The Innovation Track that landed me at PayU | Aarat Bhatnagar – PayU Blog

I am Aarat Bhatnagar, pursuing a degree in Data Science from IIT, Madras. Right after my graduation in Mechatronics from MIT, Manipal, I started my professional journey with PayU India as an intern for their Innovation Track back in mid-April. Presently, I am working as an Associate Product Manager for Merchant Experience Team at PayU.   

Landing a job after an internship at PayU is a story worth telling. I had my fair share of lows which have made me more grateful and humble for a few highs. Here’s my story of this eventful journey  

Back in 2021, when I was at Indore, I got a message from a friend notifying me about this opening at PayU. Unaware of what the role of product management meant, I called him to enquire further and gathered understanding.  

After doing my bit of research, I recognized the role kindled my entrepreneurial and enterprising spirit. I was excited at the prospect of getting selected for an innovation cohort that’ll build new financial products for the lowest strata of society 

Still filled with a lot of questions, I just applied which frankly I think everyone should always do.   

As this was just the start, I wanted to give my best shot. Since there are no shortcuts to any place that is worth going, I started prepping up for the interview and did 4-5 online courses.  

Round 1 – Screening: 

I was asked about the academic projects and internships I have done in the past with organizations like Eicher, JCB, Bharat Forge, L&T, Jaguar-Land rover, Shridhan Automation, Eaton, etc. during my undergrad years. 

Round 2 – Case Study:

This had 3 sections- Designs Q’s, Guesstimates, Product Management 101 Q’s. Here I was given to solve interesting problems on everyday items.  

For e.x. You are racing against the clock as they require creative thinking and problem statements are generally large where you require analysis from many disciplines consuming plenty of time.   

I would suggest all dedicate at least 7-8 hours for the case study with no blocker, else you may not end up completing the task. Practice guesstimates flow and PM 101 from resources available online, this will save your time for design questions. At last, for design questions get familiar with any mock-up/flow tools that can be used with ease. Overall, just observe and follow resources like Product Hunt, Product Folks, or Product School on LinkedIn to get a good taste of what is expected.   

Round 3 – Product Thinking and Case Study Discussion:

This was an hour-long discussion with Saurabh, Associate Director-Products (also my current Manager), focusing the why’s and how’s of my case study primarily on original thinking, and problem-solving approach. The discussion ranged from intense product questions to delightful personal nuances.  

Round 4 – Leadership Meet:

I met with Naveen Athresh, Sr. Director, Product Management-Process, IXD/UX – Merchant XP at PayU. This was an insightful round, all major questions were on lines of first principles thinking, with the Why and What of PM role. That round ended with us discussing how we can make the case study and onboarding processes better. It never felt like an interview though! 

The key to crack such interviews is to “Think on fundamentals always, understand user problem and customer before any product solution even starts and be precise always.” as guided by Naveen Athresh to me later on.  

Round 5 – HR Round:

This was a brief round involving discussions about work culture, company goals, locations, and other open questions. I would like to thanks Denzil Jose for making my virtual onboarding quite smooth.   

The entire process lasted for about 1 month and I got my final confirmation. I was obviously on cloud nine when I heard this news from Denzil over the phone call that I had been selected. Soon after it the laptop and kit were assigned to me. 

Cut to mid-April 2021, Pune. We had extensive training for weeks covering all major product areas like Product Thinking, Design, User journeys, Research and Customer Empathy amongst all with a laser-sharp focus on Metrics. These training sessions were designed to set up us for success at our Innovation tracks.  

So, that’s all from me.  

Thanks for reading & wish you all the best for your Product Management journey!