Engineering graduate Karuna Pathak had work experience prior to joining St. Kabir Institute of Professional Studies (SKIPS) – best mba college in ahmedabad and yet she used to describe her personality as “corporate repellent”. She knew that in order to succeed in the competitive industry, she had to mould herself into a professional. That brought her to SKIPS, Ahmadabad, where she started grooming herself from day 1. Her internship with Tech Mahindra has been a big step in the right direction, as she claims, “The internship has been a major plus for me.” It moulded my personality to be corporate-friendly. I have not only learned important functions of HR but how to present myself as a competent professional in a work environment too. “
Enhanced interpersonal skills
Karuna was chosen for the internship after an interview with the Resource Management Group head of the organization. She worked with the Human Resources department, handling attrition for the whole span of the company. The tough assignment taught her never to give up in tricky situations. Above all, it improved her interpersonal skills immensely. “In the two months of internship, I interacted with over 700 people and the continuous exposure taught me how to make my point subtly.” “Employees will have their issues, but if you know how to handle them, you will be seen as a saviour and a survivor,” she adds.
A look into the project
The project Karuna compiled at Tech Mahindra has a very interesting angle to it. She worked on a topic-“Employee Attrition in the BPO Industry”, and during her research, Karuna interacted with employees who were serving their notice periods. She took their genuine feedback, reasons for shift or switch, analysed the reasons, and maintained an “Attrition Tracker”. Her project also gave her the opportunity to manage the attrition rate by counseling a number of employees and interacting with a team of almost 700.
Survival strategies that worked
Apart from being diligent and taking on any responsibility assigned to her, Karuna asserts the importance of smartness in the professional sphere. She says, “You should go into the internship with the right attitude to learn. You also need to be responsible and accountable for your actions. “Brushing up your computer skills, especially with Excel, is vital because it is required for daily tasks in any company,” she states.
Gaining confidence for the future
According to Karuna, SKIPS – Best MBA College ahmedabad created a strong platform for her by not only offering practical training but also helping her with all the support needed for making the most of the summer internship opportunity. When asked about her biggest achievement during the stint, Karuna says with a smile- “The biggest achievement for me was when the head of HR suggested my name to an Operations Manager to handle attrition of his span. It made me realize that I was on the right track and can use this experience to build a strong career graph in the future.”
