Let me narrate my experience at MetLife and how the work culture and heritage of the company simply amazed me during my internship tenure. Life presents us with glorious opportunities to shine and succeed, and IIM Shillong has been a blessing to me in shaping my future. A beautiful experience and activity-filled summer at MetLife convinced me that even a traditional company with more than 150 years of domain experience and over 50,000 employees across the globe can encourage fresh perspectives and adapt to strategic innovations with ease. I was simply treated as an employee instead of an intern during the two-month-long adventure.
For my stint with MetLife, I was offered a position in the project management team post the interview quite unexpectedly as the job roles posted earlier were different from what was given to me. Completely satisfied with the credentials and profile, accepting the offer has been one of the best decisions I have ever taken in my life.
In MetLife GOSC, I was a part of a 11-member cohort of summer interns from business schools across the country. It was by far one of the most diverse and accomplished group of peers I have had the opportunity to work with. I worked in the market and competitive strategy in the transformation practices team, directly reporting to the manager of strategy consulting. The project involved an evaluation of the digital strategies of selected global insurers to enhance customer experience and conduct a competitive analysis with that of MetLife. It helped me learn how a market study is conducted and improved my competitive intelligence.
In the words of Oprah Winfrey, “A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” I was fortunate to have had the support of many mentors, who taught me the intricate details and nuances of this industry in just two months. The guidance and feedback I received from the top level management professionals made it a delightful experience.
Although the pandemic created a hindrance in experiencing the friendly, employee-centric, encouraging, and supportive workspace of MetLife at Noida, the gap was effectively filled in by the rejuvenating virtual sessions conducted by the HR team. The interactive virtual sessions ended with the virtual ‘happy hours’ on the last day of the internship. I am thankful to everyone who helped me enjoy these two months at the company and allowed me to be a part of the MetLife family.
(The writer is currently pursuing his MBA at IIM Shillong. He worked in the banking sector for two years before deciding to pursue a career in management. His areas of interest lie in the field of Marketing. He also loves tapping his feet to hip hop music often.)