This summer, I had the chance to intern (GTern) with Grant Thornton’s Global Research Centre, part of their Global Delivery System. It was a research-focused internship that taught me far more than just data analysis.
Professional Development Outcomes
This internship strengthened several competencies critical to my career objectives:
Research and Analysis: Enhanced ability to work with financial databases and synthesize complex information into clear, actionable briefs.
Professional Communication: Improved understanding of corporate communication standards and stakeholder engagement approaches.
Leadership Perspective: Gained practical insights into trust-based management and effective delegation strategies.
Industry Knowledge: Developed understanding of how research organizations operate within larger corporate structures.
Career Clarity: Confirmed my interest in pursuing PPE (Politics, Philosophy, Economics) studies and reinforced the relevance of interdisciplinary approaches that I actively pursue through my various pursuits, while providing proper guidance and access to industry experts.
Assignments
Our first major task involved sourcing and recording the financials of various companies using VCC Edge, a specialised database. However, a few companies that were assigned to us were not available on our database. This led to us having to scour a myriad of (often dodgy) third party websites trying to find their Profit and Loss statements. Often this exercise felt like a digital treasure hunt, which was quite enjoyable.
The second assignment was more nuanced. We were given a list of individuals (“players”) from different companies and asked to compile short briefs on them and their firms. This was far more intuitive as we had to strike a careful balance between brevity and depth, making sure each brief was concise while providing enough context to facilitate meaningful understanding.
What Stood Out
The highlight of this internship, however, wasn’t the assignments; it was the people.
One, how well they were treated by the company and two, how open and available they were to us.
Sheetal Ma’am, a woman with a truly infectious energy, acquainted us to the company; from what I could understand and saw firsthand:
The company’s culture was one of trust, trust that was consciously vested in its employees. Rather than relying on micromanagement, the organisation trusted its people to make the right choice themselves.
This shift in perspective gave their employees agency, thus ownership, and increased their productivity.
Being in an administrative role, and someone who wants to be in and around the realm of leading people in the future I thought this was really intriguing.
When we visited the office the people were very warm and took the time to interact with us, in contrast to the indifference I’ve witnessed at other corporates.
People and Learnings
Most internships come with a mentor. Few with someone like Harsh. Harsh went above and beyond to make sure we got the most out of this internship. Our scheduled daily half-an-hour calls more often than not stretched into 90-minute long deep dives (and occasional gossip sessions <3).
An economics major he took us through economics concepts, Excel, email etiquette, research methodology and resources, even showing us a few company presentations and pitch decks so that we could get a glimpse of how things work. His mentorship went far beyond the formal scope of the internship. It was thoughtful and constructive: not quid pro quo, not performative; rather, a genuine support framework for growth. We connected during the experience, and I continue to stay in touch with him even today.
Later on in the internship i was introduced to Oleena ma’am, an expert in the field of public policy: the exact field I wish to pursue (atleast for right now). She introduced PESTEL Analyses to us and over a brief interaction we had a meaningful conversation about the undergrad degree i plan to pursue, how public policy is fundamentally interdisciplinary (as is the PPE degree I wish to pursue), the importance of economics vis-a-vis policymaking, and her experience in the field. I’m sure I’ll pester her with a bunch of more questions as I move ahead in my academic journey. (I’m sorry :))
On our last day we had a candid interaction with Harsh’s manager and team. When the floor was opened to us, I asked about something personal: I asked about the problems I had been facing in delegating work, how I could not let go, how I was doing other people’s work for them. I think they told me everything I needed to hear.
They told me about how observing is very important when leading a group of people, how giving them agency and ownership by making them head up a specific assignment empowers them to do better. They told me I need to look at what everyone brings to the table, what they like doing and what they don’t, then tailoring their work to it. People tend to do what they like with more zeal.
Then on letting go they talked about their own experiences, their own problems, and how they worked through them. We touched upon a few more topics mostly surrounding research and skills that are important in todays day and age. All in all they were very open and generous with their time.
Closing Statement
I’ve always believed that, at its core, we truly learn in only two ways: either through our own mistakes or by observing the mistakes of others and how they overcame them.
The experience of the people I had the chance to interact with was non pareil, you could tell they were speaking from the heart and genuinely wanted to help me on my journey.
I went, perhaps, to add another bulletpoint to my CV but I ended up connecting with people on a profound level and learning much more than I had hoped. I love learning from people and interacting with them and I hope the connections I’ve made will last for a really long time.
I would like to thank Grant Thornton for this opportunity and for their immense guidance.
Neil Pahuja 