The first three weeks of the internship will fly by, one second the HR is setting up your company email account and the next minute you are neck deep in excel sheets, calculating the reach, impression and engagement of every post under the sun. A lot of the work that’s given to you can seem mind-numbing and recurrent, but it’s important to understand that little fish can’t tackle big prey. You might want to skip to the part where you get to go on call with the clients, present at a meeting or if you’re a real dreamer, help with a pitch for a new campaign but until you add these little skills to your arsenal you can’t go on to the front mighty warrior. Everyone loves swords, but your shield is what will save your life.
The most important life lesson you will learn isn’t hidden in the pages of The Secret but in the 7th Grade CBSE textbook; every drop counts. Seemingly insignificant tasks like knowing how to calculate the engagement score of a Facebook post evolve into a better understanding of how or why certain parameters are more important than others, figuring out what kinds of campaign plans will work for which brand or even when the best time to release a campaign is. Making endless lists of Instagram influencers might seem tedious, constantly stalking people on social media until you know everything from which school they went to, to what their star sign is might make you feel a bit like the infamous Stan, but this eerie skill becomes handy when you need a list of 50 Youtubers who make beauty video in Marathi for a pitch within the hour.
The best advice I can think of is, be like Spongebob. He is humble, helpful and most importantly a sponge, absorbing everything. That is ultimately what makes him the star employee of the Krusty Krab. Be like Spongebob and you will gain success in your career and in your life.
Yamini Kinjra
(Batch 2020)
