About the Company

Schlumberger Ltd. is the world’s largest oilfield services company employing approximately 100,000 people from 140 countries and engendering revenues of approximately $35.47 billion.

Making It There

In my sophomore year, I was quite akin to most of my colleagues who didn’t have any particular field of direction but had wee bits of experience in all fields. For people in similar situations,Schlumberger is a considerable option as it keeps you open to other career options. As with most companies, the recruitment process starts with shortlisting of resumes. Schlumberger recruits from almost all branches and as such, there is no CGPA bar. But Schlum pays heed to your leadership qualities, so a CGPA of above 7 along with past instances of leading and working in teams can give you an edge. This is followed by a Group Discussion round where you are judged on your leadership skills and your ability to drive the conversation. The last round is a generic HR interview round where questions regarding your life and related to the company are asked. Your interview is likely to conclude with the usual “Do you have any questions for us? ”, so make sure you have a good question prepared beforehand as this can have a big impact on the interviewer’s mind.

Life at Schlumberger

The journey starts with a three-day orientation cum training program in Mumbai where you learn about the company and the Oil industry in general followed by safety training. Safety is a major concern for the company, so much so that you may even get fired for not taking necessary precautions like wearing seat belts while travelling.

After the orientation, every intern is assigned a Mentor, a Field Service Manager and a Field Mentor to guide them throughout their tenure. My field location was Agartala, Tripura and base location was Mumbai. My work was roughly divided into two major projects, the first of which was to modify the design of a cementing unit and to increase its efficiency with respect to money and time. Secondly, I had to make a tool for the efficient mobilization of assets. Apart from these, I was also working on a mini project to improve the efficiency of the base office.

At schlum, interns are given huge responsibilities and the same goes for the freshman employees. Having a bigger role than usual from the offset is a good motivator as it gives you the feel of being an integral part of the firm. For our field work in Tripura, we had a very hectic schedule. We had long days with no fixed working hours, no weekends off and seemingly never-ending work in a remote location. On the plus side, if you do a satisfactory job, you are very likely to get a PPO with additional perks like good accommodation and traveling benefits on top of a handsome pay. The best part is, you get to travel a lot and experience living at different places.

Takeaways

This internship is a complete package of learning, starting with a brief understanding of the Oil and Gas industry. From there, it moves quickly to the field work wherein you are expected to put in long hours in remote locations.But it ends well with mind-boggling projects in corporate offices. Since it is only a month long intern, it gives you an entire free month which can be utilized for management, consultancy or other similar internships.

Summing up and advice to people gunning for it

This internship is a great opportunity for all those who do not have a clear plan of action for the future. Due to the recent shattering of oil prices, the company is suffering from diminished revenues and cost cutting, so your motivation needs to be knowledge and not money. You are bound to face new challenges on a daily basis, which will improve your decision-making and adaptability skills while providing you with the necessary experience. The key to success is interacting with everyone and having the persistent zeal for learning. If you continue to perceive and experience things, money will not at all be a issue in the long run. Most importantly, if you are into this kind of work, you get to experience firsthand, the work culture of a Fortune 500 firm which is still way ahead of its competitors.