Devang Mahesh
Electrical engineering
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PPO
A.P.T Portfolio Private Limited
Interviewed by:
Devansh Agrawal
Internships
PPOs
20th September 2020
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Why PPO?
Any tips for securing a PPO?
Policies regarding PPOs?
Importance of good relations within the company?
Criteria used while handing out PPOs?
How did you stand out among your colleagues?
Choosing between PPO and placement is a very tricky thing in general, but it was a relatively simple choice for me. My interest lies in the field of Digital Hardware. As the name suggests, Digital Hardware is in the Electrical Engineering’s Core domain, and I finally got down to a small and simple list of 5-6 firms to choose from.
Among these firms, I interned and got a PPO from APT Portfolio Pvt. Lmt. APT is a trading firm based in Bangalore and Delhi. People at APT are erudite and helpful. Overall, it was the right job with the right people, so I went for the PPO without contemplating much. Another critical factor was that the placement season is a very stressful period which lasts for at least a couple of months starting with resume creation. So the cost-benefit analysis enticed me to avoid the melancholy and live peacefully.
Among these firms, I interned and got a PPO from APT Portfolio Pvt. Lmt. APT is a trading firm based in Bangalore and Delhi. People at APT are erudite and helpful. Overall, it was the right job with the right people, so I went for the PPO without contemplating much. Another critical factor was that the placement season is a very stressful period which lasts for at least a couple of months starting with resume creation. So the cost-benefit analysis enticed me to avoid the melancholy and live peacefully.
Foremostly, it would help if you display professionalism. In includes updating your mentor daily on the progress you made on the project. Even if you spend a lot of time on a simple issue, updating your mentor will avoid your mentor’s chances thinking you wasted a lot of time and are not serious about your work. Other things include being punctual, replying to messages and emails timely and respecting each others time by summarising all your points before meeting. Above your ability to get the job done, these small things do play a decisive role.
In my opinion, having good relations with seniors does not play a significant role. It is definitely the sincerity and quality of work done that cuts. Recommendations are for giving you an opportunity to prove yourself. PPOs come after you get a chance and are the outcomes of your effort essentially.
Connections will only add to an already good case but will not make a weak case qualify for a PPO.
Connections will only add to an already good case but will not make a weak case qualify for a PPO.
The criterion is simple: can the company benefit from you as an employee. It does not mean that you should be industry ready having expertise in all the simulation software. Every firm knows that the students they hire need to be upskilled. So what they are looking for are students/employees that are motivated enough to complete a task for the company by learning thing on their way. This task is essentially the intern project that you are assigned.
In the intern project, you will work with and report to your mentor. Your mentor will help you get started in the project and advise you throughout the internship. It is like working with him as a small team. Finally, at the end of the training, your mentor will take into consideration your diligence, punctuality, willingness to learn and communication skills to accordingly recommend your name for a PPO.
It again boils down to work ethics primarily. Keeping the concerned authority informed, working as a team and making progress for solving the problem statement helped me avail a PPO.
In particular, I was able to connect with my mentor, both professionally and casually. Apart from the project, I asked him various questions about the firm’s operations in general and sought guidance about what more I can do after choosing hardware design as a career path. Such interactions, especially in the initial weeks, helped me get familiar with him and after that, working as a team became much more straightforward and even exciting. Forming a comfortable working environment in the initial weeks helped me throughout the internship and eventually availed the PPO.
In particular, I was able to connect with my mentor, both professionally and casually. Apart from the project, I asked him various questions about the firm’s operations in general and sought guidance about what more I can do after choosing hardware design as a career path. Such interactions, especially in the initial weeks, helped me get familiar with him and after that, working as a team became much more straightforward and even exciting. Forming a comfortable working environment in the initial weeks helped me throughout the internship and eventually availed the PPO.
Yes, there are such policies of offering a fixed number of PPOs. Some companies divide the students into sub-groups of ten each, then in every subgroup say two students will get PPO. But these policies are firm centric, APT for example had no such policy.
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Summary of the specifics
The evaluation I had was the project presentation that happened in the last week of the internship. It was a 30-40 minutes meeting where I summarised my work to all the office employees present, followed by Q&A. The presentation plays a vital role as it was the only time I put up my work outside my team and hence making them realise my coup and efforts I made meant a lot in availing a PPO. It is not hard as such but you need to keep it succinct.