{"id":18267,"date":"2019-06-10T11:26:29","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T05:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internshala.com\/blog\/?p=18267"},"modified":"2019-06-13T10:16:35","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T04:46:35","slug":"i-did-not-want-to-pursue-a-career-in-engineering-here-is-how-i-discovered-my-true-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internshala.com\/blog\/i-did-not-want-to-pursue-a-career-in-engineering-here-is-how-i-discovered-my-true-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"I didn’t want to pursue a career in engineering. Here’s how I discovered my true calling"},"content":{"rendered":"

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About the author:<\/i><\/b> Kunal Arora is a 3rd-year student of Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Technology, Delhi. He shares how\u00a0he took the leap of choosing a career path completely different from his field of study.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I was in my third semester when I realised that I didn\u2019t want to become an engineer. What I hadn\u2019t realised yet was what I did want to be. I knew that I needed to make my resume attractive, but I had no idea where\u00a0or\u00a0how to start. That’s when my cousin came to my rescue and\u00a0told me that internships are a great way to add to one\u2019s resume. Having\u00a0done\u00a0two internships himself, he\u00a0recommended Internshala to me,\u00a0and\u00a0I registered\u00a0on the platform. In my confusion and cluelessness, I sifted\u00a0through Internshala, applied for non-technical internships, and hoped for the best.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first application I made was for a sales development internship at <\/span>UrbanClap<\/b>. I didn\u2019t know how to answer the basic \u201cWhy should we hire you?\u201d question, so I wrote a cursory answer and submitted the application. Unsurprisingly, I didn\u2019t get selected. Ranging from sales to content writing\u00a0and\u00a0event management, I applied to all kinds of internships and received all kinds of rejections. Despite being disheartened, I\u00a0kept trying since I needed an internship experience.\u00a0This time, though, I put more effort into answering the \u201cWhy should we hire you?\u201d question in a descriptive and clearer manner. Gradually, my application statuses began to change\u00a0from \u2018Applied\u2019 to \u2018Under review\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n

After four months of struggle and patience, the clouds finally parted. After my profile was shortlisted, I was directly hired for a market research internship at <\/span>Kriger Campus<\/b>, a mobile-based education network. I couldn’t believe it; my luck had finally turned around!\u00a0It was a work-from-home internship where\u00a0I analysed the current education system and generated ideas to improve it. I communicated with 31 other interns in a WhatsApp group; we\u00a0were the alpha testers who checked every facet of the app. I conducted surveys and participated in group discussions and brainstorming sessions. My ideas were appreciated and implemented which encouraged me. My performance during this internship gave me confidence and clarity about what I was truly interested in, and\u00a0<\/span>that\u2019s when I decided to pursue market research. I applied again\u00a0during my summer break, and this time it was an internship at <\/span>Codit Solutions<\/b>, a company that designs and develops enterprise systems.\u00a0They asked me\u00a0to research a particular market and give my report in a format specified by them. I got through this round and was selected for the internship. The work there was totally different from my previous internship, but I was excited to try new things. At Codit Solutions, I conducted market research and prepared reports on the research. This internship gave me many new insights into how market research helps a business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, I applied to\u00a0another internship at an IT company called <\/span>Walkover<\/b>, where I went through 3 rounds of selection. In the first two\u00a0rounds,\u00a0they\u00a0asked me\u00a0to write a pitch for cold calling\u00a0and\u00a0to create a survey on the exotic vegetable market in India. The final round was a telephonic interview with HR\u00a0wherein they enquired about my educational background, hobbies, and my interest in doing market research.\u00a0During this internship, I conducted cold calls and surveys\u00a0on restaurant databases\u00a0and maintained the response sheets.<\/span>\u00a0I also got the opportunity to\u00a0work as\u00a0a campus ambassador of <\/span>IIM<\/b> Bangalore<\/strong>.\u00a0I filled a questionnaire and prepared a marketing plan, and once I was shortlisted,\u00a0I was tasked with promoting their fest, Unmaad.<\/span><\/p>\n

My four internships completely rebranded my skill set and gave my career a direction. When I first started looking for internships, I didn’t know what to pursue, so\u00a0I worked in various fields before realising that I wanted to do market research. Then,\u00a0I found an outlet to discover and explore my interest in market research through internships. All these experiences\u00a0also\u00a0taught me to\u00a0persevere\u00a0and believe in myself, and I’m thankful to Internshala for making this possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you unsure about which path to follow to find a career you love? Apply now to these cool marketing research internships<\/a><\/span> and find your true calling.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n