time. I designed interventions which were reviewed and considered for implementation by the organization development team. I always yearned for a hands-on stint where I could generate realistic and applicable insights. At Mindtree, I was entrusted with just that.
As an intern, it is important to be willing to learn. During my internship, I worked with seasoned decision-makers which helped me hone my HR skills in a structured manner. I also polished my ability to network. Since I was interning at the headquarters of the organization, I often bumped into CXOs, and it was always wonderful to be striking conversations with them about my experience.
My summer internship was nothing short of delight, wisdom, and experiments – the constant support of my mentors being an icing on the cake. To say the least, I am truly going to cherish it for years to come as I climb the ladder of success.
Author of the article: Tanya Kothiyal
