The typecast that I was holding in my head the Public
Relations is all about media relations and press coverage were broken when I
was briefed about the project at the first few days at ING Vysya Bank Ltd.
First days are not very perfect! You are lost, clueless
and scared of the new. Starting a new project was not very scary. I overdosed
myself with chocolate and I didn’t cry, did pretty well I suppose. “Wow, so
cool!” I reacted with Chandan seeing the huge building of ING; clicked pictures
and whatsapped all my friends, Silly, I know. It is absolutely funny to think
about it even now, after two months. Though interns were not expected to be on
time, reaching office routinely at 9:30 lasted for a week
I was interning in the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TEAM (CXT),
headed by Mrs. Aparna Premchand a level headed boss, who understands the
objectives and communicates it clearly to the fellow teammates. Customer
Experience Team, a wing of the products team, was responsible for understanding
the customer grievances and developing new products and innovating existing
products to satisfy their needs.
The learning I have acquired from the place is immense. From a person who
never opened her own bank account, today I speak few banking jargons then and
there. I threw a few at my dad, he was proud! To listen, I learnt and to ask questions,
even if it is as silly as, “where do I get cheap food?” To build friendships
and make acquaintances. I swear, I was not a good friend of Chandan’s before
here, I wished he was dead (kidding! You never know). Now, he is a friend.
Likewise, my team members, I am sure they would guide me throughout even if I wouldn’t
be professionally acquainted with them in future! Give importance to everybody-
Though my birthday was on the day after the internship, the entire floor got
together to celebrate it. It made me realise how much these little pleasures of
life would matter to anybody!
The experience at ING Vysya Bank, as a corporate
communication intern was very different than expected. I was brought out to a
whole new perspective to PR beyond my classroom and previous industry
experience. I realized a very important factor that knowing the industry or
beat you are working with is very crucial, without which any amount of work one
puts in becomes unwise. We were given a proper walk-through to the entire process
of the bank, how an account opens, till the closure of an account. We walked
through all the operations and service process of ING Vysya Bank. Overall, it
was an introduction to banking and an induction to the corporate world for me.
Not considering that we were just interns, they gave me complete
ownership of the project. Though it made me pretty nervous for error, it made
me more responsible about the project. Considering it to be one of the most
important project, it was bold of them to give us the responsibility, but it
surely did better for me as an intern, to work and deliver better. Proud I
felt, when Anantha Raman, Head- Products, appreciated us and gifted us with a
watch. Even when we were scared to take an extra step, the entire team
encouraged for us to go forward. It was definitely an amazing 60 days!
