For many students, deciding on which career path they want to pursue can be a real challenge. And internships are a great way for students to discover what a career path can shape up to be—as they join an organization to gain meaningful work experience. As our interns joined us for the all-virtual Technology Internship, each of them journeyed through the internship with a unique experience. These are their internship journeys.
The ongoing all-virtual mode of work and work-from-home did not deter young professionals seeking corporate experience from pursuing their career aspirations, even during these times. With many virtual internship programs underway at Deloitte, a batch of interns joined us virtually for the first virtual season of the Technology Internship Program (TIP).
The internship started off on a high-note, and throughout, it was interspersed with virtual activities, opportunities to network with Deloitte professionals, as well as some interesting segments to keep the interns engaged throughout their journey with us.
The team created the Program, in its virtual format, to enable an exciting, challenging and a well-rounded experience for the interns.
Professionals, mentors and leaders, all encouraged and supported the interns to make the most of this program. Be it mentoring them on client projects or have them put on their ideation hats to come up with distinctive solutions for internal initiatives.
During the internship, each intern had their own unique experience—right from the moment when they sent in their application, to receiving that confirmation email from Deloitte, all the way to their distinct TIP journey with Deloitte.
Here are two interns’ experiences from Deloitte’s technology internship. As you dive in, do take a moment to recognize them for their resilience, optimism and enthusiasm with which they went about an all-virtual internship journey with us.
Power of the unprecedented times
“We all dream of unparalleled experiences but inside we only crave for the ordinary; because that’s easy, that’s predictable. But can anyone control it?”
shared Sarthak Gupta, a TIP intern. This is Sarthak’s journey.
I vividly remember making a bucket-list like any other pre-final year student, completely unaware of what was unfolding last year, as the pandemic turned around our “normal”. From planning memories to everything coming to a halt, my “unprecedented” journey had just begun.
At that time, it felt like I was in a loop of coping with the socially distanced world and nerve-racking recruitment drives. Amidst all this, what kept me going on my learning curve was Deloitte’s TechnoUtsav. It was not just an event, but it also served as an escape for me, from this ‘new’ and transformed world.
I recall the sleepless nights of ideation, brainstorming and waiting for results with bated breath, in the run up to the day of the final round. Fortunately, in September, news of the win came as a pleasant surprise, accompanied by another important aspect – one that would lay the foundation for a career which I was looking forward to—the Technology Internship at Deloitte India (Offices of the US).
In January, I began the internship with Deloitte. Starting out your internship at an office captured in your screen—where you can’t physically walk in to, and colleagues are mere icons on your laptop screen whom you can’t meet in-person—seemed confusing and unexciting initially, but I am happy to say that I was proven wrong at every step of the way. We had a seamless onboarding process accompanied by an interactive induction session familiarizing us to the people, work and culture. A talent touchpoint organized as a musical evening, served as a platform for us to get to know each other and start building relationships, regardless that it was all virtual.
“With joy and confidence, I can say that Deloitte hasn’t left any stone unturned to make this experience more real, interesting and seamless for all the interns.”
We also got the opportunity to connect with leaders and seniors, to know about the work they do, to learn from their experiences and find out about their work hacks. The project I was assigned to helped me learn tremendously, through the nature of work and client interactions.
One of my most profound experiences was to connect with the senior team members—despite their work commitments, how patiently they supported me to learn and understand things—the effort they put in to ensure they build a comfortable environment for work and conversations at an informal level—this made my experience fun and easy.
Now, irrespective of what one does in life, the ability to communicate your ideas and connect with people, goes a long way and I feel extremely fortunate to work in an organization whose core values align with the same. Along with job-specific skills, we periodically received curated tasks to enhance our soft and networking skills.
The holistic experience at Deloitte helped me grow personally as well as professionally. A year ago, I had never imagined being able to work in this virtual mode and have an unparalleled experience at the beginning of my career, but unprecedented times can make anything possible.
Never stop believing in yourself
“When the pandemic hit India, many people started working from home, while others lost their jobs. Amidst all this chaos, I was stepping into the final year at college with hopes and aspirations of landing myself a good job,“
shared Divyani Panda, a TIP intern. This is Divyani’s journey.
Throughout the lockdown, I immersed myself in various projects and online courses, preparing myself for the upcoming campus placements.
Despite the circumstances, all hope was not lost, when I discovered I am eligible to apply for Deloitte India (Offices of the US). It felt like it had been ages since I had felt this confident about an application. And just like that, the months that had gone by, transitioned into a time backed by perseverance, hard work, optimism and belief. But of course, my mind wasn't free of apprehensions. Finally, when the list of shortlisted applicants came out, I found my name in there—the feeling that overcame me during that moment is simply indescribable in words. I had bagged my first ever interview in months!
Leading up to the day of the interview, naturally there were jitters. But, to my relief, the interview went well. The next morning, the much-awaited moment arrived. I found the one email that I never thought I would see. I had made it! “Technology Intern at Deloitte India (Offices of the US)”, it was surreal to update my LinkedIn profile.
When the internship started virtually, the onboarding process was so much more than I could have hoped for. Everyone was so warm and welcoming that it made me feel like I belonged here.
Getting tagged to a project, working with a team, dealing with real-time client problems, connecting with mentors—these are just a few of the engaging tasks that I get to do as an intern here at Deloitte.
While it is important to work diligently, but it is also important to enjoy the work that we’re doing, to take breaks and to channel positive energy into the work we’re doing. I’m glad that Deloitte encourages us to manage our work and personal life in a way that works best for each of us.
Although, we are all working virtually, connecting with peers or reaching out to them was easy given the work from home setup. In fact, the team at Deloitte proactively enabled and facilitated a fun and insightful experience for all us interns, through interesting activities, touch point sessions, bands and what not. This whole experience felt too good to be true.
The experience so far has been very enriching and productive. There is still a long way to go, a lot of things to achieve, a ton of memories to make, greater things to give back and grow as a professional. As James Penny Cash said, “Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”
With this internship, these interns got a glimpse of a distinctly Deloitte experience. Here’s hoping their experiences as interns shape their career path ahead.
Learn more
Interested to know more? Head over to the Internships at Deloitte page to discover what a career with a professional services organization could turn out to be.
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