Last 2 weeks

My internship is coming to an end – only 2 more weeks left. I am wrapping up on the implementation of my initiatives, preparing for my final presentation and saying my good-byes.

Since my last post, I have made progress on the implementation of my initiatives, delivering tangible outcomes that will be useful for my team in the future. It has been fun and challenging at the same time – as they say, the devil is in the details! As I wrap up, I am making edits to my final presentation, rehearsing it with my manager and simultaneously, winding down my initiatives.

Last week, we hosted a lunch for bay area Ross interns at Google. It was an opportunity to connect other Rossers to Google and get the networking chain started. I believe Rossers enjoyed it and got a great chance to meet other Googler interns.

As I prepare to go to school, I wanted to highlight some of the learning I took away from this summer –

1.       The summer internship should not be viewed only as a tool to get a full-time offer – it should be viewed as a trial ground for us to understand ourselves – where we see our career going, what should be the ideal role for us for a long-term career.

2.       Delivering on the project is quite important and at the same time, it is also important to keep connected with peers who are interning in other companies to understand and remain connected to the Ross community

3.       Finally, as school is about to start, I think we should all take the perspectives that we have obtained seeing a company function and apply it to the classes we are all about to take – this will close the feedback loop and ensure that the learning we obtained during the summer gets consolidated

8 weeks into internship

As my internship continues, I have started implementation of my initiatives – this past couple of weeks have been quite insightful into how to run effective meetings, get consensus, close feedback loops and tie loose ends. As I continue implementation of my initiatives my final presentation date too has been scheduled and it is in a couple of weeks – this is my moment to shine and get visibility to the senior leaders within my group. I feel great and at the same time, there is a huge adrenaline rush as I begin preparing for the final presentation, creating slides, doing dry-runs. My team mates have been quite supportive and I cannot believe that in less than 4 weeks, my internship would have ended!

On a separate note, the intern group is having a lot of fun – we have been doing several activities, both fun and educational but most importantly, a great way to get immersed in the company’s culture.  Yesterday, we organized a mini-Ross Googler lunch and it was great meeting some Ross alumni who are now working at Google – get to learn about their experiences and get tips on how to do really well in the internship.

On the personal front, evenings have been great – meeting up with friends, going to movies, planning trips – it has just been fantastic! Ross interns in the bay area also have been getting together quite often through events organized at people’s homes – a couple of weeks back we had a potluck at a friend’s place and it was great reconnecting with fellow Rossers who are working in different companies and connecting with interns from other schools. Thanks to all the folks who have hosted events at their places.

As my internship comes to an end, I feel happy to have created impact thus far and I am looking forward to starting school in September.

Half-way through internship

It has been a great 6 weeks at Google. I had a check-in with my host last week on how things were going, my experience thus far.

Google makes it a point to do this to ensure that interns have an opportunity to receive timely inputs. Overall my experience so far has been great. 

I have had a chance to share my interim findings and am now on to my implementation phase. What this really means is interns get an opportunity to do meaningful work and really immerse themselves in the culture of the place. I am beginning to get a hang of how things are done here and am able to navigate my way around.

On the fun side of things, we have quite a lot of intern activities that are going on which gives me a chance to meet other interns. A few of us are going to watch a movie, get dinner in the city and really get to know each other. All the interns have such informal groups. We have frequent sharing sessions with other interns and this also gives an opportunity for all of us to understand or at least get a glimpse of the projects other interns are doing.

I had a chance to meet the OCD Director last week together with an alumnus who is working at Google. We had a great conversation about his perception of Ross.

On a personal front, I bought my new car and it is amazing! I went to the Indian temple nearby and did the necessary ‘Pooja’ (prayers) – this is part of the Indian tradition. Over the last few weeks, I have also had a chance to connect with some of my high-school friends from India who are now working in the Bay area!

A great few weeks I must say! 

First 2 weeks at Google!

My first two weeks at Google have indeed flown very fast! And the learning curve has been really steep.

The days of orientation were really enjoyable - meeting new interns, interacting with them, learning about Google. I was introduced to the Google way of thinking about things - which was certainly very helpful.

On the second day, my manager came to get me and we had a great conversation about my project, the background and context and what I should achieve at the end of my project. 

Starting day three, I met a lot of people in my team, across teams to understand the situation - my team was super helpful in getting me settled in. Google has a great culture with folks who are passionate about what they do - it was quite amazing to see things move at lightning speed here.

Over the course of the next few days, I absorbed as much information in the context of my project as I could. One of the first few things that I realized was I would have to really plan out my project. I drafted a work-plan and defined what my end product would be and had a fruitful discussion with my manager.

On the fun side of things, we went out on a welcome lunch on Friday of my second week. It was a really nice Mexican place and that was when I saw the really humorous side of my team - they had a great sense of humor. All the things that I had read and understood about Googlers - that they are passionate, have a sense of humor, have a sense of purpose were all getting confirmed.

Settling in San Jose was fun - I had to finalize my apartment, find furniture, go shopping - hectic but fun. Most importantly, I got to connect with all my friends who are in the bay area.

Overall, first two weeks have been a lot of fun, work and learning!

Being a Noogler!

Sunny California, here I come!

I am super excited to be working at Google this summer! The role is exciting and so is the company – I thoroughly enjoyed my interview experience and enjoyed speaking with the ‘Googlers’. In addition, before I started my MBA I had set my mind to focus on switching industries - from management consulting to technology and getting a chance to intern at Google is indeed incredibly exciting.

My role will involve improving processes. With this internship, I hope to create impact within the financial operations group of Google, get to learn about its culture and make a lot of friends. I cannot wait to begin, work hard, make new friends and enjoy the Google cafeteria! I also cannot wait to learn how one of the world's most innovative companies does business! In addition, having completed a very successful MAP project at Microsoft, it will be interesting to compare and contrast the cultures at both these awesome companies! 

I also intend to learn a completely new skill outside of work (true to Google culture) during my internship – this could be anything from learning how to play a new instrument to picking up a new sport.

More to come as the months fly by! Stay tuned!