When I first landed in bangalore to do my summer internship, I was looking forward to a lot of things. The most important among them was how this stint is going to help me make that important decision about my career. At the end of my first year of MBA, I still wasn't sure what I wanted to take up - Finance or marketing (or probably systems). These two months were supposed to throw some light on it.
First day at office - After the introductions were over and I had settled down, one of the managers explains to me about the entire concept of radio and advertising. It all sounds very exciting. Alas, the excitement didn't last long. As part of my work, Iam made to go all around the city and take a list of all the hoardings in the city. Roaming all day in the hot sun, stopping at every hoarding and making a note of the hoarding - it was a really miserable two weeks. The worst thing is the look you get from the passersby. Why is this idiot looking at the sky, thinking about something and writing it down! Anyways I was a releived man when my guide told me there would be no more field work ( a small pause - Am I unconsciously getting the feeling that sales is not for me or was it just the kind of work I did which was making me think like this?
Over the next one and a half months I have done a number of things as part of my project - noting down ads in newspaper, acting as telephone operator, arranging visiting cards etc . To top it all, one day due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, I become the peon who goes and gets photocopies done. To be fair to my employers, they are in the middle of an important transition phase and Iam anything but a liablity. The real learning for me happened watching all these people work - how they went about selling their product to advertisers.
Now even as I near completion of my two month stint, Iam as confused as I was at the beginning about what to choose. Sales & Marketing seems good but then is it something Iam going to be good at? Probably time would tell.
P.S. - I didn't mean to end on a philosophical note :)
First day at office - After the introductions were over and I had settled down, one of the managers explains to me about the entire concept of radio and advertising. It all sounds very exciting. Alas, the excitement didn't last long. As part of my work, Iam made to go all around the city and take a list of all the hoardings in the city. Roaming all day in the hot sun, stopping at every hoarding and making a note of the hoarding - it was a really miserable two weeks. The worst thing is the look you get from the passersby. Why is this idiot looking at the sky, thinking about something and writing it down! Anyways I was a releived man when my guide told me there would be no more field work ( a small pause - Am I unconsciously getting the feeling that sales is not for me or was it just the kind of work I did which was making me think like this?
Over the next one and a half months I have done a number of things as part of my project - noting down ads in newspaper, acting as telephone operator, arranging visiting cards etc . To top it all, one day due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, I become the peon who goes and gets photocopies done. To be fair to my employers, they are in the middle of an important transition phase and Iam anything but a liablity. The real learning for me happened watching all these people work - how they went about selling their product to advertisers.
Now even as I near completion of my two month stint, Iam as confused as I was at the beginning about what to choose. Sales & Marketing seems good but then is it something Iam going to be good at? Probably time would tell.
P.S. - I didn't mean to end on a philosophical note :)
2 comments:
Summer Project has been of immense help to me...taught me 'How not to work and still act busy'.
Incidentally, Jam, who considered himself a hardcore marketing guy changed to an IT guy after his own summers. You might wanna get some dope from him. :)
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