"Internships are about getting to know what a company does" is the only thing I went to Mindshare with. They had said-"the more open to suggestions and people you are, the better". Also, there had been talks which said things like,"Try and get a PPO". What I found was completely opposite to all of this.
1. Internships are too short to get to know what a company actually does. With that in mind, even if I cannot fathom the scope of what Mindshare has been doing, what I came back with was 'What kind of people survive and make it big in media', 'What is a day in an agency like', 'What works in media and entertainment and what does not' and a more refined knowledge of how to use different media measurement software.
2. The more open you are to suggestions, the more suggestions you will get. And there will always be one more suggestion. Instead of being very open to suggestions and demands, being pro-active helped me better. What I learnt here was how people in an agency functioned and what will their next demand or suggestion be. So in case you anticipate that well and give them their next suggestion/implementation as a part of your proposal, you will find yourself appreciated and looked upon in some good light.
3. Try and get a PPO! This one will be a bit controversial in its worst interpretation. It is not bad-getting a PPO, definitely! At the same time, it is not a very heavy duty task wherein you have to go to the company loaded with bazookas and LMGs. It is more of the mental block of calling it a PPO and an essential that probably makes a person miss out on one. Work well, understand what you are doing and ask lots of questions to a lot of people and then start with the how. Do your groundwork and provide references, quote case studies ONLY AFTER STUDYING THEM, understand your category-the regular essentials. And importantly, do not think of getting a PPO while doing all of this.
In more generic and relatable language, I found that people respect understanding of jargon more than jargon here-a case slightly different from regular classes. Also, keeping ambition in check while working on ideas was another important learning. What happens in classes is great because you are not expected to implement a POTENTIAL idea for something. At the same time, in the real world-budgets and understanding have their limitations. Hence, believing in simpler and more stupid seeming ideas is something I have learnt in addition. And to give a rationale, such ideas are:
a. Easy to understand-for both client and consumer
b. Easy to implement-for implementation team and agency
c. Easy to execute-because they happen in low budgets
Also, as there was a lot of research involved, I realized how difficult it is to leave behind inhibitions and go down to the lowest level and communicate with people. At the same time, this kind of communication is much more effective than asking a few people to fill in information into online survey questionnaires. Also, sometimes, a day spent merely observing people at work or at leisure time provides more insight than through technically and jargon-wise correct actions which are data oriented.
Overall, I found that the experience of an internship (as I have already mentioned earlier) is very short. It is up to you to decide what you do of it-do whatever is offered to you or go one step ahead and ask for what you want. Again, as a Communication student, I find that many of my batch-mates are willing enough to ask for work which they wanted and I am pleased by this because it makes sense to identify with what you are doing. And along with your project work, it is also necessary to scout the office for what you never want to be caught into-there may be profiles which are really interesting sounding when in college, but they might just not be what you want once you see them in action. Yes-I have identified what I NEVER want myself doing in the media industry (but then, this is a topic for some later day).
Ameya Sawadkar signing off again. Will try and keep updating this blog in case monumental activity takes place in my relatively placid life. Until that activity-adios!
1. Internships are too short to get to know what a company actually does. With that in mind, even if I cannot fathom the scope of what Mindshare has been doing, what I came back with was 'What kind of people survive and make it big in media', 'What is a day in an agency like', 'What works in media and entertainment and what does not' and a more refined knowledge of how to use different media measurement software.
2. The more open you are to suggestions, the more suggestions you will get. And there will always be one more suggestion. Instead of being very open to suggestions and demands, being pro-active helped me better. What I learnt here was how people in an agency functioned and what will their next demand or suggestion be. So in case you anticipate that well and give them their next suggestion/implementation as a part of your proposal, you will find yourself appreciated and looked upon in some good light.
3. Try and get a PPO! This one will be a bit controversial in its worst interpretation. It is not bad-getting a PPO, definitely! At the same time, it is not a very heavy duty task wherein you have to go to the company loaded with bazookas and LMGs. It is more of the mental block of calling it a PPO and an essential that probably makes a person miss out on one. Work well, understand what you are doing and ask lots of questions to a lot of people and then start with the how. Do your groundwork and provide references, quote case studies ONLY AFTER STUDYING THEM, understand your category-the regular essentials. And importantly, do not think of getting a PPO while doing all of this.
In more generic and relatable language, I found that people respect understanding of jargon more than jargon here-a case slightly different from regular classes. Also, keeping ambition in check while working on ideas was another important learning. What happens in classes is great because you are not expected to implement a POTENTIAL idea for something. At the same time, in the real world-budgets and understanding have their limitations. Hence, believing in simpler and more stupid seeming ideas is something I have learnt in addition. And to give a rationale, such ideas are:
a. Easy to understand-for both client and consumer
b. Easy to implement-for implementation team and agency
c. Easy to execute-because they happen in low budgets
Also, as there was a lot of research involved, I realized how difficult it is to leave behind inhibitions and go down to the lowest level and communicate with people. At the same time, this kind of communication is much more effective than asking a few people to fill in information into online survey questionnaires. Also, sometimes, a day spent merely observing people at work or at leisure time provides more insight than through technically and jargon-wise correct actions which are data oriented.
Overall, I found that the experience of an internship (as I have already mentioned earlier) is very short. It is up to you to decide what you do of it-do whatever is offered to you or go one step ahead and ask for what you want. Again, as a Communication student, I find that many of my batch-mates are willing enough to ask for work which they wanted and I am pleased by this because it makes sense to identify with what you are doing. And along with your project work, it is also necessary to scout the office for what you never want to be caught into-there may be profiles which are really interesting sounding when in college, but they might just not be what you want once you see them in action. Yes-I have identified what I NEVER want myself doing in the media industry (but then, this is a topic for some later day).
Ameya Sawadkar signing off again. Will try and keep updating this blog in case monumental activity takes place in my relatively placid life. Until that activity-adios!
