The apprehensions were quite high with may be a tinge of nervousness
. I was inside a corporate office after a year. And I had never expected even in my dreams that I would land up in such a huge manufacturing firm for two months of my summer internship that too with a marketing profile.
But here I was, waiting at the main gate to collect my visiting pass to enter the factory premises. And suddenly, I went back in time to the day when I was holidaying
(if I can call it that; actually it was a college trip) in a small hill station near Indore. I received a call from a friend who informed me that I had been selected for summer training at JCB. “Congratulations Mr. Bulldozer
”, he said. It was a night I would never forget. Months went by and finally I got my joining letter. I was expected to report to the Ballabhgarh office on 2nd April. I reached Delhi a few days earlier and stayed with my friends at Gurgaon. As I had no idea about the place, I decided to take a cab to the office. I didn’t want to be late for office on the very first day.
And now still standing in the queue at the gate of the factory I was reminiscing
about how I had made it there. Anyways, I collected my pass and went inside. I was amazed to see such a huge factory divided into smaller buildings assigned for different activities. A few meters ahead I could clearly see the Marketing Department. But wasn’t I supposed to meet the HR person first? I never knew waiting could be so insightful. I had so many questions on my mind then. As I had my tea, I sifted through the various catalogues and magazines placed there. I had no prior knowledge about construction equipments and like every smart MBA grad, I remembered the names of a few of the machines that the firms made. I met the HR guy and he told me that I would have to wait for some time as my project guide was out of station.
But just to make my first day memorable, he showed me the complete manufacturing plant right from the beginning till end. It was really a moment to savor when I saw a newly assembled Backhoe being tested and it appeared like a bull raging to go for a fight
.
My next few days were spent in exploring the cheapest and the most comfortable means of conveyance from Gurgaon to Ballabhgarh. The first day I took a cab, the next day public transport and the day next to that I travelled on a bike and then I felt that I had to take an accommodation nearby the office premises to survive NCR’s busy traffic and harsh weather. But I didn’t know that God had some good plans for me
. I met my mentor the next day and he introduced me to the whole marketing team. I must say they were all the big guns of the firm and had graduated from the top business and engineering schools.
My first meeting with my guide was quite interesting. He was amazed as to how a Computer Science grad landed himself in a manufacturing firm. He started asking me questions about the company and its products and my perusal of the magazines on the first day came handy. He was impressed. He looked at my resume and told me, “I have some project especially for you and you would love it and it goes well with your resume”. He assigned me the task of designing and building some games for JCB. And I was like, “you must be kidding me
”. But then he explained the whole project. He told me that I had the option of working from home but I would have to send him updates periodically about the progress I was making. I was happy that my internship was going to be really interesting and chilled out. The marketing profile actually turned out to be a consulting profile.
I prepared a design for some games for the company and I had to give a presentation to an outside IT consulting firm which handled this work for JCB. It was a very challenging task as I had to present my idea to the CEO, VPs, PMs and game programmers of the company. The 20 minutes of my presentation was a hell of a ride. The CEO’s appreciation
made my day. He took me out for lunch along with other team members and we had some really interesting discussions.
By the end of my internship, the proposal of two of my games had been approved by both JCB and the IT vendor. It was indeed a significant achievement for me. What made this journey beautiful was the support of my guide, the freedom and the flexibility in my work, the creativity involved and of course the food.
The two months passed in a jiffy and I had some really memorable experience.
But here I was, waiting at the main gate to collect my visiting pass to enter the factory premises. And suddenly, I went back in time to the day when I was holidaying
And now still standing in the queue at the gate of the factory I was reminiscing
But just to make my first day memorable, he showed me the complete manufacturing plant right from the beginning till end. It was really a moment to savor when I saw a newly assembled Backhoe being tested and it appeared like a bull raging to go for a fight
My next few days were spent in exploring the cheapest and the most comfortable means of conveyance from Gurgaon to Ballabhgarh. The first day I took a cab, the next day public transport and the day next to that I travelled on a bike and then I felt that I had to take an accommodation nearby the office premises to survive NCR’s busy traffic and harsh weather. But I didn’t know that God had some good plans for me
My first meeting with my guide was quite interesting. He was amazed as to how a Computer Science grad landed himself in a manufacturing firm. He started asking me questions about the company and its products and my perusal of the magazines on the first day came handy. He was impressed. He looked at my resume and told me, “I have some project especially for you and you would love it and it goes well with your resume”. He assigned me the task of designing and building some games for JCB. And I was like, “you must be kidding me
I prepared a design for some games for the company and I had to give a presentation to an outside IT consulting firm which handled this work for JCB. It was a very challenging task as I had to present my idea to the CEO, VPs, PMs and game programmers of the company. The 20 minutes of my presentation was a hell of a ride. The CEO’s appreciation
By the end of my internship, the proposal of two of my games had been approved by both JCB and the IT vendor. It was indeed a significant achievement for me. What made this journey beautiful was the support of my guide, the freedom and the flexibility in my work, the creativity involved and of course the food.
The two months passed in a jiffy and I had some really memorable experience.