Placement Stories: Media.Net Product Analyst
Written on February 18th, 2020 by {"login"=>"jcbitshyd", "email"=>"journal@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"", "last_name"=>""}The recruitment process for this role as a product analyst in Media.net, the second-largest contextual advertising network in the world by revenue, was an off-campus process which was a part of the Placement Drive this year. There was one final select for the role of Product Analyst: Gokul Karthik.
What exactly does the role of Product Analyst entail?
As a product analyst, I would be closely working with product managers to implement new products or suggesting improvements or features to their existing products. It primarily revolves around analysing the product data, market trends, consumer patterns etc and how it can be utilized to improve the business. An important aspect of this role would be to monitor the product’s performance across various metrics and provide key insights & prepare reports. Also, a product role, in general, involves liaising with numerous stakeholders from different business teams.
What sparked your interest in non-tech?
Initially, when I came to college, I was interested in my core branch, which was Civil Engineering. Even for my PS-1, I chose a core Civil station. However, throughout the summer I got to see the work of an average civil engineer and I decided that it wasn’t my forte and I didn’t want to be a part of the industry. In my 3-1, I took a project in Civil and realised that even the research side of Civil didn’t spark my interest. It was around this time that I started exploring my interests and thought of taking up a non-tech job.
What other companies did you apply for?
I applied for every non-tech role on campus till I was placed, 8 companies to be exact, including Flipkart, Phone Pe, Indus Insights and Amazon Area Manager. In some cases, I sat for the process for the experience. While they all came under the wide umbrella of non-tech, the different companies included quite different roles. For example, Flipkart offered a business analyst role while the Amazon Area Manager role was more on the operations side.
What was the interview process like?
The typical non-tech interview includes 3 rounds: the first preliminary round includes mostly taking the interviewer through your resume, answering a few questions such as why you want to work for that particular company or apply for that particular role. The second round is usually a technical round, with questions involving guesstimates or case studies, and the final round is an HR round.
However, not all companies follow this pattern. For example, the interview process for Media.net, where I got placed: there were only two rounds: a technical round, and a more complex technical round. In general, product interviews are slightly different. The first round included guesstimates, root cause analysis and questions about topics like SQL and Excel. The second round included a more complex guesstimate and a product design question, wherein given a problem statement the candidate had to design an appropriate product. In my case, the question was how to build a version of Whatsapp that would be better for businesses and retailers. There was also a metrics question, wherein given a case you would have to create a model and formulate performance metrics. I was given the question “If you were the Operations Head of Zomato, what are the metrics you would look at?”. I considered metrics such as delivery times, customer ratings. You are never sure about what the right answer is. Here, my PS-2 experience in Swiggy did help me answer this question.
How will you rank each of these, and why, in increasing order of importance, for getting a non-tech job on campus: a) overall CGPA, b) work experience (such as PS1, PS2, and other internships), and c) extracurricular activities and competitions d) PoRs?
I would say PS experience is definitely one of the most important factors, coupled with the preparation that you do for each interview. In my case, most of my interview revolved around my PS-2 experience in Swiggy, where I was a Business Associate Intern. Since it was a fairly new team, I had an opportunity to work in almost every department during my internship, and this helped in my product interview.
When it comes to CG, as part of the Placement Unit I can say that companies that come initially do not really factor in CG as much. But once the initial phase of companies is done, CG becomes more important. Most companies have a CG cutoff of 6, so a CG around 7 to 7.2 is recommended. Anything around 8 is fantastic. Above 8.5 becomes worrisome again, because the question of why a person who seems well-acquainted with their branch wants to work in a non-tech role comes up. However, if they are able to justify their reasons, it is not a deal-breaker. Additionally, some jobs like consultant roles do look for academic excellence, so a high CG can signal that you are focused and detail-oriented.
When it comes to PoRs, I have held multiple PoRs on campus and I can say from a placement point of view it doesn’t really give you much of an edge. It’s more of a brownie point and just something to talk about during the interview. It won’t directly come up, but when questions like ‘What was the most challenging thing you have done on campus?’ or ‘What was one moment that you felt that you needed to contribute to something?’ are asked, you can weave in the experience you gained through your PoR. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a PoR, by campus terms though. What matters is what you did and what value you added. Even a ‘PoR’ like DoSM executive can be used in an interview if you can bring in your negotiation skills and cite an example.
Extracurriculars, in general, do show that you did something on campus apart from academics and skills like team-work and management are something that you pick up from clubs and departments.
Can someone go for non-tech even after having a tech/core PS1 and PS2?
Yes, one can get a non-tech placement even if they haven’t had prior experience in the field through PS. That’s where preparation comes into the picture. Being comfortable with guesstimates and case studies is crucial. And even if you haven’t worked in a non-tech role, you need to be able to sell the insights and the skills that you picked up from your experience in order to boost your profile.
Does completing a minor in Finance give you an edge during non-tech interviews?
It's a popular misconception among students that a minor in finance can help one secure a non-tech job, which I feel is not true. I did my Finance minor in my 3-2, which was not advisable as I couldn’t go for a Finance PS Station for PS-2 in my 4-1. However, I feel that completing the minor did not really help with my placement. The courses offered in Finance minor are not enough to build a strong profile for pure Finance roles where companies tend to look for MBA students. Additionally, it becomes very difficult to shift from finance to a business-oriented or product analytical role and you would have to justify it in an interview
How did you build your profile for this role? Are there any skills you would recommend people interested in non-tech to start building up before they sit for placements?
I was mostly aiming to have a diversified profile at the end of the day. So for that, I took up a few finance courses, I did Operations Research which covered the operations side of things, I did International Relations which helped me gain a global perspective. Additionally, my PS-1 was in core, and in the summer of my third year, I did an internship at Niti Aayog, the think tank of India which gave me insights about public policy. On top of that my PS-2 at Swiggy was completely different, and dealt with e-commerce and business. By the time I sat for placements, I had some experience in everything and sold myself as ‘Jack of All Trades.’
Regarding skills, I think students, in their second year instead of focusing on the interview process, should try and decide what kind of job will suit them and start reading up about the same and also interact with seniors who pursued similar interests. Good intense preparation around 2-3 months, prior to the interview would be enough for the selection process. Deciding one’s field of interest is important, as one can then accordingly work towards building a suitable job profile.
Why do you think companies look for students from engineering backgrounds for these roles as opposed to commerce students?
So here is where the BITS tag really comes into play. Companies come to colleges like IITs and BITS because they believe in the capabilities of the students in these colleges. Skills like problem-solving ability and analytical skills are a few aspects that they look for and find in engineering students. As for why not students who have done this at an undergraduate level, they feel that we will be able to pick up the necessary skills in a short span of time, and coupled with the other factors are open to taking engineering students for non-tech roles.
As Placement Coordinator, do you feel that non-tech jobs have been gaining momentum?
Definitely. Last year the entire placement saw only 8 non-tech companies come for recruitment. The fact that non-tech companies are gaining popularity among students can be seen by the substantial increase in the number of such companies this year. As a placement unit, the students' interests are our prior concern and this year 22 non-tech companies visiting the campus clearly shows the growing interest of students, in non-tech.
Anything else you’d like to tell people sitting for placements next year?
Preparing for the interview is the most crucial part of the entire placement process. Practising and acquainting yourself with the type of questions that are likely to be asked prepares one to face any question that is likely to be thrown during the interview
The second most important thing is being aware of the role you're applying for, be it business-oriented, operations research-related or product analysis. Interacting with seniors placed in the company you're aiming for will help you understand the nitty-gritty of the job and the task associated with the same.