IL&FS Financial Services, Mumbai
Why??
After having huffed and puffed my way through daunting shop floors and mundane assembly lines, all in the quest to complete the mandatory 8 weeks of practical training in a relevant organisation, I knew, beyond any doubt, as Moti said, what I DO NOT want to do in life. Sometimes, given the wide plethora of avenues that we would fit in, knowing what you DON’T want is also just as important. Now, given that engineering/tech/core companies were out of question, I jumped into the whole “Financial Bandwagon”, and if given the opportunity, was more than willing to give it a try. I did not know what to expect, but then I knew that it would be challenging, no doubt.
So here I am.
For the sake of completeness (Yawn!!)
Now IL&FS stands for Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services, and I am in the Debt Syndication group, in the Financial Services section. The company, on the whole provides technical and financial advisory services for infrastructure projects, across most sectors. Mine would come under the umbrella of Corporate Finance.
For any project, from a financier’s perspective, apart from arriving at the budget estimates, a lot of thought goes into how the project would be financed. This would primarily be done by either borrowing Debt (loans from banks, etc.), or raising Equity (through an IPO, etc.). The Debt Syndication group does the valuation of debt pertaining to how to borrow, from where to borrow, multiple borrowings, the repayment structure, and risk mitigation.
On the job
The first question that my boss asked me on my very first day was “Why finance while still in engineering??” which was quite ironical considering that he too had an engineering background. Now this is a question that a lot of us would face if we consider this as a career option. So rather than beating around the bush, it’s better to be frank outright. He knows it, you too know it, but just that he wants you to acknowledge it.
One thing that you’d notice at such a workplace (apart from a fairly unbiased sex ratio :P), is the excessive use of “MBA” jargons, even for the most trivial things. Coming to the work, I was asked, atleast over the last 2 weeks, to analyse road and highway projects (that was what was available :P), go through past reports (“Information Memorandums” as they call it), look into the “financial modeling” part(excel spreadsheets with complicated formulae), which was quite interesting nonetheless, and look out for “business development opportunities ” (nothing more than intelligent Googling). Another thing I realized is that finance doesn’t really involve a lot of coding as I had initially expected. Rather what is required is good “quantitative analytical” thinking (basically just an extrapolation of the maths that we have learnt), though knowledge of statistics is desirable.
One thing however that I’d like to mention is that if ever you are entering a completely different field (such as finance), from engineering, it is always better to ask beforehand, what is expected of you, if possible, even meet with the relevant people you would be working under before you join, and if there is any prerequisite reading/knowledge/skill set required, so that you don’t waste time at work reading stuff that you would have rather done at home. As I was pretty lax in this regard, most of my initial days were taken up by reading the basics of corporate finance, like how to read balance sheets, income statements, etc.
However, all said and done, as far as adaptability and aptitude is concerned, it’s really not “Rocket Science” that we are dealing with, and should hence be manageable by all of us.
The Workplace
The workplace, I must say is absolutely stunning. Since I work at the Head Office at BKC, makes it even grander. The lobby resembles more of a hotel lobby, with a CCD parlour on one side, and a library on the other.
The people you meet here are a set of highly motivated workaholics. Though “official” working hours are from 9 to 5:30, I was in the awkward situation of being the first to leave on my first day, that too at 6!!!! With small working groups and targets to meet, nightouts at workplace is not uncommon, atleast when the days were good. Now ofcourse things have slowed down a little. Even my fellow interns, most of them having finished 1 yr of their MBA, are highly averse to katoofying lukka. So I don’t have much of an option there. On the plus side however, weekends are off.
General Observations
• I strongly believe interns do have a LOT to offer to any organization and would not be wise to think otherwise. If you believe that you have nothing to offer to the organization, it’ll be reflected in your work, and you will ultimately be viewed as a liability.
• Its not the Aptitude, but the Attitude that matters. Initially you might be given menial and “mentally non stimulating” tasks like googling for stuff and doing menial calculations. But workplace demands professionalism and is expected in whatever work you do, however insignificant you think it is. Simple things like being punctual and well turned out makes a huge difference.
• Take constant feedback. Constant interaction with your boss can be really useful. It is understood that he’d be a busy man, but maybe not busy enough to even spare 5-10 mins a day with you. If you ask for it, he might even engage in a candid conversation with you sometime. Also the HR department is a good source of feedback, as in most cases they themselves take feedback on you from your boss. Also ask pertinent questions like what qualities do they look out for whilst interviewing candidates, to get an inside perspective.
• Talk to as many people as you can. Try to gather whatever you can about the company, in every aspect. Also try to get in touch with IIT alumni working in the company. Linkedin is very useful (as I am finding out ) in that regard. They would be the BEST people to talk to.
Signing Off
At the end of it, based on what I have seen till now, I’d definitely give it a thumbs- up. Agreed that you have long and uncertain working hours, agreed that it’s really not in the field of study, but I believe this is a grind that is worth it. You wouldn’t really know whether you liked something or not unless you tried it out. But in the process of trying it out, wouldn’t you rather give it your best shot anyway???
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