Kshitij Gupta
Production & Industrial Engineering
PPO
L.E.K. Consulting
Interviewed by:
Ojas Srivastava
Internships
PPOs
20th September 2020
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Why PPO?
Any tips for securing a PPO?
Policies regarding PPOs?
Criteria used while handing out PPOs?
Importance of good relations within the company?
Summary of the specifics.
Throughout my college life, I have done multiple internships in various fields. Since I had the first-hand experience of working in many fields before joining LEK Consulting, I could easily compare them and decide what I enjoyed the most. During my LEK internship, I was convinced that I would love to pursue consulting after college. I loved problem-solving and the corporate culture. Talking about the company choice, I was attracted to the workplace culture at LEK. I got to work with some of the smartest and most hard-working people as my co-interns and senior associates. I was amazed to see the kind of responsibilities that LEK gives to even its junior-most employees. So, in addition to the kind of projects that LEK works in, all these things motivated me to apply for a pre-placement offer.
I believe it varies from company to company. While there is no fixed criteria or a set pattern to secure a PPO, it is important that one works hard throughout to absorb all the industry knowledge, network with company seniors, and learn the technical skills - after all that is what internships are primarily for.
Certainly, every company awards PPOs to only a certain number of interns based on its employees’ requirements for the upcoming year. I don’t think there is a fixed number or a fixed percentage of students in any company.
Usually, companies use students’ performance during the internship as the criteria for giving out PPOs. In addition to this, all interns in my company had to give an interview before receiving the pre-placement offer.
I think pre-placement offers are awarded only on the basis of one’s performance during the internship. However, a good working relationship with the seniors in the team always benefits us as they can act as our mentors throughout our time at the company and even after the internship is over. We stand a chance to learn a lot from people 2-10 years senior to us if we are on good terms with them.
After the internship program was over, all the interns were asked to appear for an interview to be considered for a PPO. These interviews happened sometime around mid-September. A preliminary round was taken by the Talents Team Head which was followed by the Partner round. In the preliminary round, I was asked to solve an unconventional case followed by some HR questions. The shortlisted candidates met the partner to discuss the work done during the internship. After this, I was lucky enough to receive an offer from the firm.
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