Sahil Grover (PH1)
Domain: Government Technology Consulting Interned at Ernst & Young, Delhi
Mode: Offline Interviewed by: Satyam Sharma
INTRODUCTION
I am Sahil Grover, a third-year undergraduate student. I am pursuing a major in BTech in Engineering Physics. I am from Udaigiri Hostel and the current secretary of the Literary Club. I was an associate consultant intern at Ernst and Young’s government consulting unit known as ITPMU.
MOTIVATION
Why do you think people lacking interest in core or tech are inclined to pick consulting?
The perspective is varied, considering the number of consulting companies that come to campus looking for problem solvers and bright minds. The needlessness of prerequisite training is another nudge in that direction. Additionally, there is a lack of alternative options. I’ll take my department as an example. Engineering Physics has virtually no core companies that come to campus. A few companies are open to us, but they’re open to the electrical department as well, and they prefer the electrical folks. I have not seen any other companies apart from tech and quant present on the OCS portal. This has resulted in a low placement ratio for students from my department in those sectors. Ultimately, our main opportunities are in finance and consulting, which I’m genuinely interested in pursuing.
APPLICATION PROCESS
In my experience, people who get corporate internships generally choose one of two cases: trying their luck on LinkedIn or by connections in their family. I initially wanted a foreign internship, so I should have started applying early. However, the even semester came in the way, and I lost my direction and started seriously applying right after my majors. Before the majors, I had sent about 10-15 emails, which I believe is a very poor number. I remember being disappointed then, hopeless that I wouldn’t get an internship in the summer. Following this, I sent about a thousand emails over a month.
I guess one of the emails hit the right person. I had been applying to both foreign universities and management roles. I even got a lead from Cambridge, but their selection process was quite intensive and time-consuming. I had mailed this guy, a partner at EY, which trickled down to a few branches: the director, the manager, and the senior associate. I had a call interview, which went terribly (according to me). They asked many questions from my CV, which I was unprepared for. Surprisingly enough, I got a call back from them inviting me to join as an intern.
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
Government consulting is a little different from corporate consulting. The work hours are decided by the government, and they are roughly around 9:00 am to 6:30 pm. The team I was a part of provided services to the government, a propriety project management portal. I was tasked with benchmarking the portal we had with the market leaders. I used to brainstorm with a consultant twice or thrice a week to talk about the changes we could implement. Since my internship was for 40 days, nothing concrete came out of it, but it helped me learn a lot. The internship was similar to a project I had done on Forage. In a GovTech consulting firm, there is less work than in a corporate consulting firm, and I did not have a proper supervisor. I could’ve passed 40 days without doing anything. What I tried to do best was to listen to what was going on. One of my notable contributions to the team was adding a risk assessment/ management module to the portal in the future. It would increase efficiency in the long run for our clients, and if clients are happy, we will get more money.
One of the things I remember is that we used to celebrate many birthdays and we would all have fun. The team was very collaborative, unlike the high-level politics and cut-throat competition that big corporate firms usually have.
I had a few opportunities to meet officials at higher ranks. I observe that the higher you move, the more serious the people are about work because the stakes increase. As they moved up, somehow, their voices got louder, and their handshakes got firmer.
As for my 3rd-year internship preparation, it only overlapped a little with my 2nd-year intern work primarily because consulting internships do not require months of preparation. You have to spend a few weeks practicing cases. So, I started a while after the completion of my 2nd year internship.
TAKEAWAYS
I was already inclined towards consulting, but this internship really cemented my decision to pursue it. It made me doubly sure that this was the field I wanted to go to since I had no interest in core or coding. I also feel that the internship had improved my work ethic since you have to sit from 9 to 6, and you can’t cut classes like here in college. If you sit in front of the laptop in a cubicle and everybody near you is working, you are not going to sit idle. You will be forced into working. Since pursuing this internship, I've only seen positive changes in my time and schedule management along with work ethic. I can firmly say that I value my connections and experience the most out of this internship.
ADVICE
I would suggest my juniors work on their LinkedIn profile and apply early. It would be best if you always learned about the company you’re applying to. Be confident. Work on your communication skills (and try Forage, maybe). Try attending case competitions and sessions companies have on campus. I would strongly suggest they do a second-year internship since it also gives an idea of how they need to work in corporate, present themselves decently, and employ their people skills to the maximum. Confidence is of paramount importance because a bit of hesitation can lead the interviewer to think you are doubtful of your skills. Companies need people who can think for themselves and give innovative solutions. They are looking for leaders, so presenting that persona to the company is crucial. In conclusion, I would also advise you not to get disheartened by rejections and to have faith in yourself and your abilities. Keep your head up and hustle hard!
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