Having all these things going on, I began making resumes and tried to get them reviewed by some seniors (at least from ISMP & DAMP). And, I recommend reviewing it with your friends as sometimes you can’t notice small mistakes that could be a blunder. After resume submission, make a group with your friends and ask questions about the resume. Try to give some mock interviews and participate in sessions conducted. This will help in knowing your preparation, and you can improve on your mistakes. Also, start making an HR doc for yourself as soon as possible. Coming back to my experience, I didn’t get shortlisted for Day-1 companies; unsurprising with my lack of a good POR and coding prep. Do not get demotivated by the comparative thoughts creeping in to distract you. The simple solution is to keep moving ahead and try to take blows as motivation, not deflation. This cycle of giving billions of tests and filling SOPs with no further shortlist continued for a week more, until my first shortlist for the Piramal GD. It went okayish and I didn’t get further shortlisted. One thing I realized later is to contact friends in other colleges, because the same company might come there before, and you can know their process well in advance. I was applying for all the sectors because I didn’t know where I fit well, and if shortlisted I would get atleast an experience of the interview. Finally, my interview shortlist came in Honeywell & Wells Fargo, and I made it to the last round but got rejected. I took this as a learning opportunity and started working on my mistakes. Now after giving a lot of coding tests and not performing so well, it was DRL in which I cracked aptitude + core + psychometric tests. DRL Selection Procedure DRL came around 24-25th August and its selection procedure consisted of 3 rounds. The first was a 3-part online test; 20 minutes each for core (basic Chemical Engg) and knowledge aptitude questions, and a 30-minute psychometric test. After 3 days, the shortlist for GD came. I already had an experience with GD and I didn’t want to repeat those mistakes. And then GD started, having 2 different questions. Throughout the GD, I told important points and put my thoughts in a calm and confident way. The next day, I saw my name on the interview shortlist, and that made me feel happy. I was motivated to give an interview and made a doc for core questions that could be asked in the interview. I was damn sure that they would ask questions about my heat transfer project, so I prepared well for that. And the big time had come, the interview was at 9:45 pm, I had my dinner and was feeling nervous, so I talked with my parents and friends and calmed myself. The interview began with an introduction and afterwords, they started asking core questions like what is leaching? What are the differences between unit process and unit ops?, and 2 more(sorry for that I don’t remember :P ). And as predicted(it was like ‘lagta h apun hi bhagwan hai’ moment), they asked me to explain my heat transfer project. I explained that project and answered their conceptual questions regarding the project pretty well. They liked my explanation and even praised me for that. The project part went on for some 7-8 minutes, then another interviewer(HR probably) started asking questions about what are your future goals? Have you done any practicals before college life and how much impact had it on you? I think I answered all their questions in a good way.

At last, they asked why DRL? I gave my view on that, and one important suggestion for you that go through the company’s website before an interview. (it will definitely help to know about the company). And within 2 hours, I found my name in the final selections of DRL, and this became one of the happiest moments, finally “intern lag gayi!! ''. The most important thing to be kept in mind for an interview is to be extremely thorough with the points mentioned in your resume. You should be clear about the work done in your projects and have sound knowledge of the fundamental principles used so that you can answer any questions the interviewer has about your work. About the Internship I got my offer letter in the last week of April and got confirmation that the internship would be offline in Bachupally, Hyderabad campus. I was excited about the internship, along with exploring a new city. After completing some formalities, we were allotted projects roughly 2 -3 days before the start of the internship. My project was “Real-Time visibility of RM, FG & Engineering Spares Inventory.”When I saw my project title, I was happier as this would include a data analysis part and less on the core side. My internship began with 2 days of induction program(some of the sessions felt like attending lectures in class😴 and some were really fun), but the advantage is that I met with new people from different colleges. After induction, we had to report to our allotted plant(FTO-3 GMO) by contacting the site HR head allotted. We then met our mentor(4 people had the same mentor but different projects ), and he gave us a brief on each project title. One project buddy was also allotted to each of us and we had to report to him for any kind of issues, doubts, and work related to the project. The office timings are from 8:30 a.m-6 p.m.(although we used to leave early 😁when there was no work). There was no specific dress code(Casuals & formals, both allowed) In my case, weekly review meetings were organized where my mentor, buddy, and other stakeholders came to discuss project updates and happenings. The initial weeks of the internship went into understanding the project and talking with various stakeholders related to it. My task was divided into 2 phases:- 1st phase:- To reduce the inventory value in the Engineering warehouse. 2nd phase:- Making a dashboard for real-time visibility of ES inventory. In these, I learned different analysis methods, and much other software comprises ERP. Also, I have to go to the shop floor where medicines manufacturing and packing takes place. I got to work with the heads of the warehouse, which definitely was an enriching experience for me. Visiting there and seeing warehouses as big as 5-6 floors was super exciting for me at least, although I don’t wanna be working there 😄.

The most important part of working there is that all employees are so friendly and being from IIT, they gave so much respect and treated us very well. On the other hand, some of the employees were so busy that it was hard to get their time for discussion on the project. I learned from this how to take time from your senior, and you must have that “don’t give up wala attitude.” I used to make daily or 2-3 days goals, which helped me enjoy my project and feel comfortable. I would recommend you the same. Sometimes you might feel hopeless in your project, as some of my friends had an altogether different project which took almost a month to understand the project only. But you will learn many skills from the internship like being professional, making presentations, presenting ideas in front of senior managers, and much more. So don’t give up there only, try to connect with as many people as possible and make the best use of your mentor and project buddies. I felt that work there was not too hectic, it depends on how you make good use of time. You will learn a lot from seniors there, I even met with our alums working there, and some of my friends were working just under the guidance of their alums which was also a pleasant experience for them. Feeling like a ChemE lecture or a fun-day session? Don’t worry, here comes the best part of my internship. Accommodation Yeah, you heard it right! The best part of offline internships is always after work hours xD. Our accommodation was more like a hostel (with hotel facilities:D), where we could chill out after long working hours. We were given accommodation in a 3-BHK flat in B.K Encalve, Miyapur (5 km away from DRL Campus). Rooms were beyond expectations consisting of AC & smart TVs :). All rooms were double sharing, and a total of 30 interns (from 4 IITs & 2 NITs) were staying in that flat. Breakfast, lunch, snacks & dinner were provided by their cook. Mostly, we took our lunch at the office (similar to mess food). We all made some bonds and memories in these two months which we will never forget – late night walks, random singing, jumping out of the gate at 2-3 AM (which got locked at 11p.m :p), playing badminton, and much more.

Hyderabad – A Pearl City Whatever I write, it will be too short of telling the experience of this city. We enjoyed ourselves and explored a lot. Starting from some road trips, we watched movies together, visited restaurants and cafes, and explored the high-tech city (IT city of Hyderabad), Golconda Fort, Charminar, Birla Temple, SJ Museum, RAMOJI Film City, IKEA, Malls, Hussainsagar (all must-visits), celebrated birthdays together, midnight street food, Friday parties, and much more. For each weekend, we began planning on Monday😂. The only motivation for our work was “jaldi se weekdays pe work krte h phir weekend mst enjoy krenge.”

Ending Notes These are the amazing two months of my life. Made a lot of memories❣️❣️with a bunch of amazing people out there. This is the best summer I could ever have. I got exposure to a core chemical company and their work culture. It was a wonderful experience working offline, getting the feel of the corporate world, meeting new people, and making amazing friends. One tip for the intern season:- You will face many ups and downs, have anxiety, and feel nervous, but don’t give up & never ever lose confidence in yourself because these are the things which you will remember forever, and of course, you are never alone in this journey, talk to friends and seniors & get the most out of it. Thanks, everyone, for reading this blog; I hope you enjoyed this. All the best, everyone!! And feel free to reach me out anywhere, I’d be happier to help.