Journey of an Intern to Product Manager at PayU | Ayush Rawat

I am Ayush Rawat, a recent graduate from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Currently, I am working as an Associate Product Manager at PayU. My journey at PayU started as a Product Management Intern. As luck would have it, there was an opening in PayU for Product Management Intern. I was excited, as the role’s exactly the same I dreamt of, and in the company at forefront of fintech in India. So, without any delay, I applied for the role.   

Selection Process   

The selection process was quite unique and practical assignments were given. This was a new experience for me and showed the company’s culture of valuing the quality of work.   

Round 1 – Assignment Round   

This round started off with multiple questions based on product thinking, guesstimates, metrics, and related topics. I would be lying if I don’t mention the fact that I enjoyed completing the assignment.  

Round 2 – Interview Round  

Post the assignment round, I had an interview process with Naveen Athresh – Sr. Director Product Management-Process, IXD/UX – Merchant XP, PayU. It was 45 minutes long interview, but was more of a discussion, about my past experiences, the reasoning behind the answers I had written in the assignment round, why do I want to enter the product management field, and other related questions. After the interview round with Naveen, my wish to be part of PayU grew, as I wished to work in a company with such receptive leaders at the helm.  

Round 3 – HR Round   

After completion of the interview round, the final round was the HR round with Denzil Jose. It was more of a general round, the questions revolved around my interests, hobbies, and other general things.   

The entire process took 7-10 days to complete. I got my confirmation of selection through email and call by Denzil. I was very excited to begin a new journey in my career.  

Post Onboarding Journey (Commencement of Internship Project)  

Right after my onboarding, I got a project which’s interesting and challenging at the same time. Nevertheless, during the entire duration of the internship, the mentors helped the team extensively. Both the product mentors (Anant Jain) and engineering mentors (Chirag and Shashi Kumar) took out time from their busy schedules to interact with us and guide us during the project. The mentors treated us as part of PayU (and not as interns) and their faith and belief in us, boosted our confidence to work and give our best. PayU also offered me the opportunity to work on a different project, alongside the current project, indicating their trust in an intern. I worked on 2 different projects alongside each other, which turned out to be an enriching experience for me.   

During the entire duration as an intern, I worked with different teams, learned how to coordinate with multiple stakeholders, and prioritize from among given multiple options. Working as part of the team, we made great progress in the project. It was shown to the senior leadership team (including Manas, Naveen, Swaroop) who appreciated our efforts and believing in our abilities.   

Naveen and Swaroop also kept regular track of the work done on the projects and also provided their feedbacks, helping the team to improve upon the projects. Within a record time frame of three months, I joined PayU as an Associate Product Manager. The guidance from the mentors and leaders, work culture and the exciting projects make it the company where I can learn and grow, while at the same time be a part of an exciting sector.   

My advice for you all is “Work your way through the opportunity coming your way. You may not find the answers at the moment, but you’ll surely connect the dots later”  

Thanks for reading 🙂   

Hoping the best comes your way in your product journey!