April 30th. That’s the day I connected with 17seven. I remember being nervous before the Skype interview but as soon as the call started, Vimal sir made sure to conduct the interview in a very calm way. Soon after that, Pooja - the HR manager confirmed the internship. Aniruddh, a colleague, helped me get adjusted to the city before even joining while advising me on career.

Fast forward to day 1 at 17seven. I was filled with excitement, a bit of jitteriness, somehow calm as well; pretty much all kinds of feelings at the same time. I was welcomed by Pooja who explained to me how the agency works, its values and introduced me to the team. She helped with everything else, both in and outside work.

At 17Seven, I gained experience as a UX Intern. I met my mentor- Tanvi, who gave the project brief I was going to be a part of, the deliverables and the process to follow. Her encouragement pushed me to get out of my comfort zone to produce work. I definitely took time to get used to 17Seven’s style of work, as I was only aware of the methods followed in college. But I think I’m getting there. What I learnt in the industry is that each project is unique and hence a single standard process may not be effective. With this in mind, my journey kick-started. I actively participated in other live projects as well.

My biggest challenge yet the most fruitful experience, was doing a UX/UI internship while pursuing a degree in Product Design. Since I enjoyed working on a UX/UI project at college, I knew I wanted to do an internship in this field. Luckily, 17Seven didn’t treat interns in a stereotypical way. I was treated as one of the employees. Thanks to Vimal sir for teaching me and hearing my opinions. The work environment was very supportive that helped me interact with my colleagues with ease. I got to learn new methods, tools and processes during my internship and I’m greatly thankful to my buddy, Prajakta who constantly helped me learn.

For one of the projects, after working on the UX part, I worked on the UI. This may seem easy but it’s only here that I discovered the importance of even the smallest aspects like spacing between text, dimensions of buttons, readability of font colours, etc. My colleagues, Aditi and Omkar made sure to help and guide me with their feedback during this phase.

But it wasn’t all about work. At 17Seven I truly understood the meaning of working hard and playing harder. I got a chance to celebrate festivals, go out for meals, share food and exchange gifts. My 5 months with 17Seven have definitely helped me grow both personally and professionally. It has given me an opportunity to learn plenty and built confidence in voicing out my opinions. Before I close, I would like to say that it’s been an incredible experience for me and I surely made great memories here.

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