Our conversation with Rene Sharanya Verma, a student of History at St. Stephen’s College, slam poet and feminist rapper, and one of the five Indian recipients of the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, reveals her expectations and plans for the future.

How does it feel to have secured one of the most prestigious scholarships offered to Indian students by a foreign university?

Rene: It’s quite surreal, really! I’m humbled and honoured to be joining a cohort of eighty-eight other inspiring and inspired individuals around the world who are working in profound ways to create a better future through the fields of advocacy, gender relations, policy formulation, ethics, and healthcare. More than anything, availing of the privilege to study at a premier institution like Oxford reaffirms my commitment to using my voice and work to contribute to larger cultural and political conversations across the world.

Q. What course have you chosen to study at Oxford and what is your particular interest in this subject? How does it compare with similar courses at other institutions?

Rene: I intend to pursue two Masters of Studies (MSt) programs in Women’s Studies and Film Aesthetics. Ultimately, I aim to work on feminist film theory, engaging with how filmic elements like playback music, colour, light shape and are shaped by the performance of gender. Additionally, I am interested in addressing notions of spectatorship in the context of Indian cinema.  I also hope to create films, both fictive and ethnographic, which combine my love for spoken word art, narrative cinema, humor as a site for politics and advocacy.

Both programs offer an interesting blend of interdisciplinary engagement along with specificity of the course modules provided. They focus on research methodology and theory, have small batches of students, and the thrust is on original research through one-on-one mentoring and tutoring. More exciting however, is the provision of opportunities to work with the Oxford International Women’s Festival, the Women in the Humanities programme, and the International Gender Studies Centre. This provides a great chance for young scholars in the academy to engage with grassroots activism and the possibilities and challenges of transnational feminism.

Q. Most students are apprehensive about the daunting application process that is involved in applying to foreign universities. How was your experience?

Rene: I spent my second year hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. I can vouch for the fact that application processes seem much more daunting than they actually are, especially if one paces themselves and is cognizant of deadlines. The process of applying to Rhodes is quite straightforward, and in distinction to other scholarship applications, begins quite early. I was able to zero in on my course combinations towards the end of my second year in college, and worked on my application during my summer study, which was beneficial.

One of the great things about the Rhodes scholarship is the amount of support you receive from the Rhodes Trust in assisting and streamlining the application process to the University, with reference to English language requirements, connecting with scholars from previous years and same courses/colleges. All in all, my experience has been very rewarding and relatively stress-free, so I’m quite relieved!

Q. What would be your advice to students applying abroad regarding statements of purpose and letters of recommendation?

Rene: The personal statement for the scholarship is a thousand word essay designed to present a concise version of one’s goals, aspirations, and by extension, who one really is. It can seem challenging at first, but I would highly recommend that candidates begin by thinking about the differences between an academic statement of purpose, a personal statement and a resume. It might ease one into thinking about how to approach the personal statement in a sui generis way- there is no right or wrong personal statement. I think the best way to go ahead is to present cogently and simply the arguments, questions, ideas, experiences that best define you. For instance, my statement revolved around silence, interweaving personal anecdotes with my academic proclivities and aims.

For the letters of recommendation, it would be prudent to approach professors, mentors and teachers who have encouraged your work through supervision, tutoring, discussion and are well aware of your strengths and weaknesses. I think that extends to certificates vouching for good conduct and extra-curricular activities.  It’s crucial to notify your references well in advance, keeping in mind their work schedules and other commitments. It is always helpful to provide referees with an idea of your proposed area of study, a resume and transcripts or other relevant documents.

Q. How was your experience at the interview? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how nervous were you?

Rene:  My interview experience was quite wonderful! I did experience jitters (which would ring in at a very strong 6) prior to the interview, but luckily, the committee organized a dinner with the interview panel a night prior to our final interviews. We got to interact with the panellists, distinguished scholars, professionals, and Rhodes scholars from previous years– who were kind, jocular and very accommodating. The setup also ensured that we got to interact with our peers, which was one of the most rewarding takeaways from the experience, as some of us formed great friendships.

The interview itself was refreshing and thought-provoking. It never seemed like an interrogation, and was an engagement where I was given a lot of space to articulate my beliefs and politics, research interests and achievements. The panel was not intimidating, au contraire, the panellists were very responsive to my answers and even shared a few jokes!

Q. What, according to you, was the most instrumental factor that led you to achieve the scholarship?

Rene: One thing that I’ve learnt is that there is no one type of Rhodes Scholar, and indeed, therein lies the beauty of the scholarship. I’d like to believe that one of the most instrumental factors that aided me was that I tried to be as honest about my beliefs as possible- to the interview panels, selection committee and most importantly to myself. I reckon my interests, both academic and extra-curricular, ranging from film-making, screenwriting, theater, spoken-word poetry demonstrated a singularity of purpose, and an unequivocal avowal to ideas I am passionate about.

Q. Do you have any apprehensions about moving so far away from home?

Rene: I have lived away from home prior to this, but never for so long. I’m going to miss the little things- hugging my family in vivo, eating in North Campus, walking in the Lodhi gardens. Living alone has also made me check my privilege and be grateful for things I took for granted—like household chores, food, and the presence of loved ones. Most importantly, I’m quite nervous about the weather, but I hope to bask in the ever-elusive sun as long as possible!

Q. What are you looking forward to at Oxford? Any expectations?

Rene: I’m looking forward to using two years of my life to expand my horizons, meet new people, travel on a budget, and create some meaningful work.  I am excited to join a vast community of intellectuals, engage with a multitude of ideas, and forge lasting friendships. I’m delighted to be connecting with advocates for gender equality from across the world, fellow poets and writers and I hope to work with theatre, sketch comedy and film clubs while I’m there!

This was first published on DU Beat. 

The post A Conversation with Rene Verma, Awardee Rhodes Scholarship 2016 for University of Oxford. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

Shreya Dubey is a student of Psychology at Daulat Ram College, who got to attend the reputed Stanford Summer School program. Her choice of subject was Affective Science, Neuroscience, and Social Psychology, offered by the Psychology Department of the university. She secured an admirable GPA of 3.9. She talks about her experience at the institute, and of walking in the same places as some of her greatest idols.

Q. What made you choose summer school over an Internship? Did you have any notions about studying in the US specifically? In your opinion, what should an Indian student keep in mind before deciding to undertake such a course abroad?

Shreya: Ever since the start of my undergraduate degree at Daulat Ram College, I learnt about the pioneers in the field of psychology and the research carried out by them. I always wanted to know what it’d feel like to be in the same place as these researchers. I believe that Internships are important but thorough knowledge of the subject matter is a must before trying it out on the field.

I always felt that the education system in the US is more liberal and research oriented, and it turned out to be true. In addition to better infrastructure and more possibilities, there are also a wide range of subjects to choose from. The curriculum taught is nearly the same but due to abundance of resources, application of this knowledge is better abroad.

I feel that before investing oneself in such a course abroad, one should be passionate about learning. It is a rigorous and well planned course, and creative thinking is encouraged and appreciated. I can say that the learning experience is nothing short of transformative. It changes the person that you are.

Q. How is the education system in USA different from that in India (DU specifically)? Which changes must India begin inculcating immediately?

Shreya: From what I have experienced so far, I think the syllabus is not very different in both countries, especially in psychology. However, the examinations in USA largely involve application of the learnt material. Knowing is not enough, one must understand the concepts and should be able to apply them in real life situations. The availability of better infrastructure allows one to go beyond textbooks. I believe that the same is required in India. Specifically in DU, I feel that free access to WiFi is a basic facility that should be provided. More access to the University research database should be provided, even to undergraduate students. In this era of Technology, a more comprehensive web based system will enable us to perform better.

Q. What made you choose Stanford University for your field of study? How would you say your degree compares to similar degrees in other institutes in terms of syllabus/ subject content and future prospects?

Shreya: Oh, it was always a clear-cut choice! The Psychology Department at Stanford is ranked number one in the world and there is no other place I’d rather have been. I chose the courses DU does not offer at the undergraduate level, and it was a wonderful experience. I made friends from all around the world. The degree is an added advantage to my CV as now I have knowledge of some emerging subfields in psychology which are not taught as prominently in India. I now have a global standing in terms of academia and can aim and achieve better things in the future. All that I learnt during the summer was totally worth the investment.

Q. What tasks did you undertake as a member of the Marketing team? As the Global Ambassador for Stanford Summer School ’16, how do you plan on best representing the University?

Shreya: Being a part of the Marketing Team was an altogether new experience for an introvert like me. Summer at Stanford is far from mundane – there is so much happening on and off campus that you always find yourself surrounded by things to do. As members of the Marketing Team, we were supposed to cover the various events happening around the campus, ranging from Movie Screenings to Handwriting Analysis Workshops. We also contributed pictures and blog pieces about various weekend trips all around California, be it Napa Valley, San Francisco, or to the Google Headquarters.

My responsibilities as the Stanford Summer Global Ambassador mainly involve promoting this amazing opportunity amongst students of DU. I am currently in touch with Presidents of some colleges and hope to hold small events across the University soon. I believe that it is important that students get to know about these global programs so that they get to experience more than just their own culture and develop a global sense of education.

Q. What was a typical day at campus like? What do students do, when not attending classes? Are extra-curricular activities and sports an active part of the lifestyle of a Stanford student?

Shreya: With a campus spread over 8,000 acres with several libraries, tech lounges, swimming pools, tennis courts, an exclusive shopping mall, football fields, and the memorial church, I think Stanford has something in store for everyone. A typical day at campus involves biking to class, and after class activities vary according to one’s interests. For me, time after class was mainly spent at the library or strolling around the campus. I swam occasionally, and devoted a lot of time to playing basketball.

Activities other than studies are such an integral part that they don’t even use the word- extracurricular. It is pretty much a lifestyle choice and everyone indulges in some thing or the other. Someone plays the cello at the Church, while someone else does Yoga or spends time at the gym – there is just so much to do that you can never get enough.

Q. Being a college student living in one of the most popular destinations in the world, how did you manage your finances apart from the tuition? What did you find yourself spending the most on?

Shreya: Being the foodie that I am, most of my expenses were centered on trying various food items. There are jobs on campus for visiting students. I managed my expenses mainly from participating in research studies happening around the campus. In fact, I think I was able to save around $150.

Q. What was your most profound memory at Stanford University?

Shreya: My most profound memory has to be the day of our Orientation. That day, I looked around myself and realized where I was. I was walking the same corridors as the two most influential people in my life – Dr. Robert Bandura and Dr. Philip Zimbardo. When I reached the site of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, I could actually feel a connection to the place and felt a lump in my throat as I felt for my subject as I never had before. I know that those weeks at Stanford will keep me motivated to be my best as a person, and as a scholar. If you have a passion for something, be it anything, Stanford is the place to be.

Q. Please describe the application procedure for the 2016 session and share relevant links.

Shreya: The applications for Summer Session 2016 are now open!

1) Courses Offered: The students have a plethora of courses to choose from. Over 175 courses are offered in 35 departments within the schools of Humanities and Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Engineering.

2) Application Deadlines: You can apply now and save on the application fee. The applications for the early period are now open. Undergraduate and Graduate International students can apply till March in General application period. The Late period admissions extend till April 24, 2016. Online courses are also offered starting this summer quarter.

3) Silicon Valley Innovation Academy: For all the innovative people who want to change the world with their ideas, the SVIA is a golden chance to learn from the best, and have the chance to present ideas to successful entrepreneurs at Stanford Sharks.

This was first published on DU Beat. 

The post In Conversation with Shreya Dubey, about her experience at Stanford Summer School. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

Harshit Muchhal is a IIIrd year student pursuing B.COM(H), at Hans Raj College, University of Delhi. Harshit has played a lot of tournaments around the country and outside the country, representing India. He recently bagged gold at All India Inter University Squash Championship this year.

When did you start playing Squash? Would you give us a brief account of your background as a player?

Harshit: I started playing at the age of 12. I tried various sports before I settled down on Squash. I played Lawn Tennis for some time seeing my father play, and then I tried Badminton for a couple of months. I then finally saw some of the seniors play squash and I really liked the sport.

Iresh: How would you explain ‘what you do’ to a stranger, as Squash is not that famous a sport?

Harshit: People sometimes ask me questions like ‘Tennis khelte ho?’, ‘Tennis nahi toh Badminton khelte ho?’ Then I tell about Squash and they throw like a million questions at me asking about it. Nowadays, I tell them I play Lawn Tennis just to save the trouble (laughs).

Iresh: How does it feel to represent India at National Competitions and be in the Top 5 Squash Players of the country? Tell us about your journey.

Harshit: In my early years of Squash, I had always wondered how it would feel to represent the country. I remember waking up as early as 3AM to practice, playing 7 hours a day and sacrificing a lot. Luckily, my hardwork paid off and I got to experience things I had never imagined. For instance, once the Indian Squash team was on the plane and the flight Captain announced ‘We are happy and proud to announce that we have the Indian Squash Team on board with us today’. We all felt so proud that day.

What’s been the best moment of your journey as a national level player?

Harshit: My entire squash journey starting from my first tournament till now has been like a roller coaster. If I had to choose one good moment, it would be when I was playing against India Rank 2 in the finals of a tournament in Mumbai and my father was watching me play. It was a crucial 55-minute match.

Although I didn’t win but my proud father hugged me tight after the match and told me how good I was. That was the real victory for me.

You are the Captain of your college Squash Team. How well does the college facilitate the sport? Are you satisfied with the efforts of the college?

Harshit: We do not have Squash courts in our college, so in terms of infrastructure, there is no support. St. Stephen’s has squash courts but it’s strictly for the students of the same college and therefore, I have to take my team all the way to Siri Fort, Saket to practice. Otherwise, the college is supportive and I am allowed to take leave for tournaments.

What is a typical practice day for you like? Also as a student, are you able to manage between your sport and studies?

Harshit: A typical practice day is tougher than it sounds. Waking up early in the morning at 4AM, go run, attend classes, come back and rush to the courts. So, after 4-5 hours of good training, there’s little energy left for studies. I am not best friends with books but I’ve been doing fairly well with my studies too.

Since India does not have any prominent names in the field of Squash as it does in sports like, say, cricket or hockey, who has been your inspiration?

Harshit: I think whoever is better than me is an inspiration. You always get to learn many things from various different players. Even a Junior Player is an inspiration who hits a particular shot exactly the way it should be played.

Apart from playing sports, do you have any other personal interests or hobbies?

Harshit: I love dancing and I am fond traveler. Actually, Squash and various out station tournaments made me like travelling. Apart from that, I like listening to music, read a little and watch a few TV shows. I think I also did a fine job as a part of the Hansraj Dramatics Society.

Do you see yourself taking up Squash as a career? What would be your ultimate achievement as a Squash player?

Harshit: Yes, I would definitely want to take up Squash as a career. I am training 6 days a week with a tight schedule and putting in a lot of effort to get there. I want to play with the world’s best players. However, my ultimate achievement as a squash player would be never giving up on this sport.

This was first published on DU Beat. 

The post An interview with Harshit Muchhal, Delhi University student and one of the top 5 Squash players in India. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

This was first published on Medium here.

I am a final year B.Tech student. My 7th semester had ended in December. I wanted to make the most out of my holidays and started looking out for Internship opportunities at Startups. I knew about Crowdfire because of a friend who was an avid user, and later, I got to know more about it on Quora, YourStory and Super. I wanted to intern with Crowdfire and sent them an email along with my resume.

I got a call from them later that day. It was followed by a telephonic interview where I was asked questions related to web development, my past projects on Github, the course that I was pursuing, the duration of my availability etc. The fact that the interviewer explained me the answers which I did not know was laudable. Two days later, I got the confirmation mail and I was expected to join on Jan 4th, 2016. It felt so surreal, and I got so excited that I barely slept that night and reached the railway station at 5 AM to make a reservation. When the ticket window opened at 10 AM, I was the first one in the queue anxiously waiting to get a confirmed ticket. Guess what, I got one (one of the most challenging tasks in India)!

It was the first dawn of 2016 when I started the journey. On reaching Navi Mumbai, I faced zero hassle as the company had already arranged for my initial accommodation. When I entered the HQ (that’s what we lovingly call our office), it did not look like an office; it’s a uber-cool (sometimes the literally, because AC) place I have ever been to. I was provided a Macbook Pro Retina, ouch! It took me some time to realize that I was actually at Crowdfire HQ holding a Mac. Following that, I was assigned my tasks but I was more interested in watching the stunning view from the 23rd floor!

It did not take me long to meet all the Firestarters (the people of Crowdfire) and to remember their names. The absence of formality makes it fun to work at the same time makes one responsible towards owning up things. Firestarters are cool, friendly, helpful, creative and at most times crazy. Our motto: “Let’s win together!”

Every morning I wake up excited to reach the office as early as possible. Crowdfire takes care of me for the rest of the day, with the food, snacks and a stocked up refrigerator with full of yummy stuff. Although there is work, a lot of it to do here and people are quite busy but there is always a positive vibe around. There is always so much happening everywhere on the floor right from Design, code, shoots, interviews, meetings, selfies being clicked, people exercising or sharing jokes and laughter.

We go out for cricket and football every week after office. Friday evening is ‘Jung Ki Raat’ i.e., Counter Strike night. We got some great skilled cricketers and footballers in our tribe. Sometimes things get heated up on field, or someone gets injured or breaks spectacles while attempting a header. But, the next day we all make jokes around the controversies of last night.

Celebrations! Celebrations never stop at Crowdfire, be it birthdays, work anniversaries, or festivals. There’s a welcome ceremony for new joinees with the entire team around. Our Telegram group is always buzzing with updates, wishes, bugs, customer reviews and random stuff. There is one thing that makes Crowdfire more awesome place. In our small team of about 45 people, we have people from the length and breadth of India and from overseas. We get to know a plenty of interesting things about different places.

Last week, we partied hard to celebrate Crowdfire’s 4th anniversary. Right now, we are working hard to build Crowdfire 2.0, and we hope our 13 million users will love it. We also crossed 5 million downloads on Android this month.

Being an intern at Crowdfire, I got the opportunity to be a part of one of the coolest Startups of India and I’m loving every minute of it. Every day is another opportunity to learn, do something new. I learned new things over the period (which also includes riding a skateboard), met awesome people, created things which I had never done before and got to play a lot. I fell in love with the place.

The best part: There is responsibility but no pressure. It’s my last day here (oh, these 2 months flew incredibly fast) but I want to return soon.

The post I interned at CrowdFire for 2 months, and here’s my experience | by Arijit Patra from Institute of Technology and Marine Engineering. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

This post was first published on DU Beat.

Teach For India, a project of Teach To Lead, is a nationwide movement of outstanding college graduates and young professionals who will commit two-years to teach full-time in under resourced schools and who will become lifelong leaders working from within various sectors towards the pursuit of equity in education.

DU Beat talked to Suvidha Jain, SRCC Alumni and  Fellow, Teach for India currently teaching at Deepalaya School, Kalkaji Extension, Delhi.

Q. Tell us a little about yourself.

Ans. Born in the city Jammu, with limited opportunities I moved out at an early age to pursue quality education.I completed my higher schooling from D.P.S RK Puram and graduated from SRCC in 2011. Thereafter, I worked in the corporate sector for three years in mobile sector at Grail, GSMA, and at my family owned Business. Meanwhile I cleared two levels of CFA program from the USA. However I was never really sure about what impact my work had on people.

I applied to Teach For India in 2013 and did not get through. I reapplied and finally got accepted to the TFI fellowship in 2014.

 

Q. What do you think was your best experience working for Teach For India?

Ans. I love how my students notice little things, adapt and make efforts. They often imitate me and since I’ve made conversation in English a compulsory class norm, sometimes my students point out when I’m not talking in English! (laughs)

There are so many incidents where I saw my students taking values outside the class. We went on this picnic once and my students made the effort to ensure that there was no littering done anywhere. We also had this 2 month entrepreneurship classes where 3rd graders set up stalls, acquired skills and learnt from their mistakes. I think they know well enough that alone you’re good, together you’re great.

 

Q. What were the different challenges you faced when you started teaching?

Ans. The school authorities were slightly apprehensive with the way of our teaching. What we teach is very different from the conventional Indian way of teaching and the school wanted to stick to that. Overcoming that was definitely a challenge but when they saw our results from our model of teaching just in short span of three months, they gave us a nod to go ahead. Ever since that, we have established good relations with school authorities as well as the parents of our children.

Moreover, child psychology is a tough thing to understand. Even after training, you are not really sure what a child is thinking. There are certain times when you have to move ahead from your role as a teacher. There was this one incident where one of my students broke down in tears during class. I asked her why and she immediately opened up to me about the domestic violence she witnessed at her home. I made sure to contact her father about it and to invest him in his daughter’s education. You often feel like a mentor not only to the children but also to their parents!

Q. You mentioned the gap between what you teach and what non-TFI teachers teach. What does Teach For India do to fill this gap?

Ans. In the 2nd year of the program, each Fellow undertakes an assignment called the ‘Be The Change’ project wherein they ideate, plan and execute a project that benefits their classroom, the school or the community as a whole.

Teach For India has initiated a teacher training portal “Firki” to equip the teachers with ongoing support and training to deliver best for their students.

The overall goal is to extend vision of excellent holistic to all children through sharing best practices and pushing collaboration among teachers.

Q. What effect does the TFI experience have on a person?

Ans. TFI emphasizes on questions such as “who you are”, your ‘purpose’ and ‘goals’ in life. Through the various training sessions and opportunities I have had at TFI , I have always been pushed beyond my limits, knowing my strengths and areas of development better, discovering a whole new side to myself. From my children I have learnt to acknowledge and celebrate little joys of my life, through my peers the power of collective action and from the organization selfless effort to produce life changing experiences for its people. I feel grateful to be a part of this ecosystem.

Q. What do you think an individual requires to be a TFI fellow?

Ans. One should be passionate about “why” they want to change what they want to change. Secondly, they should be open to idea of learning from anyone and everyone at all times. Teach For India just looks for individuals with a growth mindset, who want to continuously grow and strive for nothing less than excellence, the rest of the things are learned on the way.

The post In Conversation with Suvidha Jain, SRCC Alumni and Fellow at Teach for India. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

This was first published on DU Beat.
Teach For India, a project of Teach To Lead, is a nationwide movement of outstanding college graduates and young professionals who will commit two-years to teach full-time in under resourced schools and who will become lifelong leaders working from within various sectors towards the pursuit of equity in education.

DU Beat talked to Raisha Galib, LSR Alumni and  Fellow, Teach for India currently teaching at Deepalaya School, Kalkaji Extension, Delhi.

Q. Tell us about yourself!
Ans. I am originally from Assam and graduated from Lady Shri Ram College with a degree in History in 2014. I heard about Teach For India from the campaign lead of the movement in my college. In my second year of college I wanted to volunteer in a TFI Classroom but missed the application deadline. I had never thought that one year down the line, I would be taking up the fellowship journey.

Q. What do you think is the best part of teaching and what are the not-so-good parts?
Ans. The best part about teaching is noticing how my students started taking ownership and being productive and how they took the values taught by us outside the classroom.

The not so good parts are how failures are often more than successes, and how as a teacher you need to be constantly motivated to push more efforts.

Q. How different are the TFI teaching methods than the conventional teaching methods?

Ans. At Teach For India, the focus is towards a more experiential way of learning where even though the need for marks in the system we are in is recognised, but the clear purpose behind an education is not defeated. Kids are encouraged to find their own styles of learning and delve into concept clarity. The education is also deep rooted on teaching through values and providing access and exposure to the students through various cultural platforms. Children are at the core of the work that we do and love to see them take ownership of their own growth and battle problems in their own communities.

Q. How does the Teach For India experience change a person?
Ans. The TFI experience both within and outside the classroom takes a fellow on a journey of personal transformation. It not only imbibes a person with patience, relentless hard work, vision setting, relationship building, but also makes one realise the importance and value of grit. The professional and emotional investment never seems to be enough as one tries to be the best of oneself for their students. It made me value each personal struggle, each helping hand, small joys of life and to find light in the darkest of places. It made me value people and their stories much more.

The post In Conversation with Raisha Galib, LSR Alumni and Fellow, Teach for India. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

Let us get the introductions out of our way, shall we? I am Nirant, a final year Information Systems student from the desert college of BITS Pilani. I love Gulab Jamun, Programming, data, new ventures and all related blabber.

I was interning with the Data Science team of a small Startup Belong.co. This is that story, in a Q&A.

Wrong question. The correct question is Why Belong?

The answer is simple. We spend more waking time with our workplace teammates than with our spouses. We spend our youth, energy, love, sweat and blood building products with these people. Yet, we dont feel like webelong with them.

We intend to change this. As soon as possible.

Because I grew up looking up to the co founders. Vijay Sharma & Rishabh Kaul were people we would admire in silence. Stalk them on Linkedin with fake profiles, follow on Twitter and Yourstory. They are the Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddique of entrepreneurship. They took their own time.

And I love the idea of Belong. It is B2B Business today and my mother does not get it. It is okay, it is my job to explain it till she gets it. She explained a lot of word problems to me till I got them.

Torture. Sometimes play with it. I dream about it.

It is Data. Dirty, mad, steel cold data. It is not big, it is small actually and I often fiddle too much and break something on playground server.

I work with the team called Discovery. We do what we claim to do that is help you discover right talent at the right time. I work more on the right time part of it.

I spent most of my time planning what to do and cleaning the data. I have some great mentors from both within the company and outside who are great help in this.

I split most of my screen time between a terminal and beautiful Jupyter notebook. Jupyter Notebooks allow us to interact with Python. It is my civilization of choice to torture data. The main combat units in this civilization are Pandas, Scikit Learn, and matplotlib. They are all from the Anaconda Python stack.

I sometimes prototype my models in R. It saves a lot of Programming time. Though re-implementing everything in Python is not my favorite thing to do.

As a solution to this 2/3/4 language problem, I am considering using Julia as well. (Aside: JuliaCon India was awesome! If you were there, say Hi!)

Much less than what I wanted to. I have contributed to the Design and deployment of a feature revamp which is important to us. It is a data driven product feature. It took me time to understand the context. Later, the architecture and what data models might work for this.

We shipped our first release last month. We have seen atleast 20% improvement in a key error metric. We also have better visibility of how the feature is doing. We can now move quick because we measure a lot of key metrics. Most of the metrics so far are around error measuring. We will be measuring operational, usage and some insightful vanity metrics as well. As a team, we firmly believe:

Merely measuring something has an uncanny tendency to improve it. -Paul Graham

I can write a pamphlet, wait, maybe a novella about this. But let me use a pun to describe this: I feel I belong with the team.

Most of the things I have bragged about above? Courtesy of ideas and wisdom from some of the best mentors I have. I have brilliant, helpful mentors from both within and outside the company.

My teammate, Sneha is the most kind, talented, smart programmer I’ve met. Did I mention she is a communist chauvinist Bong? She is fun to work with. Rohan Rao, Data Scientist and in-house mentor makes the most hilarious jokes at the most opportune moments. I think he should do standup comedy as a hobby. Unfortunately, he is India’s top Sudoku and Puzzle player. He represents India in World Championships et al. Nayan is the IIT KGP Informatics whiz from Bosch. He is the silent killer looking for the right time to throw the final punch. Vinay Pande is an experienced data scientist from Housing. I would write about Vikash, but that would mean this article becomes longer than you’d need. He has been like an elder brother to me.

In summary, none of what I did here is my work. It is the lowest common denominator of the gyaan that I get. I just test and experiment with the best of the ideas. Pick the one which works. Repeat.

Sorry, I can not answer this for you. I have not worked in any other company, team or Startup before. Like first love, this will always remembered fondly by me. Even so, let me try to act grown up and try to write down my 3 favourite things about Belong.co — the team:

• Transparency:
  Everyone has access to all the code, all the required data, all the resources, all the help, all the company metrics. All the time.

The CEO talks about company revenues and targets openly and is not afraid to say, “It is my mistake, I will fix it”. His trust in kids like me is sometimes a burden in itself. Too big shoes to fill. #TrueStory

• Great Team Sync:
  I am not saying we are perfect. But we are functional. There is great sync between all teams of the company even as we grew from 42 to ~80 Belongers.  I am surprised sometimes by how easy the information flow is between tech and non-tech roles. The product development is much better because they make sure that customer feedback reaches us in an instant. Not 1 month later, not next week. Same day.

• Support:
  Several supportive, helpful, and meritorious people have some how assembled into Belong. I do not know how the founders did this, but they did. I have made some stupid but grave mistakes. Let us just say that I was lucky that I live to rectify those mistakes. I had timely constructive criticism and the time to improve on the same.

• (Bonus Point) Importance to Culture:
  Most of the above is possible because the founders and leadership understand the importance of culture fit. We have never made a compromise on that. That spirit has percolated well and building a great team is an end itself, not the means to an end (aka profits).

Enough of Belong worship, see you later.

This post was first published on Medium by Nirant Kasliwal.

The post My 3 favorite things about interning at Belong.co | by Nirant Kasliwal from BITS Pilani. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

This post was written by Nagendra Posani on Medium.

If you want to share your internship story with us, mail us at blog@letsintern.com. Every week, we pick the best ones and feature them on our blog.

I went to Bangalore last summer for my Internship, at the Indian Institute of Science(IISc). Coming from Indian Academy of Science and getting through IISc for an Internship was in itself a great experience, as IISc is considered the research hub of India, where every topic in a every major has a laboratory, that consists of all sorts of up-to-date, and working, technological equipment at your disposal. They also have dedicated staff for maintaining these laboratories, and proper guidance is provided by the professors in order to ease the process of understanding the basic concepts behind the equipment, and how we can make the best use of them.

During my Internship, I attended initiative lecture talks, organized by their Computer Science department on BigData, where we were exposed to the on-going research regarding the same. The interesting thing about these talks is that anybody, even an outsider can attend them. All you need to do is to register for the event in advance, on the department’s Website.

About the city:
Bangalore is the cleanest, costliest and most importantly a green city. The reason why everyone wants to live in Bangalore is because of the omni-present greenery and the climate. Your expenses do depend a lot on where you chose to accommodate – and while, not all places are as expensive as they sound, there are definitely certain places that can drain your wallet in no time.

Bangalore is famous for sambhar, filter coffee (which I used to drink twice a day) and Iyengar bakeries.

Climate:
I went to Bangalore during May – when a hot summer was in progression, from Ahmedabad, where a temperature too high, can be difficult to adjust to. Maximum temperature in many metropolitan cities is around 40–45, in my personal experience, but in Bangalore the maximum temperature is around 30–35 –  for most of the time it is around 27–29 during day, and 20–22 during the night time.

Unlike other places, where the heat and humidity is bound to slow you down, Bangalore offers you a climate that drives you to do more. You must be thinking that I’m exaggerating, but the climate in Bangalore happens to be one of the best I’ve come across in the country. You can roam around freely in the afternoon, and come across many foreigners in large numbers at MG Road, and Brigade Road, who come to Bangalore for the same reason – climatic relief.

Team:
I cannot complete my post, without talking about the people I met in Bangalore, specially professor Balakrishnan and my fellow- intern friends – “The Balki Team”: (because, we worked under Prof. Balakrishnan). We were told that it wasn’t easy to work with Prof. Balakrishnan, but it is an absolute privilege to do so. Even though he had a busy schedule, involving a lot of meetings with high profile people, Professor Balki used to dedicate his time to talk to us, which was very kind of him. His guidance gave proper direction to our work, which helped us in carrying out our research in a better way.  Apart from the general wisdom and knowledge that he imparted to us, Prof. Balki believed firmly in maintaining the alacrity and dedication towards the field of research.

The kind of name that he has and the work he does is truly amazing. We all did our Internship in Supercomputer Education and Research Center(SERC), which was started as a special interest of Dr. Abdul Kalam, and professor Balakrishnan being his good friend completed it even after the end of Dr. Adbul Kalam’s term as a president, with abated funds.

People who work under him get lot of good industrial opportunities and admissions in top universities like Carnegie Melon University (CMU), for their higher studies. We’d constantly have farewell parties of people who are leaving for their higher education, after IISc.

The Internship:
We were a group of 7 people, working towards a summer Internship under Prof. Balki. T

The first person that I met, after I reached Bangalore, was Harish – with whom I had interacted before on Facebook. Initially, we had planned to come on same day, but since the semester break period had not started for all the interns, at the same time – everybody ended up joining at different times.

Post Harish, I met Anupriya,  then Chirag Nagpal. After a week, at I met Priyanka and Sathvik, and finally after that, Kamal. We always enjoyed the special parties, we were invited to, as we were part of the SERC.

Finally, I cannot miss mentioning the meeting we had with Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. When we were told about the meeting, we were asked to give a presentation to him about our research work, we were expecting no one to really pay much attention to anything we’d say, as we were just one month old interns, as opposed to professors, project assistants and other people, who had been with IISc for a very long time. Here’s what we were pleasantly surprised about.

We were well prepared for the event, and finally when the governor arrived, he showed a keen interest in meeting people who were working under Prof. Balki.

The most unexpected aspect of the meeting was being introduced to him, by Prof. Balki, who said, “Narasimhan, these are the new people in our lab. They are summer interns sent to us by Indian Academy of Sciences, and why don’t we start with their presentations first?”

This shocked us, and as we were pushing each other to go first, which is when Anupriya came in and started the presentation. The Governor listened to all of us, and asked us questions about our work and how it could be improved in future. Later, we also came to know that the Governor, was also the director of Intelligence Bureau, and had good knowledge about what we were presenting about.

Post all of this, we proceeded to an amazing dinner.

New Friends:
In life, the real excitement is meeting new people and learning from them. Friends are the ones who influence you the most, and apart from my usual group of people – Harish, Priyanka, Anupriya, Chirag, Sathvik, and Kamal, I also interacted the most with Kruthika, Karthik, Avishkar, and Jyothish. It was fun to stay in Platinum City Apartments and other memorable things included – the night walks, the CCD, the outings to McDonalds, and more.

The post I interned with Indian Institute of Science(IISc), Bangalore. Here’s my story. | By Nagendra Posani from DA-IICT. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

I was reflecting back on my short but very eventful career so far. I’m a serial intern and someone who’s taken many a leaps in many directions (11 different industries). I was trying to relate back to Steve Jobs’ speech to see if I connect the dots backwards, does it make any sense? Does going with the flow and a belief in serendipity really help you? For example, one of the part-time jobs I had involved teaching kids in kindergartens and primary schools. How does teaching a bunch of primary school kids actually help you with expanding a start-up globally?

And that’s when it hit me – All the invaluable lessons from my work with children, from those adorable kindergartners to the still adorable and slightly annoying primary school kids to the most grateful and eager kids of the low-income school India. Those highly valuable experiences in the classroom help me everyday as I work in a high-risk, high-innovation environment.

As I work in a “start-up” like environment, I start to unlearn things I’ve learnt and go back to the most profound lessons some of my toothless 7 year olds have taught me, to deal with all the uncertainty that working in a start-up brings.

1. Ask WHY — Have you have ever had a conversation with a primary school kid? No status quo is left unquestioned. “But why?” is their favourite question and the more you try to think about “but why”, the more you find purpose in what you are doing and the more clarity you have or can seek to have. In my current role, I’ve become that toothless 7 year old that always asks “but why” because only when you can answer that, can you really understand what you are trying to build and make it something solid.

2. Stay curious — I love the look of wonder on kids faces and their curiosity for the world around them. I think that’s why I love travel because it turns me into that curious kid. I think that’s also why I love working for start-ups, it necessitates curiosity. To be successful in a start-up environment, you have to stay curious and stuff your eyes for wonder for the “what could bes”. The other favourite question from my primary school kids was “what would happen if”…This simple question unleashes a world of possibilities and raises red flags, especially in the early stages of building a company.

3. Go with the flow — I still remember this clay modelling session at a kindergarten. I set out to make a dinosaur with little Alex and ended up making a cat in a hat. Apparently, as we built prototypes, Alex learnt that he actually liked cats more and that the colours of the clay were better suited for a cat. It wasn’t a dinosaur but Alex was happy and his model stood out for being creative. That’s another lesson for start-ups…go with the flow! You may not end up with the product you had in mind and may need to make many a changes on the way but as long as you believe in the end result and as long as it’s still viable, do it! The important aspect is to not be too attached to the original idea and to learn as you go with the flow.

4. Make friends — Do you remember how it was so much easier making friends when we were younger? When we didn’t judge or confine ourselves to circles and cliques? As long as you could run and knew how to kick a ball, you could join a bunch of other kids who were doing the same. That’s the other lesson I learnt from kids, the importance of meeting and joining other people doing same/similar things — expanding your network and finding common ground based on what you like to do! And just like kids, you shouldn’t be ashamed to ask for help, when needed because if you don’t ask, you don’t get! This lack of inhibition coupled with belief in everyone being good has helped me immensely when starting something new.

5. Keep it simple — Simplicity is a virtue. Kids know it more than any of us complicated grownups. I remember a class we had about the environment, we were talking about plastic bags and why cloth bags were better. We asked kids why they shouldn’t use plastic and one student promptly replied that they weren’t strong enough. Practicality trumped morality but also taught me that simple things make sense. You don’t have to complicate a product as long as it makes sense and meets a pain.

So, yes, kids teach the darndest things. I think sometimes we just need to unlearn things we’ve been taught in our fancy Business school classrooms and go back to that playground and the very fundamental beginnings of our being to understand why we are doing what we are doing and how we should do it better! Find that inner kid and channelise that curiosity and openness and voila, all those dots will start to connect!

This article was written by Rucha Sarma on Medium. 

The post Kids teach the darndest things | 5 ‘Startup Lessons’ I’ve learnt, while working with kids! appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

I’ve always considered Media as a fascinating career option, however I was initially very confused about what field to specialize in. The curiosity and the constant need to explore other available options, along with the exposure I could get, stayed as prime motivating factors for taking up the Internships I did.

In the past couple of months I have been involved with KFC, Dell, Pune Football Club(PFC) and Indiafest for my Internships. I scored all of them through Letsintern, each and every one of my experiences being different and memorable.

I worked as a Marketing intern for KFC where we were supposed to create brand advocacy for the KFC’s newly launched WOW 25 menu, inside and outside our college campuses. This included distributing KFC vouchers amongst the masses and helping in organizing fun events at KFC restaurants in Pune. We were also responsible for creating and promoting interesting content for KFC on their social media. Through the KFC Internship, I learnt to be persuasive and at the same time grew more open to the ideas of the public. It also helped me gain hands-on experience of event management.

The next Internship I took up was with Dell Computers. Being a reputed firm in the market, working for them had been really exciting as well as inspiring. I was assigned the task of managing their social media and also to regularly post real life stories based on how Technology impacted the lives of the people, on their Website. This helped me in gain a whole new perspective on brand management and I learnt that even if the brand is well known it never hurts to work periodically to remind people about it.

The Pune Football Club Internship was the first Internship where I was the Brand ambassador and was responsible for developing and implementing ideas in the field of strategies, advertising and sales for the promotion of “Pune local football team” among the crowds of Pune. Along with that, the aim was also to generate viewership for the game. The experience I gained in my previous Internships helped me understand Marketing more closely and hence with a better understanding this time around, I carried out my work with even greater efficiency,making my Internship a success.

The India fest is the first event-based Internship I’ve had the chance to be involved with this year. It is recognized countrywide by all the colleges across the different cities. I am part of the registration team which focuses primarily on dealing with people, getting my point across and helping them with any questions they might have. This certainly has helped me to come out of my shell and work on my public relations and communication abilities

Karan Nathani is one person I would really like to thank. He was the head for all of the projects mentioned above and has been a great mentor. He would always guide and support me whenever in need. He constantly checked  on our performances and made sure that we, as a team gave our best efforts to make the project  a grand success every single time.

Lastly, I am thankful to the Letsintern team, of which I am a big fan of, for giving students like me out there, opportunities to go and do something more than just studying for a degree.

Sanjana Varma is an undergraduate student from Symbiosis institute of Media and Communications.

If you want to share your Internship story with us, mail us at blog@letsintern.com. Every week, we pick the best ones and feature them on our blog. 

The post 6 months. 4 internships. How Sanjana Varma managed to do it all. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

Most of us can agree that the first two years of college are spent trying out a multitude of activities while settling down in college and finding one’s niche. The third and final year, in my opinion should be used to focus on one or two big projects while helping out juniors and imparting ‘nuggets of wisdom’! So as a dutiful third year student, here are 10 things I’ve learnt during my first two years in DU:

1.Take up at least one activity that gets you talking to people you don’t know.
Whether it’s joining the Sponsorship department of a college event or joining the placement cell, do something that forces you to call, email or have face to face conversations with as many new people as possible. We’re going to be doing a lot of that for the rest of our lives, so we might as well get over the awkwardness that often comes with it.

2. From time to time, attend events that have nothing to do with your field of study.
Sit in the audience for that B Plan competition even if you’re  an English major. Or better yet, compete in one. Attend a seminar on the Israel-Palestinian conflict even if you study Zoology. They are easy ways to get exposed to a diverse range of topics and learn about new fields. You’re in a place like DU, where there’s some seminar, event or panel discussion going on every other day- make full use of these opportunities. (Check out our Events Calendar for some inspiration.)

3.The internet is beautiful. Try using it for things apart from Facebook every now and then.
Yes, it’s easy to get carried away while looking at albums of 200+ pictures from a party someone on our list threw (and didn’t invite us to), but it’s a shame if that’s all we end up using the internet for! Follow a couple of interesting blogs, get on Quora, reach out to alumni from your college through LinkedIn and set up a Google Alert to make sure you don’t miss the application dates for that fellowship you’ve been eyeing. (And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!)

4. It’s perfectly okay if you don’t know what you want to do, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything.
Most of us, (yes, even third year students) are still figuring out what we want to do. College gives ample space to try out a variety of activities. Even if you haven’t found ‘your thing’ in college yet, don’t give up. Give multiple activities a shot, find what you like doing, and then get really good at it.

5. It may sound rather simplified, but you make your own college experience.
Regardless of your college and the ‘tag’ that comes with it, your attitude and actions create your college experience, or at least a major chunk of the same. Sure, maybe opportunities are more easily accessible for students of certain colleges, but there is no dearth of opportunities for those who are willing to go the extra mile to seek them.

6. Help out your juniors and ask your seniors to tell you about their college experiences.
Freshers are a rather enthusiastic bunch and always bubbling with a lot of questions about societies, Internships, exams and further studies. If you know something useful, help them out. Also take out the time to befriend a couple of seniors and ask them to tell you tales of what they’ve learnt in college.

7. Don’t burn bridges unnecessarily and don’t be ‘that guy’.
Making mean and hurtful comments may seem like a good idea in the moment, but it’s best not to burn bridges if it can be avoided. You know how there’s always that one person in every class who goes out of his/her way to make other people feel bad about themselves? Yeah, don’t be that guy. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone, but maintaining a basic level of courtesy is never a bad idea.

8. Academics are important, but to an extent.
This largely depends on what your plans for the future are (for example, if you want to get into Harvard or research, then yes, academics are supremely important), but for the most part, maintaining a ‘decent’ percentage while getting your hands into other activities can help you lead a balanced college life. This target score, of course, varies from course to course.

For example, most entrance exams for post graduate courses require a bare minimum of 50% in graduation, and some top notch companies only interview candidates with more than 75% aggregate during placement. Keep all these factors in mind, and set your goals accordingly.

9. Show up for your friends.
If your college or school friend is acting in a play, go and support them in the audience. If they’re organizing a competition or exhibition during a fest, go and attend it. These small gestures matter a lot, especially when everyone is always busy and has conflicting schedules. This is definitely something I wish I had done more of.

10. Go on a trip with your friends while in college…at least once.
Depending on your budget and how easily you can convince your parents, select a place and go there with your college friends. Whether it’s for a competition at an IIT, or even a weekend in Agra, it’ll definitely be one of the highlights of your college life. Hill stations, Bombay and Goa are the most popular choices for DU kids.

This article was taken from our partner DU Beat.

You might also like:
5 things you must do while you’re still in college.
5 things they don’t tell you in an Engineering College.
5 reasons why college is the best time to travel.

The post 10 pieces of advice from a third year student | By Priyanka Banerjee, Student, University of Delhi. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

It was my first time to office and the bean bags were more than enough to give an impression on how I’ve been inducted in the best start-up of the country.

My reporting manager gave me an insight into the OYO world and introduced me to the Regional Head of South. It was a short meeting but I was made clear that I was being inducted to work, to be taught how to work and to be able to make a difference.

In less than a week’s time, I was given my first official email id and I remember the very first thing I did was add a signature and send a mail to my father thanking him for allowing me to have this exposure.

I also felt very fortunate to get my first set of visiting cards. It gave me the authority to meet people from various corporates and represent OYO.

Later that week, I was asked to come up with different strategies to do justice to the title, ‘Demand Innovation.’ My reporting managers were open to all sorts of ideas and gave me time to work on the one that seemed suitable to the situation. I worked on an activity that had me visiting all the OYO Properties for a week and that was probably the non-parellel way to get a good gist on the functioning and goals of OYO.

The same week we had Christmas Get Together at Office. A pretty interactive session with lots of games and activities organized by the HR. Got to witness the fun side of the company. I remember leaving office that evening with a sense of belonging towards the company.

A week Later, we had the COE Training where in the newly hired employees from all over South India had come down. We got to interact with the management from Gurgaon including Ritesh and Abhinav. It was probably one of the most exhilarating Conferences I’d ever gotten to be a part of!

Once I got an accurate understanding of the market, I examined our current situation and got on to partnering with wedding planners, event managers, convention centres and banquet halls since January and February were the peak wedding months.  Explored a lot about the sector and realized how Band Baaja Baarat was not the only way the wedding industry functioned.

In the last week of January, the company came out with a structure to have a closer picture of all the micromarkets. The main focus or project started revolving around increasing offline demand. In order to do this, our key objective was to identify sources of opportunity, assess all components to tie-up with various agents and finally activate the on-board agents to be the SPOC to fulfill accommodation requirements for them.

I was given the liberty to do meetings for onboarding agents and corporates from entirely different sectors. Socializing with them for sure lead me to learning more than I ever thought I could. Due to the micromarket structure, work got all competitive, motivating us to work harder.

Towards the end, I got permitted to work on one of the few things I had proposed during my tenure. It trained me the best in Marketing, gave me an insight into the HR field and haha! Of course I also mastered in using Adobe Photoshop.

Diving a bit deeper into how I achieved this objective, I first had to understand the process in its entirety by determining how it appreciated our demand and visibility as well as other potential benefits that could yield from having Ambassadors in the University. I then had to draft a proposal to market the idea to the Professors, Placement Representatives and students in the University and finally give in seminars to various departments to create a rise in applications. Of course, none of this was easy since it was the first of its kind by the company. However, I assume it was a great start and it definitely did make a huge difference in terms of my learning and exposure. I am beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to represent OYO in one of the top Universities of the country.

The first meeting I did, the first agent I signed the agreement with, the first accommodation requirement that I got after launching the drive for wedding industry, the very first application I received for the Campus Ambassador Program. All these seminal moments will definitely be treasured. Over achieving the targets was another exceptional feeling that I shall never forget!

Marketing to me was mere advertisements until OYO happened.  

I can’t thank my City Head enough for being so empathetic and for always being patient to explain and to guide me right. And my reporting managers for being supportive and for giving me the chance to experience what I had in those two months. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to work anything out.

To all the OYO Professionals, it was amazing how I was always treated as one of the employees and not as an intern. The beautiful farewell was a cherry on the top. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Reminds me of the quote by Richard Branson, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” That’s one of the sure beauties of OYO.

I genuinely want everybody to know interning at OYO is the best that could happen to an undergraduate. Now, OYO being a start-up gives you a variety of things to work on from time to time.

You’re the one to plan, to implement and to seek results. OYO Rooms lets you be your own CEO.

If you want to share your Internship story with us, mail us at blog@letsintern.com. Every week, we pick the best ones and feature them on our blog.

The post “Marketing was mere ‘advertisements’ to me, until OYO happened.” | Shagun Agarwal shares her internship experience with OYO Rooms. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

I interned at Google’s San Francisco Office during Summer 2015. Working for Google was like a dream come true for me. I worked with the cloud datastore team to create a sample application that demonstrates the best practices to use datastore. Here’s how I got to where I am:

1. Good Grades – Yes, I was able to get attention because of good grades. It made my resume worth looking at.

2. Awareness – Many good programmers that I know, don’t even know about the career opportunities available. They take whatever they get. They do not try to get better offers. So being aware helped me a lot. I interviewed with multiple organisations which prepared me for more important interviews.

3. Contact with Seniors - Having a good relationship with all the great programmers in my senior batch helped me a lot. They constantly guided me to improve my skills. Some people also get employee referrals due to their connection with alumni working at Google. Mock interviews with seniors [came in handy]. Also, after listening to their story, I made sure I don’t repeat the mistakes they made. [Afterall], there is something to learn from those who fail too.

For example, While preparing for my interviews, I got in touch with some people who had previously interviewed with Google before. They told me what went wrong and what went right with their interviews. The general list of dos and don’ts.

One particular senior of mine asked me a question during a mock interview (He repeated the same question which he had encountered during his interview). I was shocked when he asked me to implement such an easy question, as I found it very easy to come up with the most optimal solution, but then he pointed out how my implementation had aliasing issues,which was a mistake he has made as well. This particular instance, made me realize that the pointer handling was not as simple as I thought.

Later in my interviews, I was asked to complete a function that accepted multiple pointers as arguments. I promptly remembered what my senior had taught me and took care of it. My interviewer asked me the reason for such a round about approach and I was able to explain the aliasing issue, to him. He probably didn’t think of it himself and was pretty impressed with the way I took care of the corner cases and the side effects of the function. So yes, learning from other’s experience helps a lot.

4. Constant Hard Work – Hard work and quick learning attitude along with positivity and confidence helped me during interviews. Confidence during interviews can create a good vibe between you and the interviewer. It creates that necessary first impression. After all it’s all about those 45 to 60 mins. I prepared hard for my interviews. Read up a lot of sample questions.

5. Competitive Programming – I think my experience with competitive Programming helped me in understanding data structures and algorithms. I am not a very good at competitive Programming. I only did it for few months, but during those months there was a steep learning curve. I really gained confidence in my own coding abilities. After competitive Programming I could easily reduce problems into simpler ones and implement it.

However, it is important to understand that competitive Programming is the not the only criteria that is required to get an Internship at Google. Rather most companies won’t even bother if you are good at competitive Programming.

I am not ranked higher on Codechef or Codeforces, I was once ranked 10th in a Codechef Long. My peak codechef rank is ~200, I think. That’s all.

Competitive Programming improves your basics – Data structures and Algorithms – which indeed is useful in solving a lot of real life problems. Then again, to be good at Data structures and algorithm you need not be good at competitive Programming. I think I am decent enough at Algorithms. I know most of the basic algorithms. I can implement some basic to medium-hard data structures – and I can adapt them to solve a given problem.

6. Open Source Contributions - Working with large code bases and working in collaboration with other programmers will improve your software Engineering skills. Most of the time, you won’t be building things from scratch and therefore, you must know how to understand a piece of code written by other programmers and edit it. That being said, you should also know how to re use codes as much as possible.

And open source contributions really improved my coding style overall. I learnt to write readable codes with no memory leaks or missing corner case.

All in all, Google interviews focussed on the basics. My questions were related to Binary Search Trees, Linked List and Arrays. One of the Design question required the use of Tries.

I knew all of those things in and out. I wrote good codes. My little experience with competitive Programming helped a lot. My grades were high because of which I got interview calls. I practiced a lot of questions for interviews.

This article has been adapted from here and here. You can find more about Ashish on his official Website.

The post 6 things I did to land a Summer Internship at Google HQ| by Ashish Kedia, Student, NIT-Surathkal. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

This was first published on DU Beat. 

Having recently won a gold medal for Karate at the US Open World Championship 2016, Bhaskar Sen, a student of Sri Venkateswara College, is juggling Engineering and his passion for Karate at the same time. He has made the nation proud, time and again, by bringing laurels to the country after participating in prestigious national and international events. Catch him in a conversation with DU Beat below :

 1. Out of all the various forms of martial arts and the different choices of sports available to a person, what drove your interest towards Karate?

Owing to the dearth of children, in my neighbourhood, I was prevented from indulging in and playing the popular sports like cricket, football and badminton. My elder brother was a black belt holder and I too started tagging along with him to his Karate lessons in the evening. Soon, I caught up with the sport and it became my passion.

 2. Can you give us an insight of your future plans?

I would like to continue practicing Karate irrespective of my plans for higher studies and gain more experience and insight into the world of this sport which may also soon become an Olympic Sport.

In the upcoming months I have plans to attend and represent India at a couple of International seminars and training camps which are to be held at Italy and United Kingdom.

Immediately following them, I may be called upon to participate in the World Premier Circuit Championships at Salzburg, Austria and Okinawa, Japan.

3. Being a college student, how do you strike a balance between your passion for karate and academics?

Unlike other countries, sportsmen in India, especially students, are not known to get sabbaticals from their workplace for their trainings and actual tournament participations unless one is pursuing the ever-popular sport of cricket.

The learning of the technical aspect is a regular round the year affair and is followed in between breaks in studies whenever possible. The regular physical exercises have to be stepped up or down depending upon the academic study load at that point of time in the year.

4. Based on your experiences, what do you think is the scope of Karate in India?

Though there are myriads of Karate clubs functioning in major cities of our country, Karate is yet not an overwhelmingly popular sport. This is because of a number of reasons like the coaching centres are being run by unqualified coaches and the centre is usually not affiliated to a national body, making them unauthorised;  Karate is not popularised in universities; and even the mainstream media falls shy of covering the events and competitions associated with this sport. Thus, it would really be helpful if the government chimes in to offer its support and takes steps to popularise, monitor and subsidise the training facilities.

5. Do you have any role models whom you look up to?

My foremost inspiration came from my elder brother, who took me to the Karate Dojo for the first time.  I have also seen my father’s unstinted support for me to pursue Karate and to build up extreme self- confidence.

In the professional sphere, I have always held my teacher, mentor and a Karate legend, Sensei Luca Valdesi from Italy as a role model who holds the unbeatable record of being World Champion for six years at a stretch. I also wonder at the accomplishments of Vu Duc Minh Dack, the living legend from France.

The post In conversation with Bhaskar Sen, Delhi University student and two-time Gold Medalist at the US Open World Championship for Karate. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

Infographic from: Visualistan

The post #dailyinspiration | 9 famous people who failed before they succeeded. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

I have always wanted to make it big in life. A well established working woman with big goals on target, was exactly the kind of life I saw myself living in the near future. What acted as a driving force was the fact that our college repeatedly stressed on gaining professional experience in various fields, through Internships at the end of each semester. That’s exactly when in May 2012, I came across Letsintern and the journey since then has been one thrilling experience!

Through Letsintern I applied and got selected for the following Internships:

1. KFC | WOW Ambassador
KFC, at that time, had just come up with their all new WOW 25 menu, introducing a new range of burgers, iced teas, ice-creams and more, for which they needed brand ambassadors for creating brand advocacy in colleges as students were the prime target of the campaign. As, the WOW ambassador for KFC, my job included promoting the WOW 25 menu amongst my friends, in and outside college, by distributing vouchers and making people aware about the various offers they could avail. Apart from this, creating content for the Social Media of KFC was one of the assigned tasks as well. We were also supposed to volunteer for organizing fun events at KFC restaurants in Pune to enhance user-experience, which was an overall exciting experience.

2. Campus Diaries | Marketing Team
The Campus Diaries Internship lasted for four weeks, and gave me a valuable insight into what difference a well-thought out Marketing and sales strategy can make in the building of an organisation. The Internship included contacting customers, pitching advertisements and coming up with ideas to set up a new sales strategy. Appropriate guidance was provided throughout the duration of my time at Campus Diaries.

3. Letsintern | Campus Manager:
As my third Internship, I was very fortunate to get a chance to be part of the Letsintern team itself. As their Campus Manager, I was responsible for promoting the culture of Internships and the ‘Start Young’ campaign – which I, myself strongly believe in – by making people aware about how Internships can serve as a valuable addition to their career and how Letsintern was making it possible for them to find their dream Internship. Apart from this, social media Marketing and on ground promotional activities followed along.
This Internship was a pleasure to do, as I was endorsing something I had already tried out and liked all the same. Since my college appreciates and encourages student Internships as a part of the curriculum, it worked out perfectly for me as it was considerably easy getting the students to understand the ‘Start Young’ campaign and motivating them to register on the site to experience Letsintern themselves. I also interacted with my batch mates and fellow students during the course of my Internship, which helped me grow my social circle widely.
(Letsintern is looking for Campus Ambassadors. Click here to apply today and get a chance to be part of The Letsintern team.) 

4. Mud Rush | Campus Ambassador
Being part of the Mud Rush was probably the best experience, I’ve had as far as Internships go, as it was not only different than all of my previous Internships, but was also was inclined towards adventure and encouraged all 18+ people to let go of their monotonous routine to have fun. I was their Campus Ambassador and my main job included informing people around me – in college and through Social Media – about the events that were going to be held during the Mud Rush and increase participation. The best part was the weekly rewards which were given out based on the performance. The top performers, in the end, were awarded a free pass to attend the Mud Rush event.

5. Dell Computers | Campus Ambassador
In my 15-day Internship with Dell Computers, our main task was to generate buzz about the brand by utilizing network to create a dialogue with the consumers. Using social media as an active tool for promotion was encouraged. We were also responsible for ensuring maximum participation in their new campaign running at the time, where we covered stories of people already using Dell and how has their experience been.

6. Channel V Indiafest | Registration Team
My last Internship was with Channel V’s Indiafest, where I was involved with the organizing team and was supposed to help out with the registrations. Being India’s largest fest for the students, by the students, interning for Indiafest helped me in building real-time social networks where I understood that  the power  communication exists beyond the usual social networking sites.

7. QS Top Universities | Marketing Team
I am currently working with the Marketing and Sales team of QS, which is organizing a World University Tour, where it aims to bring together key decision makers from all over the world on one platform to solve queries regarding funding, universities, admissions, job prospects, courses and anything more that you need to know before making the important decision of which university to pick for further studies. My job includes reaching out to people who plan to get a degree outside India in the near future and convince them to register for the University Tour to get all the information they might need.

One person I would certainly want to thank would be Karan (Letsintern Cluster Manager-Pune) whom I came in contact with while working for KFC. It was because of his continuous support that I went on to do so many Internships and managed them well. He was not only an incredible and very understanding person to work with; he was very patient and motivated everyone to do better. I’d even go out on a limb and say, he is by far the best boss I have ever had! : D
Thank you so much!

Lastly, I believe that there is tough competition out there & I want to seize the best opportunity I can find.

Shrishti Verma is an undergraduate student of Media and Communication from SIMC.

If you want to share your Internship story with us, mail us at blog@letsintern.com. Every week, we pick the best ones and feature them on our blog.

The post 8 months. 7 internships. Shrishti Verma’s story of “Starting Young” and where it took her. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

I’ve been using Quora on a daily basis, I love the product. And what I read about the company was pretty exciting.  So I submitted my resume on Quora careers.

A couple of days later, Katie Nguyen(Recruiter at Quora) sent me an email to schedule a 1 hour phone interview in an afternoon.  Islam Al-Aarag(Software Engineer at Quora) asked me to solve two problems, using an online text editor. In the end, I had some time to ask him questions. His answers made me more excited about the company.

The following day in the morning, Katie sent me an email to schedule the onsite interview.

I got there around 9:40 and checked-in at their reception:

Then I went to the Starbucks downstairs, bought a cup of coffee, sat down and relaxed for a while listening to music. 10:20 I went back to the reception and met other 3 candidates that were about to start their interview at 10:30 too. One from Caltech, one from CMU and the other from NYU. Katie welcomed us and, before splitting to our interview rooms, we got to see part of their office. One thing that caught my attention was a world map on a wall, with all Quora’s employees pined in the cities they came from. Yes, I was wishing badly to add one more pin to that map

1. I first had a practical interview with Eric Morphis(Engineer at Quora). A real codebase had been previously setup on a Macbook, and I was provided written instructions for the tasks.
2. Chun-Ho Hung(Quora Product Engineer) asked me coding problems and I was given the choice to use the whiteboard or the laptop and to use the language I prefer. Even though with a text editor I can type faster, use auto-complete and copy and move code around, I chose the whiteboard since it was way larger than the Macbook’s display, allowing me to draw and explain my thoughts more easily. And I chose Python since it’s less verbose than other languages I’m familiar with: less time to write the code = more time to think about the solution.
3. I then had a lunch interview with Deborah Alves(Software Engineer at Quora) and had a chance to meet Adrien Lucas Ecoffet(Engineer at Quora) and Ryan Cheu(Quora Product Engineer). I got to know a bit about them and their work at Quora. The food was delicious by the way.
4. My next technical interview was with Kornél Csernai(Engineer at Quora). He asked me coding problems. Again I could choose a Programming language and whether or not to use the whiteboard, I made the same choices.
5. I then had an interview with Veni Johanna(Engineer at Quora, who also interned with them in 2013, and 2012). She asked me relevant questions about my background and motivations.
6. Finally I had an interview with Katie Nguyen. Among other topics, we spoke about my graduation date and potential timeline for an Internship. And then she showed me the office.

By the end of each interview I had time to ask questions, and all the interviewers were pleasant to answer them.

No wasted time, the interviews were back to back. A meeting room was fully booked for my onsite interview and when one interview ended the next interviewer was promptly waiting to proceed.

The interviewing process was 100% professional and well-rounded.  The questions didn’t overlap and they covered a broad spectrum.

It was great to visit their office, meet some Quora employees and get to know more about the company. I had a positive experience, regardless of the outcome.

I went back to Menlo Park, worked on my Internship project for a couple of hours and enjoyed the happy hour (it was Friday!).

Monday was a federal holiday. On Tuesday morning, Katie sent me an email saying she had “good news”. That same day, we had a phone call and the offer was signed by me, and then by Adam D’Angelo(CEO, Quora). It’s not only development and deployment that happen quickly at Quora!

I’m super excited, I look forward to joining Quora in the summer!

This article has been adapted from this answer on Quora. 

The post I intervewed with Quora for a Summer Internship. Here’s how it went. – by Cesar Ilharco, former SWE intern at Google, Amazon, and Facebook. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

This article was first published on Medium by Vedashree Bankar.

I’m completing my 6 month Internship at MentorMate this week.MentorMate is an award-winning software development firm with permanent offices in Minneapolis, MN and Sofia, Bulgaria. They offer tailored solutions to meet software needs of today and tomorrow. I had an opportunity to intern on their Experience Design Team as a UI/UX Design Intern in Minneapolis. It was an amazing opportunity, and I learned a lot of valuable lessons that I can carry forward with me in my career. I would like to share the experience with all of you, it could be especially helpful if you are early in your career.

I’ve interned at a few places in the past: a fast paced, designstart-up company, non-profit organizations (including the Minnesota Historical Society and Minneapolis Institute of the Arts), but I wanted to expand my skill set into a tech environment. I researched some of the best agency options in Minneapolis, and found the one I really wanted to intern at: MentorMate.

Process: Application and interviewing

MentorMate was my first option because it seemed like the perfect blend of software solutions, Design thinking, and a dedicated collaborative team doing great work (it turned out to be all this and a lot more!) Even though they did not have a formal Internship program, I sent in my application to the Creative Director anyway. After explaining to her some of the reasons why I would like to be on the team, I heard back from her quickly, ready to set up a phone interview. Phone interviews can be nerve-wracking, especially if it is your first interview as a designer working in tech, but it went great. For phone interviews be ready to talk about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, why you are interested in this particular role/company. It was more of a conversation where Annika, the creative director, explained to me about the company, her team, and their expectations. Right then, I was sure that I would be grateful if I got an opportunity to intern with them!

She called me into the office for a second round of interviewing. The interview was pretty standard, I was told to explain my Design decisions and talk about my process while showing some of my work. I received a tour of the office and one thing that particularly stood out to me were their gender neutral restrooms. This might seem like such a small thing but it really shows the company’s sensitivity and thoughtful nature towards their employees.

I finally got an email a week later telling me that I had been accepted on-board as an intern! Who-hoo! It is a paid Internship for six months on their Design team. I mention here that it is paid because I think it’s ethically important for companies to pay interns for the work they do.

Takeaways:

• Apply to places that you really want to work for, even if they don’t have a formal Internship program.
• Research the company before you send your application
• Be ready to walk through your portfolio and talk about some of your favorite pieces and how you could improve upon them.
• Interviews are a great way to find out more about thecompany, and see if it is a good fit for you.
• Ask questions! Ask questions about the next stages of the interview process and what is expected from you. The more you ask questions the better prepared you are going to be.
  

Company Culture

I hadn’t thought about how important company culture is before I started my Internship. One of the most valuable lessons that I have learned through this Internship is that the people and culture around you matter as much as the work that you are doing.

MentorMate is a collaborative environment where cross-disciplinary teams work with each other. They have open desks which facilitates a culture of transparency where you can easily interact with others. In the time I was there I got to be a part of some amazing events hosted in the office, including super-delicious Thanksgiving feast and a few MentorShares, which were monthly events in which the employees had opportunities to learn all about MentorMate. They had an open kitchen (which I am going to miss!) with snacks, coffee, and delicious lunches on Wednesdays! There was also a recreational area, including a ping pong table. Even though the office itself was amazing, the people were the best asset. Everyone was friendly, approachable and welcoming.

MobCon events are yearly organized conferences by MentorMate to help businesses remain ahead of the ever-accelerating Technology curve. I was grateful to be around MentorMate during a MobCon, which was a very busy time in which everyone was working towards making Mobcon 2015 a success. It is inspiring to me that the company is so driven to build good connections that it is giving back to the community.

MentorMate has international offices in Bulgaria, as well as a Design team. I not only had an opportunity to interact with the co-workers around me, but also those in Bulgaria! We would have weekly hangout check-in meetings where we would show and tell about the work, share inspirational links, and talk about team planning and goals.

Takeaways

• Culture is very important. Most of your time is going to be spent with your co-workers and in a shared space. Take some time to understand the company’s culture, mission and values and make sure they align with your own.
• Question what cultural values are important to you as you consider applying to Internships. Is the office dog-friendly? Are they giving back to the community? Is there a shared space for employees to interact with each other?

Mentorship and Professional Development

Being a student and early in my career, the Internship has played an important role in my professional development. My supervisor and creative director Annika would often check in with me to see how I was doing and give me suggestions for improvements. It was inspiring to work closely with her and to see her lead the Design team, as well as working with my coworkers to see what their roles looked like. Annika scheduled two informational interviews for me with Craig the VP of Strategic Consulting and Eve a solutions architect. Being new in the software world, these interviews were very insightful to understand more about the tech industry, the company, advice for students, and their career paths. Craig advised me about being a designer working in a software environment and gave me tips for when I look for jobs in the future, while Eve motivated me by sharing the work she was doing to get more young women involved in the tech community.

Takeaways

• Seek mentorship and learn everything you can from as many people as possible.
• Professional development is as valuable as improving your skills as a designer.
• You can learn a lot by getting advice from people outside your field!

Design Experience

I got to work on some really exciting projects! I was a part of the team that designed the MentorMate Website. Through this project, I had the opportunity to participate in various tasks: art direction for photo shoots, designing icons, establishing visual styles, and responsive Design. I also had the opportunity to attend two full days of rapid ideation sessions where the clients and a multi-disciplinary team of MentorMate employees sat together in a room and ideated possible solutions for the client’s needs. I learned how to think quickly, collaborate with team members and understand the client’s perspective by asking the right questions.

I visited home in India during the middle of the Internship period for Christmas break. Annika motivated me to work on a side project during my time home, which is now going to be my senior thesis project as I graduate. The project is about digital indian typefaces, and creating a platform to spread awareness about the lack of indian regional languages on the internet. This project is especially important as India’s internet user base looks set to cross 550 million in 2018, making it the second-largest online population in the world.

Takeaways

• Set goals in the start of your Internship. This helps you to stay on track, and learn everything you wanted to during your Internship duration.
• Ask questions. I learned that being a designer is a lot about asking questions about the problems that you are going to solve.

The post What I learnt from my first UI/UX Design internship at MentorMate. | Vedashree Bankar shares her experience. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

This post was first published on Medium by Gaurav Bradoo.

“Three months, two countries, one goal — helping Design Logitech’s future” or alternatively ‘The most awesome Internship in the world’ — That’s how I feel about my Internship this past summer.

When I got the offer from Logitech in March to join them as a Design Intern, I had a great feeling about the company and knew I was going to have a fun Internship. However the reality of my experience completely blew my expectations out of the water.

Having had a chance to reflect on these last few months, I realize there were a few systematic things that led to this being a phenomenal experience. I have attempted to summarize these takeaways here, because I think they can help improve peoples’ career outcomes independent of their industry, role or career stage.

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Learning #1: Pick jobs based on people and your impact.

Right from the interview, I sensed complete transparency from my future colleagues, as well as a lot of enthusiasm about their work. It was obvious that they cared about human-centered Design and truly felt empowered by the company to expand Logi’s horizons into fundamentally bolder and newer territories.

During the first few days, the feeling that I had the opportunity to create a large impact became even clearer thanks to the “all hands on deck” working style. Nobody ever treated me like a student in bubble wrap that needed babysitting. Instead, they brought me in like a fully functional member of the team right from the get-go.

While I had no idea about the extent of the awesomeness I would get to be a part of, I knew in my gut at the interview that this role was going to be different from many of the other opportunities I was exploring during my Internship hunt.

The post 5 things I learnt from my Product Design internship at Logitech | Gaurav Bradoo shares his experience. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.

This was first publlished on Medium by Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite. 

I was three years into a four-year Business degree. And I was impatient.

I had always known I wanted to be an entrepreneur. It started with washing windows for extra pocket money when I was a kid. By the time I was in high school, I had turned one of my hobbies — paintball — into a viable Business. I opened a paintball field, using the profits to branch out into selling equipment.

But college was calling. I wasn’t sure it was for me, but I gave into convention and enrolled in a Business program. From the beginning, it felt like I was moving in slow motion. Our first-year economics textbook introduced topics — supply and demand, Marketing, diversification — I had already had to wrestle with in real life.

But I stuck with it, semester after semester. The prospect of being a “college dropout” was scary. The summer before my final year, however, I made a decision: I wasn’t going back. I quickly got used to hearing “You’re making a mistake,” from my friends and counsellors. It felt like I was burning a bridge.

But it was the best mistake I ever made. Back home, I dove back into my first passion — running a Business. This time it was a pizza joint. (Why? The margins are huge … plus I loved pizza.) I leased a space and bought equipment using a credit card with a $20,000 limit. I was a one-man show, responsible for ordering supplies, making the pizzas, manning the cash register, mopping the floors, Marketing, you name it. It wasn’t glamorous work — days were always long — but I was happy.

And, even though I didn’t know it, I was getting a crash course on Startups. I got used to being strapped for cash and getting more out of less. I learned how to wear different hats — to be good at lots of things even if I wasn’t an expert at any. I had to think on my feet, juggle a dozen pressing problems and do so without losing my head. I learned the supreme importance of good customer service. I also discovered that Hawaiian slices easily outsell any other variety — It’s not even close.

Eventually, I realized I was meant for more than just pizza. By now, the ‘90s tech boom was in full swing. Computers had always been an interest of mine, ever since I won an Apple IIc in a Programming contest in Grade 5. I wanted in on the action. So after a year or so of selling slices, I unloaded my restaurant and used the profits to move from my little hometown in rural Canada to the big city, Vancouver. I taught myself some coding and, with the money I had saved, opened an agency that designed web pages and web tools.

My timing was terrible. The tech bubble burst right after I set up shop. Overnight, dot-com became a dirty word and investors began avoiding Startups like the plague. Fortunately, all those nights pounding dough and chopping pepperoni imparted another lesson: persistence. I pieced together enough work (and ate enough ramen) to survive the lean times. Eventually, the Business began to grow: first to two employees, then ten, then — after a few years — twenty.

Then, fate smiled on me. Around that time, social media was just starting to change everything. Facebook and Twitter had made the jump from the dorm room to the mainstream. Companies were trying to figure it all out. At my agency, we hacked together a tool to manage multiple networks from one page and called it Hootsuite. It was a simple idea, but it caught on, fast.

Today, Hootsuite has nearly 11 million users, including some of the biggest Fortune 100 companies. We count almost 800 employees in a half-dozen offices around the world and have attracted more than $250 million in investment. And each day I get to work with some of the most talented engineers, designers and Marketing minds in the tech world.

Would I be here if I had stuck it out and got my Business degree? I doubt it. I followed my heart (and stomach) and dropped out to sell pizzas. For me, it made all the difference. Obviously, this approach isn’t for everyone. But for entrepeneurs hungry to test the waters, it can be worth at least asking whether university offers sufficient ROI for your time and money. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg all wrestled with the same question at one point in time before quitting school themselves … and they seem to have turned out just fine.

The post I dropped out of my Business school to start a pizza joint, and it was the best mistake I ever made. | By Ryan Holmes, CEO, Hootsuite. appeared first on Student Resource - Learning Centre | Letsintern.com.