How my dream of a summer internship at TATA Steel Ltd. turned into a reality -Tanusweta Sarkar from IIEST Shibpur

My journey to landing up a summer internship at Tata Steel Ltd. began with my aspiration of interning with a well-recognized, widely popular brand offering me an opportunity to do work that would intrigue and excite me. Being a global leader in the business sector, this brand left impressions on millions around the world. And for a fresher with zero experience prior to a professional program like an MBA, nothing can be more exhilarating than having this golden opportunity. I wanted to deliver the best of my potential wherever I go, and thus, I spent hours searching for that big opportunity, ultimately getting lucky one day. Tata Steel had opened its doors to summer interns. I was adamant to not let this opportunity pass by and for that reason, I applied. 

The beginning of the big things

The application process began online. I, like many other candidates, eager to apply, participated in the process. I had never known that being the odd one out could sometimes be of use. An incident during the process taught me that being the odd one out doesn’t always have to be bad. 

Soon, after the application submission, I realized that the other candidates had been registered on the portal, but my name had been missing. I was anxious and perplexed. I decided to get in touch with HR through some help from others in the process and found out that she had missed my name on the list. I was impressed with the prompt reply, and soon, a project guide was allotted to me, to help me through the process, unlike all the others. I got a special provision because of being the odd one out. And thus, began my summer internship at Tata Steel Ltd.

The role and responsibilities assigned

My projects revolved around the task to design a digital lead generation and lead management system for Tata Steel (Agrico Division) in order to achieve a turnover of 10 crores. The major scope of the assigned projects included identification of suitable channels for various Tata Agrico products and eventually finalizing the lead management framework to ensure smooth functioning. I was expected to design a digital strategy for augmenting sales through B2B marketplace leads. It also included the selection of the most optimum channels and analyzing the cost structure of each channel. Moreover, I was responsible for product portfolio selection from the major business categories of the organization and identifying marketing channels that were required to be tapped accordingly. 

In addition to the above, my role demanded segmenting the customer and performing subsequent analysis of the same. Finally, my task was to strategically elaborate on the roles of various team members in the lead management team and determine the frequency of the follow-up cycles needed to be executed by them. The work was important to the company and helped me gain a truer perspective on situations in real life that businesses face. 

Learning and honing skills on the way

Prior to the internship, I had already possessed some essential skills required in the industry. However, serving as an intern at TATA undoubtedly injected in me the urge to learn more and upskill to a greater extent. Soon after joining the summer internship at TATA Steel Ltd., I realized the importance, need, and demand of individuals with expertise in a variety of domains. And thus, I aimed to push myself harder to acquire new skills in disparate sectors and lay my hands on things I had never thought of learning before. 

I was introduced to several new terminologies during the tenure, which can only be learned and grasped in the real business world, rather than in classrooms. This summer internship at Tata Steel Ltd., widened my exposure to real scenarios, real challenges, and their real solutions, that I couldn’t have grasped simply from reading textbooks. The internship experience endowed me with skills that I didn’t have and honed the ones that I possessed already. 

Mentorship at its best at TATA Steel Ltd.

One of the reasons out of the many that I got at my summer internship at TATA Steel Ltd., to love the work culture, even more, was the cooperation I received from my mentor. The internship introduced me to a variety of concepts, and she, while explaining the functioning there, was very patient. She was always eager to come up with conversations, addressing my questions in full detail especially because I had very little idea about how B2B and B2C marketplaces functioned in reality. I always received satisfactory clarifications and answers every time and was very happy to have been in the company of such a cooperative team, especially my mentor.

My summer internship at TATA Steel Ltd. was an opportunity of a lifetime. It was an amazing learning experience, and if I were given an opportunity to work full time, I would say yes before the blink of an eye. I worked wholeheartedly during my internship and loved the work culture as well as the work. So why not? After all, it’s always a good feeling to return to a place where such enriching work awaits you. I’d cherish the experience of this summer internship at TATA Steel Ltd., for days to come and remember it as the undeniably best choice that I could have made.

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