April 29, 2020 – the last day of my first year PGDM at BIMTECH. Also the same day I had my final round of interview for internship at IBM India Pvt Ltd. While almost all my friends had already secured an internship offer and few even had started working, I was sitting in the hostel without any offer. With the enthusiasm shown by all of my friends at BIMTECH and the support and surety that I received from the CCR team of Birla Institute of Management Technology, I decided that I should put my best to grab this golden opportunity and yes, I did it. Ms. Udita Banik was the panelist for me and the interview went very smooth and positive. Thanks to Udita for recognizing my abilities there and being a constant support throughout the journey. Though the COVID second wave hit badly, IBM was one of the few companies who stood by the offer provided and fulfilled it.
The onboarding and orientation programs were well executed by the HR department. Leaders of Workforce Management gathered to provide us a warm welcome to the team. At no point during the journey, none has shown discrimination to us as interns. I got all the warmth and support whenever required. Thanks to my mentors Mr. Madhan and Mr. Manohar who made sure that I learn the right things in the right way. Mrs. Vaijayanthi (Viji) was one of the best manager I have witnessed. The level of compassion and support she rendered to me was indefinite to mention. I was privileged to interact with the National Director of the department thrice during this eight week journey with IBM. His ideas, experience and knowledge which he shared during those interactions will be the guiding light for next 10 years of my career. IBM didn’t just stopped there, it further surprised me to share the screen space with the global leader of the department. Throughout the 8 weeks in IBM, I learnt many things about the company, industry and things that shapes my career. I soulfully thank each and everyone at IBM who made this internship experience incredible to me. Also I would like to extend my gratitude to all the staff members of CCR and the head Prof. Rajeev Sharma sir for being a guiding light in this journey. This is just more than an Internship – A journey to remember lifelong.