Making it there

Step 1: Maintained a low CGPA by choice.
Step 2: Got frustrated seeing others’ summer sorted posts.
Step 3: Mailed, mailed and mailed my portfolio to almost a ton of companies
Step 4: An interview call from paytm and boom! Here I am.
Seems easy ?

Here’s the elaborate version.

Pursuing a design internship is not the same as pursuing an internship in your core subject. I’m a civil engineering student, so no companies are going to hire me as a design intern just on the basis of a test. So, for a design intern there’s no test but it’s all about your portfolio and the amount of work you have done previously to make that portfolio worth it. Mailing to right companies is another important thing, once you have made your portfolio. It’s like fishing, you have to wait patiently to get into a good company. There might be a lot of fishes in the pond, but your patience and hardwork drive the right fish to you. It was by April when I was prepared with my online portfolio and then I started mailing to the right companies. Using LinkedIn I first found out the right person’s email address and then mailed my portfolio. Sometimes people reverted, sometimes they didn’t. When they did, it was all about how they don’t require a design intern. Later, I somehow managed to get mail Ids of different startups and their product manager and HR. Friends are always a saviour and started rigorous mailing. Here the response was better than before. Yes, there were still some disappointing emails but it was a better scenario than before. I was happy as they were actually reverting back now.

There were some companies where my portfolio was selected and I was called for an interview but couldn’t make it. Amidst all this I remember it was by the end of this month that I got selected in 17seven, a design studio in Mumbai. I was happy that I finally made it. I was so content, that I forgot to confirm from my side and send the required signed documents. They sent another mail stating that they have cancelled my intern. Oh, I was moved. By this time, almost all of my batchmates were celebrating their intern offers and all those summer sorted things. Nevertheless, I started mailing again and made it in Crowdfire, a social media management company in Mumbai. This time I confirmed everything with no delay, got my tickets and departed for Mumbai. I was waiting for my train, which was late at Delhi station when I got a mail from Paytm. Paytm was always my dream. Putting my senses to work, I opened the mail which stated that my portfolio was selected and I was selected for an on-call interview.

I was in a dilemma. I was always told that a bird in hand is better than two in the bush. So the train was there and I departed for Mumbai and joined Crowdfire. The interview for paytm was the next day. I decided not to go to the office and stay at my place and prepare. The interview went fine and I was selected. Oh damn. Like all my hardwork, all those sleepless nights paid off. I resigned from Crowdfire and departed for the two months long journey at paytm in Noida.

Life at Paytm

Now Paytm is India’s well known e-commerce payment platform and digital wallet company that offers comprehensive payment services for customer and merchants.

I was appointed as a UX design intern. Here interns were normally given projects that could have been given to other employees. I was assigned a mentor to whom I had to submit the daily work progress at the end of the day. The mentors were quite friendly and eager to help and made sure I didn’t feel like a fish out of water. I was assigned a project for Paytm bank section in which I had to work on the problem statement which was to understand the user expectation with Bank App and find out if landing page of bank section of Paytm App met these expectations or not.

Under the guidance of my mentor, first I started my work with analysis of the current product. Later, I discussed the product with the seniors responsible and my mentor regarding the technical issues and business goals of the current product. After analysing all data, I decided to conduct user research to understand the target user in a better way. For this, I decided the goals of my user research. At last I analysed all my research data and suggested a new layout of Paytm Payment Bank. After approval of new layout of Paytm Payment Bank by my mentor, I also worked on UI Design and Interaction design of new layout.

The working hours were 10 am to 6.00 pm, but I generally went before time to interact better with my seniors and build better corporate relations. The work began at 10am with a break at 1pm and generally some or the other senior gave treats which was another perk.

The seniors there were quite friendly and were always ready to lend a helping hand in whatever I needed. Be it from home cooked food, to design problems they were always there and made my journey so memorable. The frequent discussions with higher management and the regular inspiration was another boon. Overall, the work culture was quite friendly and motivating. I could have not asked for anything better. Paytm gave me the best experience.

Moving to the description about the place. Noida. Probably you know better than I do. We are all familiar with the place the weather or the scorching heat the north faces.

Summing it up

The experience given by paytm was worth all the wait. My journey was full of failure but it’s all about luck and hard work. Hard work never goes waste. Paytm is a brilliant company to work for. From the money, to the work, and the people, everything was perfect. The corporate experience I gained truly brushed me up and will of course help me in making future choices. There was a lot to learn in these two months.

Some key advices to make your internship worth it.

• Make as many connections as possible.

• Interact as much as you can. Discuss your project with seniors and take their valuable input form them.

• Hard work is always irreplaceable.

So never give up till you get what you aspire for. The process might be slow, but if you are on the correct path accompanied with enough hard work, one day you’ll get there and everything will be worth it.