Shubham Mehrol
Biotech (Dual)
Placements
Groww
Associate Product Manager(APM)
Interviewed by:
Somya Maheshwari
Internships
Placements
20th September 2020
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When to start preparing for the Placement season?
Comparison between your intern and placement interviews?
Learnings from this placement season?
How did you decide your field of interest? What about backups?
Major problems that you faced?
Online vs Offline placements?
Does the higher studies application timeline and placement session go along easily?
Necessities for targeting your field?
Well, its always good to start as soon as possible but usually people are involved in their internships before the start of their placement season, so the ideal time to get started is when you start making your CVs i.e., usually is mid-august or September. Main steps to get started is to find appropriate material for practice
(textbooks or digital content), make a job group (VV Important) and start believing in yourself that I am going to get the best job.
(textbooks or digital content), make a job group (VV Important) and start believing in yourself that I am going to get the best job.
I guess there are only similarities with almost no or very less differences. In intern also most companies take interviews seriously and rigorously as most companies want to give PPO’s to their interns because nobody wants to let go of good talent. Intern is also you can say a job for 2 months, so I don’t think there are any differences in terms of the hiring strategy.
One thing I did was applying in some random companies for profiles in which I did not wanted to go just for the sake of applying and because of peer pressure. I will tell you; it only wastes your time. You then must take part in the process, give unnecessary tests and all even when you do not actually want to land a job in that company. Also, if by chance you get an interview call, you will get tensed because you have not actually prepared for the profile and there are high chances that the interview will not go well which will not be very good for your confidence.
So only apply in companies and for profiles in which you really want to go and can imagine yourself working. Use your applications wisely and appropriately. Do not bulk apply.
So only apply in companies and for profiles in which you really want to go and can imagine yourself working. Use your applications wisely and appropriately. Do not bulk apply.
Well, I was always a little bit more inclined toward the economic and business side of things, in my 11th standard also where people usually take Physical Education or Computer Science as their 5th subject, I took Economics. In my first 2 years of college, I was clear that I did not wanted to go into pure sciences or engineering. Well, I have a good technical aptitude but figured out that I can put it to best use
being a management of business executive given my interest and inclination and my appropriate social nature. Being an engineer, problem solving is in our blood and that is what exactly consultants and product managers do – identify the problems and loopholes in a business and then try to solve or get rid of them or identifying new avenues to go into to help provide a much-needed service to the people. I was passionate about this and so finally decided to aim for the Product Management Jobs in the companies on campus.
I personally do not think that you should have a backup because that only distracts you from giving your 100% toward your primary goal. People then start to get confused between their primary goal and backup goal, which one is better etc etc which should not happen. Give adequate though in deciding what you want to do and then go bang on!!!
being a management of business executive given my interest and inclination and my appropriate social nature. Being an engineer, problem solving is in our blood and that is what exactly consultants and product managers do – identify the problems and loopholes in a business and then try to solve or get rid of them or identifying new avenues to go into to help provide a much-needed service to the people. I was passionate about this and so finally decided to aim for the Product Management Jobs in the companies on campus.
I personally do not think that you should have a backup because that only distracts you from giving your 100% toward your primary goal. People then start to get confused between their primary goal and backup goal, which one is better etc etc which should not happen. Give adequate though in deciding what you want to do and then go bang on!!!
Well, if you do the above-mentioned things right, there will not be many problems that you will face and specifically talking about myself – I didn’t face any major problem. Some people might start to feel a little anxious in the start thinking about how things will come out and when people perform better in tests and everything. One thing that you have to remember always is that if you’ve decided that you want to get a good job and you’re preparing for it honestly; nothing can stop you from getting it. Just stay positive and keep working hard. Also, people may face
problem juggling with their academics and preparation. I’ll suggest that do a smaller number of courses in your job sem. 4 is a decent number.
problem juggling with their academics and preparation. I’ll suggest that do a smaller number of courses in your job sem. 4 is a decent number.
I do not specifically know about the higher studies application process so maybe not the best person to answer this question.
Well, if you are aiming for the management jobs in the companies coming on campus, I would like to give some numbers to you. Only 20-25 % of the total jobs are management profiles or maybe even less. Other are core jobs or software profiles. Well business profiles can be exciting and more fun to work in than an IT job, but one should keep somethings in mind which are the necessitiesfor this field. You should be people centric and should have good management and leadership skills. These are front desk jobs and require on the go smartness which comes only from good amount of exposure to the world and people. Extroverts usually excel better in these profiles than introverts. Remember you do not need very high CGPA but need a very high social aptitude.
Specifically talking about product management, it is much like consulting but in a better way as it exposes you to all sides of a business, whether it be marketing, operations, branding, finance, product development etc which altogether makes it much more interesting.
So final take – focus more on your personal development rather than only academics, it will make you a better person in the long run and most probably will land you a decent job.
Talking about courses, if you really want to gain some extra knowledge you can do some MSL courses.
Specifically talking about product management, it is much like consulting but in a better way as it exposes you to all sides of a business, whether it be marketing, operations, branding, finance, product development etc which altogether makes it much more interesting.
So final take – focus more on your personal development rather than only academics, it will make you a better person in the long run and most probably will land you a decent job.
Talking about courses, if you really want to gain some extra knowledge you can do some MSL courses.
Well, I’ve only experienced online placements but I guess nothing has changed much, it was only that we had to give interviews via our laptops and all. We still gave tests which we used to do earlier; enough proctoring tools are there to prevent any malpractices. So, I guess both are okay but also, I would say that
interviews are actually a situation where you try to sell yourself (not literally) and I think a person can present himself or herself better in a physical situation rather than a virtual one so yeah, Final take – Offline is better.
interviews are actually a situation where you try to sell yourself (not literally) and I think a person can present himself or herself better in a physical situation rather than a virtual one so yeah, Final take – Offline is better.
Q
If someone does not get an intern via OCS in their 3rd year, what should they do?
Well, internships are definitely very important but what companies see in your resume is that whether you have used your 3 or 4 years of your college life wisely or not. Your CV should reflect that you have been involved in something or the another throughout your college life and not spent your college life sitting in your hostel room. So, keep yourself involved in one thing or the other. And if specifically talking about the 3rd year internship, try to get an internship off campus or you can also get yourself enrolled in some virtual internships programmes. Moral of the story is that If an interviewer asks you what you did in any summer or any semester – you should have a genuine answer.
Enjoy the placement season without stressing much about it. Find your calling and work towards it rather than following the herd. (Also, if you are not able to find your calling or identify your passion, then following the herd is also not a bad option)
Also keep working towards your personal development along with academics. That is very important not only for placements but for your life ahead.
Also keep working towards your personal development along with academics. That is very important not only for placements but for your life ahead.
Takeaways
