I garnered a good command of Product Management with my internship at GEP -By Ganesh R from SIOM Nashik

Meet an Electronics and Communication Engineer who has close to 2 years of work experience in the field of Java & Android Application Development for Set-Top Boxes (STBs). His love for Design and Products started there, as his work involved regular discussion with the UI/UX team, the Product Architect, and the Marketing Team. The first year at SIOM, Nashik as an Operations Management student gave him the bigger picture through their industry-ready curriculum. Backed up by a solid experience with design and products, he made the most logical choice of foraying into Product Management. Let’s dive into his internship story at GEP as a Product Management intern.

The hiring process of internship at GEP

After the Aptitude test, we were told to come up with a low fidelity Wireframe of our software offering that could solve any problem in the Procurement industry. This was followed by a Personal interview. Questions posed were to evaluate our problem-solving capabilities and the ability to come up with a product idea that is scalable, sticky, and monetizable. 

Smooth conduct of Internship

Unprecedented, new normal, uncertainty, work from home, remote workspace, virtual internship – these were some of the buzz words I was seeing daily in my LinkedIn feed. These things are easier said in an article or a creative than doing it. Companies first had to get their regular workforce set up for this new virtual working environment and then think of interns. But hands down the team at GEP was the best. They never gave any sense of doubt to us. They were so prompt and always kept us informed about the possible joining date of the Internship. We were able to start our internships without any hassles as the remote desktop, IT resources, Project details, and the team were all fixed and ready. 

The icing on the cake was a weeklong onboarding session before starting with the project. The Product Owners of each module took their time out and gave us an hour-long webinar. We had more than a dozen webinars before getting started with the project, and I think that set the tone for my internship. 

Clearing the decks and getting internship ready!

While the detailed webinars on Product Modules made us understand all the company’s offerings, the team at GEP also ensured we are not only conceptually ready but also technically ready to start the internship. An important quality of a Product Manager is the ability to come up with high fidelity wireframes and well-articulated user stories. We were first given hands-on training in JIRA and asked to come up with high fidelity wireframes along with user stories for a product idea. During my internship at GEP, we were thoroughly evaluated and provided with valuable feedbacks that made our jobs easier while executing the actual internship project. 

An open culture that lets you evolve

Open Culture is such a synonymous word with GEP. You are provided with complete freedom to interact with any Product owners, engineers, UI/UX team members, module leads. GEP strongly believes that “No idea is a silly idea” and they facilitate discussions for you to validate, nurture and do course corrections on any idea you propose. You are not restricted by your team, module, product, or even the vertical. 

Mental health matters

My internship at GEP was for a duration of 8 weeks, and we had a fun virtual HR Activity every single week. Team Tech Interntainers at GEP ensured that we take a break for an hour from work, by engaging with us on various fun activities like that of Technology Quiz, Bollywood Quiz, Virtual Scavenger Hunt, Fitness Activities and others. A separate team that ensures even Interns are stress-free stands as a testament to the emphasis GEP as an organization has on the mental health of the employees.

A challenging, stimulating and motivating project

It was challenging at the start because the digital procurement space was new to me. My knowledge about the Procurement industry was limited to the learnings I had in my classrooms in the first year of MBA at SIOM, Nashik. But my Project buddy and Manager were very motivating. They found time every day to validate my ideas and structure my findings. I never felt left out, and that worked wonders for me. I was able to take my project from a very preliminary secondary research to the analysis stage in 3 weeks. 

My project panned out very well as I was able to take my research findings and employ it into few mathematical models like AHP & TOPSIS and assure the uptake of the project with a cost-benefit analysis. When I had ticked all the boxes from the Product strategy point of view, I got my hands dirty by coming with Product architecture that solves the problem for various use cases. 

Visibility to top management

After having worked hard for 8 weeks, the company ensured we made our presentations to the top management. What more you can ask for from a company that had stood firm on its commitment by providing us the internship with the full assured stipend even during this pandemic? They took my awe for the company up by several notches with the visibility they facilitated with the leadership team.