Hi! I’m Sanyukta. I’m from India and I’m currently pursuing Masters in International Business and Management at Alliance Manchester Business School. Here’s what I want to share about my journey from interning in startups to pursuing a Postgraduate degree.

My internship experience has been instrumental in shaping my trajectory towards my Postgraduate study and my future career. During my Undergraduate studies, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work over a year in two dynamic start-ups in India along with my academic endeavours. These experiences were extremely important and essential, bringing insights and abilities that have greatly influenced my career path.

Initially, I was confined to people management, the domain in which I pursued my internships, but later I discovered my interest in strategy development which was fuelled by an intrigue about the inner workings of companies and the problems they meet. These experiences fanned my curiosity in the business domain about business operations and that drove me to pursue a Master’s degree in International Business and Management. It was these internships that kindled in me the love of scrutinizing the business processes and problem-solving of the company with the right strategy. During these internships, I gained a thorough grasp of a wide range of business management disciplines, including strategic planning, human resource management, and organisational structure. This has helped me build a foundation in the discipline of business management for the Master’s program.

Working with HR (Human Resources) department professionals and department heads, I was involved in the recruitment process, employee engagement initiatives and performance management techniques from the inside. This helped me understand the concepts in my course “Comparative Business & Management” more thoroughly. Moreover, I also had the opportunity to watch and analyse how the top-level management made strategic decisions in the company. This experience not only helped me to deepen my understanding of strategic alignment between top-level management decisions and organizational goals but also to put my existing knowledge into coursework assignments in my academic studies.

In addition, my internships provided me with several possibilities to improve important skills such as networking, workplace communication, problem-solving, and analytical abilities. These talents have been quite useful in my current  Master’s programme. The skill of networking that I got from my internships has turned out to be such a crucial skill to successfully make my way around the Postgraduate terrains as well as explore career possibilities.

One of the most influential aspects defining my career path was the opportunity to work directly with the founder of one of these start-ups. His transformational leadership and managerial ingenuity inspired me to pursue a career in business management and has also instilled in me the aspiration to start my venture one day. His mentorship taught me the value of making courageous decisions, thinking outside the box, and being resilient when faced with challenges which now helps me as my guiding direction towards tackling complex problems in my postgraduate studies. His mentorship not only has transformed me as a student but also has moulded me to become the committed and hardworking individual that I am today.

Furthermore, the liberty and authority I had throughout my internships allowed me to take the initiative, lead initiatives, and devise solutions to address a variety of difficulties. This practical experience has not only given me the skills to solve problems, but it has also instilled in me a sense of ownership and responsibility, both of which are highly valued in the corporate world. As a result, I’ve never felt more secure in my talents or more clear about how to apply academic knowledge to real-world situations. As a result of these experiences, I have a good grasp of how companies operate, which has helped me better comprehend business concepts in my postgraduate study. Hence, internship experiences are critical in imbibing necessary skills prior to attending a Postgraduate degree and in developing a professional career future path.

Written by Sanyukta, current MSc International Business and Management student at AMBS

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