Placement Byte 1.0

A few months into MBA and Summer Internship Interview Season arrives! A season that has its own share of glory, mystery and learning. This season is special to all of us as we get one step closer to our dream. Often, one wonders into the course about the strategy to prepare for the summer internship season. The game of summer internships is complex as it encompasses more than your CV, your thought ability and sometimes your interest itself. Some achievements and some rejections make this journey even more subtle and delicate to be remembered. You would be thinking- Should I read the newspapers daily?, Should I frantically do a project to increase my CV points, Should I pursue a tangential course like my peers to get more insights into a subject? etc. But what we must remember is at the end- everything comes down to your performance at the interview room and the perception and imagery you are able to create out of your persona to the interviewer. The combined force of your impression, performance, knowledge and their perception of your persona results in a rationale decision on your mail inbox. Let’s delve deeper in to the 5 point mantra- 5 Force Theory for self preparation towards summer internships.

1. The ‘You’ Force- The You force comprises of your personal facets. It ranges from your inner self motivation and your external perception. At any time of the Summer Internship Season, it’s in the best interest to not loose self motivation no matter what rejections come your way. Self motivate yourself to learn from any mistakes in the past and introspect to do anything under the sky possible to improve your self preparation. I kept my motivation at all times high. Before summer internships, I made sure to project myself as a Marketing Enthusiast. Every course, every project and every aspect of my CV was about Sales and Marketing. This kept my inner motivation intact and external perception in tandem.

2.  The ‘Case’ Force- In MBA, everything boils down to case studies. If you cannot solve a case study, then your preparation is three-quarters incomplete. The case can be anything under the sun, but ability of problem solving is one common quality every company tests you for. I participated in umpteen competitions to build my problem solving skills apart from the classroom case learnings. Apart from this I was part of Placement Committee, which gives you the ability to solve everyday challenges. I enrolled in ‘Brand Building course from Kraftshala. Kraftshala taught me to solve marketing case study aptly. The nuances of marketing and the exact picture of the industry was taught with examples which I used in case study competitions to fix it in my natural system. With every case study, my confidence arose and this gave me a big boost to answer my interview questions.

3. The ‘News Force’- It’s all about current affairs and opinions in MBA. Your opinion is what gets tested which indicates your reciprocation to the world. Be well versed with recent campaigns, advertisements, brand stories and their impact. The news which was published 5 hours prior to my interview was tested. I love reading and following about advertisements- a habit instilled into me by Kraftshala. They taught the concept of reverse marketing and give umpteen examples of brands which triggered my knowledge.

4.  The ‘Communication’ Force- At the end you sell yourself in an interview. Thus it is the best if you can articulate your thoughts well. Communication is your biggest bet in any interview. The way you talk, the way you dress, the mannerism of conversing with interviewer, interpersonal skills and your social acumen is rightly tested the moment you step into a interview room. I have been a part of Toastmasters International from 5 years. This helped me break my communication barrier apart from the regular class courses Bocconi offered.

5.  The X Factor- many a times we wonder what could positively be a X factor. Well if you ask me, X factor can be anything. It can be a national competition you won, a small internship you did in the past, a project which had your maximum contribution or a course you aced or a event you managed to pull of. The X factor cannot be judged. It’s a volatile factor and will aid the decision of the interviewer. I ensured whatever I had pursued in the few months had my maximum contribution which reflected well in the interview.

With all this being said, I would simply say that no matter whatever preparation we do, we must have self motivation till the very end. If you give your maximum contribution in everything you pursue, it would be automatically showed in any interview. There is no specific strategy for preparation for summer internships. It’s not whether you get knocked down, it is whether you get back up!