Wanderlust to Wonderland – My Journey with Internshala
About the Author: Hitaarth Sharma, a civil engineering graduate, joined Internshala team as Employer Relations intern. He recently completed one month at Internshala and recounts his journey with the team.
The interview, after it was done, did not feel encouraging. I knew I could have had a better interview and wasn’t expecting to get selected; however, within the next 24 hours, I got a mail saying otherwise. I had been selected and had to report 2 days later!
Considering that it was my first day, I was both excited and nervous! I showed up at 9:15 AM, 15 minutes before the official timing, and was greeted by Aastha, the associate HR, followed immediately by the man who had grilled me for almost an hour during my interview, Shadab Alam. People started showing up and there were some formal greetings. During that entire day, I tried to understand exactly what was happening and how to do it on my own (something which didn’t change by the end of the first week!)
Phew! Right when I thought that I was done for the day, Shadab told me to sit on a chair, with a room full of people staring right at me. My ice breaking session had begun. It felt really awkward in the beginning but turned out to be great fun.
As a part of the Employer’s team, I was given the responsibility of managing various tasks like replying to employer support emails, handling helpline, overlooking bulk hiring by companies etc. One immensely enriching month later, I’m better able to manage things, my skills at conveying meaning and purpose have improved, and I’m better able to assess situations to seek plausible solutions to a problem. I love the work environment, the fact that the cultural values are not just mere words inscribed on a paper, that an intern’s opinions are taken seriously, that the catch ups are more insightful and fun than scary, that your mentors care a lot for you, that during lunch team members involve you in every conversation so you feel as if you have been a part of Internshala for ages, and that people actually make an effort to break the ice rather than just waiting for you to open up.
The dissimilarities between the members of this motley gang bring them closer and if anything else, more alike. I can only imagine why I got selected – was it my email id (which Shadab was fascinated with) or the way I was dressed, or perhaps, what I had said – whatever got me selected is still a mystery to me. Until I can figure that out, I’ll keep working, keep learning, and, maybe, one day I’ll come across a book that has all these answers.
For now, the fact that I’m learning something new and making memories every day makes me happy. :)
