A learning-packed summer internship with the Tata Power -By Vishakha Mishra from Xavier Institute of Social Service

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Tata Power is one of the top Power sector companies. Being associated with the Tata Group has always been a dream of every individual at least once in a lifetime. I also wanted to understand why is the Tata Group one of the most loved companies in the world, and how it gives the top-most priority to its employees. To give you a glimpse into it, here is my internship experience with the Tata Power.

A two-step process to get into the internship program

My journey with Tata Power started when our college sent us a notification stating that the company is interested in hiring HR Interns from our college. To get into their premises, the candidates were first expected to clear the Aptitude test. The mode of the test was online, and because of the lockdown, the test was conducted online from home. It had simple Quantitative, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, and English questions. 

A few days after the test, the results were declared and we were asked to gear up for the Personal Interview round. The candidates were asked scenario-based and logical questions. A week later, the results were declared and all the selected candidates were asked to be ready for kick-starting our internship journey with Tata Power in 10 days.

An internship worth a million learnings

My role was that of an HR Intern and I had to work on innovating and realigning HR policies and practices to enhance employee experience by performing industrial benchmarking. Apart from that, my role was to recommend ways to digitalize HR processes in the organization. This was a Human Resource Development project where I was responsible for collecting data through interviews and questionnaires.

During my internship with Tata Power, I was able to work on my communication skills as collecting data on an extremely critical and confidential issue like Organizational Policies is not a cake-walk. Apart from that, I understood how to fine-tune research for a particular work and data interpretation. I got insights into how systematically things take place in an organization, the value of time management, and how the time-frame for delivering their targets drives productivity.

Good mentorship can do wonders

Due to the pandemic, my mode of the internship with the Tata Power was virtual and I worked from home. The only drawback during this phase was that I missed working in a physical organizational setting. However, being a fresher, I was fortunate enough to have a different type of experience while working as an intern with Tata Power. The company officers have been supportive throughout this journey. I, along with my fellow interns, was explained about the history of the organization and what are the different sectors and what is expected from us as an intern. Also, my mentor had been supportive and open to discussion from day one. So it was a tenure where I learnt a good number of things and also was made comfortable while working.

I remember how during my review sessions, my mentor focused on making me understand how to work systematically and why are things happen in a particular pattern. He reviewed my questionnaire for the Benchmarking process and expected me to make questions simpler so that one can pitch a lot of things with minimum use of words. He has been the reason why I was able to deliver within a particular time frame. 

An experience worth repeating

One day, my mentor called me up and asked me to collect data and submit the records within 3 hours. During the work from home period, all my working friends were busy and had no time to communicate, so fetching data within such a short time was a challenge for me. I still asked some of my friends to fill in the questionnaire during the lunch break. I managed to collect 8 responses within 2 hours and compiled the data, got a few information from the net and submitted the report just a few minutes before the deadline. My mentor was happy that I was able to deliver it within the timeframe. However, I was nervous because I didn't want to disappoint my mentor. But the outcome was good and I would undeniably repeat this experience every time I am asked to share my internship journey with the Tata Power.

A way down the road

Due to the pandemic, we had no outing. But we had virtual meetings and WhatsApp groups, where we discussed our problems with our mentor and other officers related to the internship. The most beautiful thing about the whole journey was that we were heard and our problems were considered. The sense of being associated with the organization increased every time we discussed problems and it was a great experience.

For the same reason, I would love to be associated full-time with Tata Power. Apart from that, the major reason being that I know how things take place here and how comfortable I am with them. I really enjoyed working in a challenging environment especially because there was a lot of support that was given to me during the course of the internship with the Tata Power. So, if given a chance to join the company as a full-time employee, I would be on top of the world.