Product and Program Management Summer Internship Experience 2022 At Tata Consumer Products - Minkesh Devani, SJSOM Bombay

Pretty common it is to see students entering B-Schools with blank slates. Thankfully, they don’t have to pick specializations in the first year. With the same ‘open’ mindset, I entered the B-School- SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. Curious, I completed many courses in Marketing, Finance, Consulting, etc., and even pursued a Virtual Experience in Product Management before joining the institute. I thought that effort would pay me a helicopter view of all the domains. In hindsight today, I believe this was indeed the best step taken.

Upon converting my first B-School call, one of my senior friends from IIM Bangalore told me, ‘In a premier institute, you need to be ready to live like hell in that heaven”, and I felt that. We merely got time to sleep for the first three months till Summer Placements, as we were bombarded with acads, assignment submissions, case competitions, CV-making process, and what-not. Amidst all these, we absolutely had to gear up for the GD-PI preparations! For me, managing all these was not a challenge, but maintaining consistency with this routine indeed was. But who is giving up, anyway? Naah!

WFH (Work From Home) during my previous organization- S&P Global gave me better flexibility, but the exact mode increased complexity and barriers for all the MBA students. Nonetheless, we did find a way out to form groups and maintain healthy competitions among groups. I had also maintained different preparation books for Personal Interview, like, HR, Past Academics & Work Ex, and Current Affairs during B-School admissions. There were no drastic changes in the answers for HR and Work Ex questions, hence, I brushed up on them during lunch breaks or any other free-slot I could lay my hands on. Beyond these, domain preparation was of a major focus. Different Clubs & Committees helped us with the material; hence everything boiled down to how quickly and effectively we could consume them all!

D-Day

Starts Placement Week. The Placement Team informed me about my shortlist for Tata Consumer Products. I braced myself up, all excited! When the process got over, and I sensed that I had performed well. No, I did not worry about the outcome, for I had given my best shot- something I was in control of. As soon as the Placement Team informed me about my selection at Tata Consumer Products, I was on Cloud Nine.

I quickly went to my mom and gave her the news. She jumped out of the excitement and hugged me. She called my dad and conveyed the information, and he too was real happy about it. Finally! All the efforts – right from the CAT preparations to securing the internship with a desired role – paid off.

As we entered April 2022, I received the offer letter and project location from one of TCPL HRs. Reading Bangalore as the location, I told myself, “There’s a lot to discover this summer, Minkesh!”