Summer Internship with Sanguine Management Services – Swati from Xavier Institute of Management
Wildcard Entry for: – 6th August 2012
Name of the intern: – Swati
Institute: – Xavier Institute of Management
Organization interned with: – Sanguine Management Services
My first ever encounter with an office, more so working in an office started with my college summer internship. I happened to get a chance to work with a reputed consultancy in Ahmedabad whose major client was the Government of Gujarat, and Gujarat being the hub of successful Government projects I couldn’t have been selected in a better organization. It was an internship I’d probably never ever forget and no it wasn’t as bad as it sounds, in fact it was a dream profile!
For starters, when I reached the office, it was locked! For a moment I thought it was a holiday but my joy was short-lived…sigh. But on a more serious note, when the work finally began it was like a dream come true. I’m not a research person but the work of analysing the findings, interpreting them and finally putting them into a formal report for the Government of Gujarat was the best learning as well as an honour.
My mentor who happened to be an alumnus of my college proved to be a great mentor. He went out of his way to ensure that I learnt the nitty-gritty of work in a consultancy especially when the client is the Government itself. Minor things which would have never even struck me were explained by him and they made perfect sense. My mentor was kind enough to take me along for every meeting so that I learnt how to deal with Government officials and such was his faith in me that after one meeting he allowed me to conduct individual meetings with the Government officials, including the Collectors. It was the most wonderful exposure and experience I could have ever wished for.
Of course the internship wasn’t a cakewalk, the very mentor who had been teaching me things also happened to have a sour mood every morning which was honestly quite amusing initially! He would come and start blasting everyone who crossed his path and so morning time was one when I avoided meeting him else I would’ve been the scapegoat of the day. Strangely, the same person was quite relaxed after lunch time and that’s the time I chose for most of my interactions with him. His mood was forever erratic, highly unpredictable but maybe that’s a part of my summer internship learning. After all, there is no guarantee that my future bosses are going to treat me like a princess! So I’d rather be prepared for the worst, no harm in that for sure. The office was quite a lot of fun after 5 PM because that’s when everyone would get hungry and the office people were caring enough to see that since it was my first time in Gujarat, every possible dish Gujarat was famous for was brought in at least once so I didn’t miss out on anything.
However, the most traumatic part of my internship was not actually the office but the lack of chicken! I remember craving for chicken everyday till finally my office people helped me find a nice chicken place and the internship was blissful thereafter.
Though I can proudly say that my internship was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t have learned it in any better way, it had its serious drawbacks too. The office environment was awful in the mornings. Seeing someone being shouted at every morning was not at all a pleasant sight and could probably be have done away with. Issues which were utterly trivial were blown out of proportion and in my opinion, the employees didn’t deserve such harsh behaviour. Nevertheless, it was definitely a learning experience and like it’s said, one must prepare for the worst. So yes, maybe I’m prepared for the harshest of bosses in my future. But these issues kept aside, the experience of this internship is definitely a keeper. Yours truly, a happy and enlightened intern.
Was this interesting? If yes, please like the post on Facebook (below) and help Swati become winner of the week and win the prize (Rs. 1,000/-) that she truly deserves!
