Rushil Gupta
Computer Science and Engineering
PPO
Adobe Systems
Interviewed by:
Shubham Jhakkar
Internships
PPOs
20th September 2020
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Why PPO?
How did you stand out among your colleagues?
Summary of the specifics.
Policies regarding PPOs?
Any tips for securing a PPO?
Importance of good relations within the company?
Well, this question itself has a bias. Choosing a PPO is never an end to your exploration for good opportunities for yourself. There are numerous reasons why someone might choose PPO:
a) Good company, good pay, interesting work, and no intention to jump into the cumbersome process at OCS
b) Security option for trying out for more risky alternatives like Ph.D. programs, Masters, off-campus opportunities, etc.
So, essentially the first thing that is important to decide upon is which type of situation one is in. If the case is the second one, then surely there isn’t much convincing needed. If it is the first case, then one needs to take a more cautious decision. Talking to your known seniors at the company or your mentors during the internship gives really good insights about the company. In my opinion, what matters most is what work I will be doing. Once we have answers to these questions along with knowledge of the companies coming for placement season, we can make an informed choice. In my case, I belonged to the second category and, work and culture at Adobe Systems seem interesting to me. I had detailed conversations about it with my mentor at Adobe and faculties here in IIT, following which I took the PPO as a good security option while giving me time to try my hand at more risky opportunities.
a) Good company, good pay, interesting work, and no intention to jump into the cumbersome process at OCS
b) Security option for trying out for more risky alternatives like Ph.D. programs, Masters, off-campus opportunities, etc.
So, essentially the first thing that is important to decide upon is which type of situation one is in. If the case is the second one, then surely there isn’t much convincing needed. If it is the first case, then one needs to take a more cautious decision. Talking to your known seniors at the company or your mentors during the internship gives really good insights about the company. In my opinion, what matters most is what work I will be doing. Once we have answers to these questions along with knowledge of the companies coming for placement season, we can make an informed choice. In my case, I belonged to the second category and, work and culture at Adobe Systems seem interesting to me. I had detailed conversations about it with my mentor at Adobe and faculties here in IIT, following which I took the PPO as a good security option while giving me time to try my hand at more risky opportunities.
Actually, I don’t think that I did anything very special or different than my colleagues. The only thing I maintained from my side was dedication towards the work, sincerity, and a sense of ownership about it. I used to participate in some of the company events discussed ahead. But, again this might have not given me the edge as everyone I know from our campus did receive the PPO. So like in my case, I can’t think of anything different which I did that contributed significantly towards getting the offer.
The policy regarding handing out the PPOs is not fixed in any sense. I think it highly depends year to year and also on the circumstances at the time. In the covid scenario, Adobe had already planned not to recruit much through campus placements so it didn’t come in campus placements and therefore gave PPOs to around 75% of interns. Given the number of vacancies, the percentage between PPOs and campus recruitments varies. The quality of work done by interns also plays a role in this. To be precise, Adobe offers PPO in two roles: Research Associate role and Member of Technical Staff(MTS). There is usually a large number of offerings in MTS role as compared to 5-6 offerings in the research associate role.
The things that matter the most are how well you perform during the internship, how enthusiastic are you for the work, how well are you able to contribute to the project by giving more ideas, etc. It is good to take initiative in your work. The more responsible you feel for your work, the much better does it happen in reality and gives good indicators about your work ethics to your mentor/manager. So I would suggest focusing on the work, display your best ethics and give your best. Also, it is better to maintain a good relationship with the mentor/manager you have been assigned. Important thing is that good relation doesn’t mean flattery here. His/her positive feedback will definitely boost your chances to receive the PPO.
This is a question that always has an associated uncertainty. You never know what plays in your favor in the decision process. I believe when working closely with people in the company, it becomes essential to form relations. This doesn’t require any special efforts perse but just the thing about taking initiatives and participating in the company events at times. Coming out as a holistic personality is important for a company and if someone can advocate that for you, it will surely contribute positively to your decision process. In Adobe, events like virtual fest, multiple round-table discussions, and sessions with senior employees were conducted. If not during the decision process, these relations surely help when we have to take a final decision on accepting/rejecting the PPO, if offered.
Adobe Systems doesn’t have this concept of any specific evaluations for the offering of PPO. So, I didn’t have to go through any interviews nor any evaluations at the individual level specifically. However, there was an evaluation for work we had done via presentations at different stages of the internship. Out of all those, the most important one was the final presentation along with the tech fair that happened towards the close of the internship. The audience for the same was Adobe Research scientists, associates, product managers, VP of Adobe Research, and other people from all the offices of Adobe, both national and international.
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