Interns have a flair for learning and are ready to put in their best — MockBank

Konark Singhal, CEO and Founder of MockBank, says interns have a flair for learning which is why they are ready to put in their best which eventually results in the success of organization. Here are the extracts of our conversation on the subject of working with interns in the company.

IS: In your opinion, what are the perks and pain points of working with interns?

Working with interns has always been an enriching experience. Interns bring in a fresh perspective to the organization. An organization where people focus on a fixed solution to problems, interns bring in the contemporary thought on the table. Additionally, they have a flair for learning which is why they are ready to put in their best which eventually results in the success of organization. Also, interns are cost effective. And if they work well, they can be absorbed within the company cutting down on the hiring and training cost.

Cons – It becomes difficult at times to fulfill the expectations of the interns coming in. The cost to recruit and to train them on the job also becomes a burden for certain start-ups. Additionally, they come into the company for a brief period of time, and are the reason they cannot be bestowed with long term responsibilities.

IS: What was the internship scenario in India back in your days at IIM-B? Any lesson(s) that you learned from your internship period (at Leo Burnett Singapore and BNP Paribas) which is still being proven valuable to you?

At IIM-B, the internship process was very well structured and managed by specific committees made for this purpose. When I went for my internships from IIMB, they were actually my first internships. My only organizational experiences had been in student bodies. I was fortunate to intern with some very good global companies. At first, I was taken aback by the level of professionalism that was asked of me. It told me very early that beyond competence, softer skills like punctuality etc are critical.

IS: What are the skills/attributes that you look for in a candidate while hiring them as interns?

The main attribute that I look out in a candidate is “Culture fit”. For me other skills can always be learned through on the job training, but if a person is not culture fit with the organizational culture, the internship experience will be miserable for both the organization and the individual

IS: How much has been the contribution of interns to your company? Is there any task/project which interns initiated or played a very significant role in? Could you please elaborate?

Interns have always been an important part of my organization. They have been given responsibilities, both big and small, and time and again they have come out with the work well done. One of our interns stayed on for a 6 month internship and set up a number of processes for the company

IS: As we observe the trend, most of the internship opportunities these days, especially at start-ups, are applicable to students from all the streams. What, in your opinion, are the major takeaways for students taking a cross stream internship?

A major takeaway for the students in such a scenario is cross domain learning. I believe that the major learning always comes being on the job. A student will always learn in his college, but other learning like team work, leadership and other skills are imparted being on the job. Furthermore, if a student is working on a different stream, it always adds to his skillset.

IS: Any funny/weird incident that happened with any of your interns that you would like to share with us? Do share an interesting story that is close to your heart.

We try to hold a farewell for our interns, time and finances permitting. In one of these farewells, a few people got drunk. Recounting what followed is not appropriate for family readership. Suffices to say that the intern we held the farewell for wants to come back for another internship.

IS: Based on the applications that you receive, could you point out a few common mistakes the candidates make while applying? Any suggestions regarding them?

I think candidates need to temper their expectations when coming for an internship. Most interns come thinking that they will get to play the CEO and do only the cool stuff, while what they invariably get is a mix of cool stuff and grunt work. They must understand that coming for an internship is their chance to get exposed to an organization and corporate work culture, not a challenge to change the way the company functions.

IS: A message that you would like to give to the companies/start-ups running internship programmes?

Have realistic expectations and make the interns do things that they can get a basic hang of in maximum 3-4 days. Be mindful that this guy is there for a 4-8 weeks. Also, I suggest companies to pay interns well. At the very least they should be able to pay for their expenses with a decent lifestyle. They should not have to ask their parents for money for their daily expenses while they are interning for you.

If you’re an employer and want to share your experience of running an internship programme, or want to hire interns for your own organization, drop a line at shadab@internshala.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Are you an employer looking for interns? Hire interns through Internshala; it’s free and hassle-free.