Pradumn Agarwal (ME1)
Domain: Fintech Interned at Kotak Securities, Mumbai
Mode: Offline
Interviewed by: Anuradha Barnwal
Introduction
Hi, I am Pradumn. I'm in my third year, and currently pursuing Btech in mechanical engineering. I am an outreach Coordinator in the International Programmes and Economics Club. I will be an international exchange student this semester at Denmark Technical University. Besides that, I play badminton and read a lot on the news and the internet. I do like my branch. I used to like physics in school, and my branch in college is somewhat oriented and aligned with that. I like some courses, but I just pass a few others to get away with them.
Could you please tell us about your intern role at Kotak Institutional Equities?
I interned at Kotak Institutional Securities, a subsidiary of Kotak Securities. They act as an intermediary between the clients and stock exchange by securing your deals. Kotak Institutional Equities caters explicitly to institutional clients, such as firms and higher-ticket clients.
Regarding my role, it was more on a tech oriented side. So, they had few ideas about generative AI and the automation of repetitive tasks at their firm. They had ideas of how to implement it, but they wanted a clear road map on how to go about it. So, along with two other students from IIT KGP and IIT Bombay, we worked for around one and a half months, looking for solutions. We compared them and tried to develop a feasible roadmap for their software to help them reduce the man-hours.
MOTIVATION
What were the domains you were interested in before going through the process of applying, and what motivated you to narrow it down to this internship?
I tried and tested everything I had a remote interest in. I knew I wasn't into coding and software development, so I did not apply to AI and software companies. I enjoy finance and read a lot about economics, but it's not something I like to pursue in the long run. Consulting, on the other hand, offers you the opportunity to work on different projects, with each being different from the last one. That was something that excited me and compelled me to try for that. I am more into reading, getting the crux out of things, and drawing insights from some data. I was also trying to get into something that would help me enter the management profiles. I had heard that a good internship at a reputed business school/corporate company helped a lot, so I tried to get into BIG4, some VC firms, etc. I was also applying for opportunities that came up along LinkedIn. One thing I suggest is to follow as many people as possible on LinkedIn because it helps with networking and getting you aware of better opportunities. I, too, got to know about this internship opening through LinkedIn and followed through.
Could you tell us more about your internship at HEC Paris?
At HEC Paris, there is a professor from the Department of Operations working with a professor from Queen's Business School of London on news syndication. They extracted old news articles and find some patterns using ML models. During this internship, it became clear to me that research is something I don't have a keen interest in. This strengthened my decision to pursue other interests.
APPLICATION PROCESS
While applying for these internships, you must've mailed hundreds of people. How excruciating was the process, and how did you cope with the rejections?
As mentioned, I got this position through a LinkedIn opening in mid/late May. Before this, I did one research internship at IIM Lucknow, where I co-authored papers with professors from the Department of Sustainability and I'm working with a few professors from HEC Paris and other universities-something I started a few months before my offline internship at Kotak Institutional Equity. While emailing professors during September, I got an idea of how to approach people. Things like sending a reminder email every 10-15 days, prompting a response/engaging in discussions, getting feedback, highlighting the right keywords, and keeping the word count adequate can tremendously affect your chances. I had an offer in early November, which cheered me up a little amongst all the rejections.
Was there any Pre-intern preparation involved?
I only prepared a little before applying for my IIM Lucknow internship-I had a cover letter, a mailing list, a good CG, some technical projects, and a couple of PoRs under me, so I was good to go. I did not do any specific courses. I had a couple of projects under me in 1st year, but it was cold mailing many profs that scored my two research internships. I don't think I can emphasise it enough, but I highly advise looking out on Linkedin for positions that might open in your prospective fields/companies. While sending 500+ personalised mails was hard, at the end of the day, you don't need a hundred replies. You need one yes from the right place and person. So, that thought kept me going.
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
How was the work experience in general?
As it was an offline internship, going to the office at finance capital at BKC, Mumbai and working alongside those seasoned traders was something that I thoroughly enjoyed. We had those eight monitor screens to work on, and good food was served all day. We did have a couple of restrictions; for e.g., we couldn't use our phones during work hours for privacy reasons or move between floors too. Did I mention that I have signed an NDA agreement? Haha. While working there, I had a manager above me, and the team was big. I had two or three people to report to and from whom I had to take instructions. They were quite generous and helped me throughout the journey. So, it was pretty exciting and easygoing, not very technical or challenging from day one. I had some pretty amazing fellow intern students; it was nice sitting around them and getting to know what happened at different IITs, their recruiting structure, and what kind of companies come on campus. I had a good time there, and we are in touch now.
LEARNINGS AND ADVICE
Any Personal takeaway?
On a personal basis, I learned how to manage my time well. Between meeting deadlines, interacting with professionals, doing club work, and third-year intern prep, I had to manage my time accurately. That no phone rule during work hours did get me out of my obsession of checking my phone every five minutes, and now I generally don't waste countless hours on my phone.
Also, did I mention that my sister lives in Mumbai? I used to party a lot in Mumbai with her; we'd go cafe hopping and sightseeing. I got to cut on rent, maid/cook and food, so that was a major plus. We disconnected due to my JEE phase, but this opportunity allowed me to reconnect with her.
Your best advice to juniors?
Have a good sleep schedule. Managing clubs, academics, internships, mailing and exploring can take a significant toll on your body mentally and physically, so proper rest is necessary. The next thing is to reach out to as many people as you can, be it on LinkedIn, drop emails if a position opens for a person at some firm or you can directly see if there is a senior of yours who has worked at the same place and try to ask him if he can recommend you. Try getting research interns, reading many articles, and connecting with professors- they help a lot, even if your goal isn't research. Keep exploring things that seem interesting to you rather than following hearsay.
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