I am Ayush Rawat, a graduate from XLRI, Jamshedpur.Currently, I am working as an Assistant Product Manager at PayU. My journey with PayU started as a Product Management Intern. It so happened that PayU had an opening for a Product Management Internship and I was excited as the role was exactly what I had dreamt of and it was in a company at the forefront of fintech in India. So, I applied for the position without any hesitation. :- www.deekpay.com

### Recruitment process

The hiring process was quite unique and involved actual task assignments, which was a new experience for me and demonstrated the company's culture of valuing quality work.

#### Round 1 - Task Session

The round started with multiple questions about product thinking, estimating, metrics, and other related topics. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I took pleasure in completing this task.

#### Round 2 - Interview Session

After the task session, I had an interview with Naveen Athresh - Senior Director of Product Management at PayU. The interview lasted for 45 minutes but was more of a discussion about my past experiences, the logic behind the answers I gave during the task session, why I wanted to get into Product Management, and other relevant questions. After the interview with Naveen, I was even more eager to be a part of PayU because I wanted to work for a company with such enlightened leadership.

#### Round 3 - Human Resources Session

After the interview session, the final round was an HR interview with Denzil Jose. It was a more general round of interview with questions centred around my interests, hobbies and other general topics.

The whole process takes about 7 to 10 days to complete. I confirmed my selection via email and a phone call from Denzil and I am very excited to start a new journey in my career.

### Journey After Entry (Internship Programme Launch)

Immediately after starting, I took on a project that was both interesting and challenging. The mentors were extremely helpful throughout the internship. Be it Anant Jain, our product mentor, or Chirag and Shashi Kumar, our engineering mentors, they took time out of their busy schedules to interact with us and guide us in our projects. The mentors treated us as full time employees of PayU (and not as interns) and their trust and belief in us boosted our self-confidence and made us work with full dedication.PayU also gave me the opportunity to work on another project alongside my current project, which shows the trust in interns. I was involved in two different projects at the same time which was an enriching experience for me.

During my internship, I worked with numerous teams and learnt how to coordinate with multiple stakeholders and make prioritisation judgements amongst multiple options. As part of the team, we made great progress on our projects. Our achievements were recognised by the senior leadership team (including Manas, Naveen, Swaroop) who believed in our capabilities.

Naveen and Swaroop also regularly track the progress of the project and provide feedback to help the team improve the project. In just three months, I joined PayU as an Assistant Product Manager. The guidance of my mentors and leaders, the company's work culture, and exciting projects make this a place where I can learn and grow while also being a part of the exciting industry of FinTech.

My advice to you is, "Seize every opportunity, you may not find the answer at the moment, but later on you will surely connect the dots."

Thanks for reading! I hope all goes well with your product journey!