Today we have the heartfelt interview of Kapil Gera who managed to convert his internship into a full time job. He talks about how NearBuy was a dream and still feels like one.
InterFeel (IF): Please tell us something about yourself. Where are you studying currently? What are your hobbies and interests?
Kapil Gera (KG): I am currently working as an Associate of Marketing at NearBuy and handling their campus related activities. I started working as an intern with NearBuy in December 2015 while being in the last year of my graduation at Kirori Mal College and received a Pre Placement Offer and after 7 months of Internship, finally joined them in July 2016.
IF: Tell us something about your internship including stipend, duration and place?
KG: I applied by directly writing in to the CEO of the company as I was following him from a few days then and one day decided to write him with my wish to work with him and the company he was building. I received the interview call and after an interview with the Head of the Brand and a Case Study round, they decided to give me an opportunity to intern and later it got converted to a full time job. I joined the NCR team in December 2015 and at that time the preparations for “December to Remember” campaign were on peak and I was really enjoying my time there.
IF: How competitive was the selection process? According to you, which qualities have helped you have an edge in the selection process? Also, what were the key things that selectors were looking for?
KG: Originally my internship was to be for one month only but considering my interest and wish to work with them, they kept extending the internship and it helped me prepare before I could join them full time. Meanwhile, it gave me opportunities to enjoy the first anniversary of the company and have one on one lunch with the CEO of the company who has been humble in his attitude and to attention to each and every one of us working there & that too while he is handling a team size of over 300 people. I was supposed to take online test before appearing for the interview and after the interview, I was supposed to suggest a solution to a marketing related case study since my job role was that of Marketing Intern & I remember the HR scheduling my interview with the Marketing Director of the company which gave me an hint on how selective they are even while selecting interns.
IF: Could you please highlight the work/research you carried out during your internship period?
KG: Considering I had a little bit experience on working with the Campus Students and had worked on the Campus Ambassador Programs of few companies, they asked me to build one for them and run it over a period of one month where the college students could help promote the December to Remember campaign. With the help of my Manager and the Marketing Team, we started running it with over 150 Interns and seeing the performance of the same, they decided to take the program forward.
IF: Can you give us interesting details about your experience – good and bad?
KG: Apart from the work of handling the Campus Program I have been involved in various other marketing activities like Social Media Team & currently they have moved me to the partnerships team to get more exposure about Marketing than what I am already good at. This is really helping me gain experience in the different fields of marketing and telling me how important it is to gain them to make me grow than keep working only on one thing 🙂
IF: How do you think this internship has helped you grow? In other words, what are your key takeaways from the internship?
KG: More than the takeaways from the work, the culture of the company is something that makes me grow every day in the company. I remember my reporting manager giving me so many life related tips and the knowledge about the corporate world and how things work professionally. Also, how the Marketing Director Mr Sachin Kapur has been giving time to the project I was working on even when he had important things to do and those small little things they have done which just made me fall in love with their culture and respect them for who they are.
Theis very specific on the three elements of the culture at nearbuy, Respect! Ownership! & Performance! and when you have leaders in the company who make sure that you live up to these three rules every single day, the only thing you keep asking yourself at the end of every day is – “Am I doing enough for what they are doing to me”.
My respect for the person I wrote mail to apply for the job has been just increasing with the time I am working here. His way of giving personal attention to each and every thing and each and every person making sure he is doing his best to make sure we are happy to come back to our job every day is what makes you feel how important it is for you to be as much dedicated for that person and make him proud of his decision.
IF: Has this internship had a decision altering impact on your career? Do you now think of a different future path as compared to before doing the internship?
KG: Forget about the different future path, I do not even wish to think of anything other than nearbuy at this point 🙂
IF: Lastly, do you have any words of advice or caution for students aspiring for this internship and reading this piece?
KG: My only advice to students would be to be ready for the life changing experience before they think of applying here at NearBuy. NearBuy is one of those best things that have happened to me in my life.
We’d like to thank Kapil for such heartfelt interview and wish him all the best at NearBuy.
