Swasti Pahuja - IDFC

Greetings, and a warm welcome to my summer internship experience blog! Whether you find it fascinating or a tad mundane will depend on your interests, but I promise to share it all with enthusiasm. So, let's dive into my journey, and I hope you'll discover something enjoyable along the way! 😊

Quick Info on where I belonged before Internship season :/

Myself Swasti Pahuja, an average-performing fourth-year undergraduate in Civil Department. I didn’t have a great CPI of 8.5+ or so. I had done only a second-year winter internship at Mudrex which made introduced me to some basic financial terms and the world of cryptocurrency and Blockchain. During the 4th Semester, I had done some basic Finance projects like Finsearch and wahi regular Stock Market Analysis, on my own. Before last summer, I had no idea what I would do during the internship season. I tried to find an internship for summers (seeing my friends do the same) through apping but landed on doing basic DSA prep. I always ran from coding idk why but as well said “You have to face what you fear”. I did geeks for geeks course on DSA, some leetcode questions, and basic 3-4 questions of competitive coding tests. In all this time in summer, my Dad had my back, being a Computer professor he helped me out in these ( although I got a lot scolded haha).

And now begins the 5th semester and ofc The Internship season.

From all my background, It was clear that all I could get is either a Finance or Analytics internship. I prepared for aptitude tests through online sources like InterviewBit and Geeks for Geeks for puzzles. I also gave a mock interview through SARC’s program and learned about how one should explain each and every point mentioned in their resume I sat in all tests whether coding or aptitude from Day 1 to Day XYZ when I got an intern as Associate Data Analyst in IDFC FIRST BANK. I had only two shortlists in the internship season. The first was of Accenture ( idk how I got into this one, coz this was consulting and my resume had no edge in it). But I sat in the interviews seriously with all the preparations of Guestimate, Case study, and puzzles ………… anyway, I got rejected.

Now talking about IDFC FIRST BANK’s procedure. They took a test of everyone as much as I remember as of now, which consisted of general aptitude and English. Then suddenly one day when I was roaming with my friend in the mall ( we went to relieve stress btw :P ), a notification came on my phone - “ You were mentioned in the Internship Blog” which was IDFC’s Interview shortlist. I went to my room, took a breath, and made a plan to crack this interview, as my chances of getting another shortlist were much less, and internship season was also near its end. I talked to some people who were shortlisted last year and some seniors about what to expect in interviews and how to prepare. I reviewed my resume, revised some DSA stuff, and did some puzzles. They took two online interview rounds. In the first round, they asked 4-5 puzzles and 3 coding questions, along with discussing some projects on my resume, and in the second round, they again asked me 4 puzzles. That’s it. I was able to answer all puzzles almost satisfactorily. In the coding part, I could answer how you would write around a code for questions like finding the Kth smallest element in the array (I don’t remember exactly, but it was something like this ). But I was unable to answer the syntax and basic theoretical questions.

After these two nerve-cracking interview rounds, I waited for the result that day till midnight and disturbed my roommate and my each and every friend out of anxiety :P Then came another notification of being among the selected candidates of IDFC FIRST BANK and I was done with the Internship season for forever.

And now’s the best part - The Intern

My OFFLINE internship began on 8th May and went till 8th July. I was thodu nervous before the start of the internship because I had no prior good knowledge of data science or AI/ML, but as said, ‘ All’s well that ends well.

We five were assigned four different projects in different teams ( two were on the same project ). During the first week I interacted with my mentor who was a Senior Data Analyst and talked about the project, I would be working on with him. We five interns explored our office and nearby places in extravagant BKC. My project revolved from extracting data using SAS, learning retail banking terminologies, building features using Pyspark, exploring what different statistical tests tell you about your data, to using a combination of Machine learning techniques for increasing the accuracy of the model running on such an extensive dataset. Overall, I had a fantastic experience working with an industry Machine Learning model, and I learned many new things from it. Admittedly, it was challenging for me to apply the knowledge practically because I didn't have much prior experience in this field. Most of my learning had been theoretical, either in a room or during my commute in a cab. However, my colleagues at the office were incredibly friendly and always willing to assist whenever I encountered any difficulties. Despite the project being a bit hectic, I thoroughly enjoyed my journey in Data Science and gained a plethora of valuable skills along the way.

Coming to what else I did in Corphorate, I made good friends during the internship. We five used to go to some fancy restaurants in Bandra. We had fun in everything we did together, from walks during breaks, timepass during lunch times and gossip in cab, we made corphorate life fun :P

I also did so-called, networking during the internship, and took gyaan on various career options from my mentor and office colleagues.

Now, let's talk about the not-so-pleasant aspect of my internship - the dreaded traffic! 😫 IITB to BKC was just a 30-minute commute without traffic. We found ourselves stuck for what seemed like an eternity, enduring those never-ending traffic jams, sometimes lasting a grueling one and a half hours! But hey, I guess it's all part of the internship adventure, right?

Amidst the hustle and bustle of it all, the experience was truly enriching. I got a first-hand look into the inner workings of IDFC Bank, interacted with incredible people from diverse backgrounds, and picked up valuable skills along the way. Moreover, this journey opened up a world of career possibilities for me, which was both exciting and enlightening.

And how can I forget about the delectable food discoveries? Trying out mouth-watering dishes and delicacies became an essential part of the Corphorate experience. 😋

So, there you have it - my internship at Corphorate was a rollercoaster of emotions, learnings, and unforgettable moments. From making lifelong friends to exploring different career paths, I couldn't have asked for a more fulfilling experience. It provided me with a taste of corporate life and left me hungry for more adventures in the professional world!

In conclusion, the Internship season has been a profound learning experience. If one opportunity doesn't work out, remember, there's always something else for you. Stay positive, work hard, and don't be discouraged. Countless opportunities await, and what you truly deserve will come your way. Enjoy the process and stay resilient until you find your so-called perfect fit. Thank you for being patient as I shared my internship journey. Best of luck to everyone on their own path! Feel free to reach out if you need any help. Cheers to new beginnings and endless possibilities! ✨