How to get a summer internship at Uber India
Uber – the business that started when two young men had trouble finding a cab on a snowy evening. What began as just an idea of letting one hail a cab with one’s smartphone is now revolutionizing the transport facility across the globe. Whether it’s a ride or a sandwich, Uber provides you with everything at a tap of a button.
What are the types of internships at Uber and who are eligible to apply?
Uber offers internships to students of engineering, BBA, MBA, Ph.D., and related disciplines for a period of 2-6 months across their offices in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi NCR, etc. Engineering candidates can go for software development and data analysis profiles while management students can go for internships in operations, marketing, and business development. Ph.D. candidates generally work in research-oriented fields such as UX research, statistical analysis, and data science. Graduates also have the opportunity to work in customer support, law, design, and content writing. Uber offers a competitive stipend ranging from 10-30K depending on the profile.
How to apply for an Uber internship?
1. Online application – Internships – Uber India Careers
Apply online on the Uber careers portal. As a part of Uber’s application process, you can either share your LinkedIn profile with the recruiter, upload your resume in a PDF format, or enter your details manually.
2. Internshala – Uber posts its internship across various profiles on Internshala year round. Just answer a simple ‘Why should you be hired?’ question and apply for Uber internships here.
3. Emailing the HR – You can connect with Uber employees on LinkedIn or Facebook and ask them to provide you with the email id of the HR.
4. Campus recruitment – Uber hires interns from select few colleges like DTU, IIMs, and IITs.
What after applying to an internship in Uber?
Uber’s recruitment process involves a resume screening after which students have to take an online Uber analytics test which has a cut-off of 70%. The test involves around 20 questions based on MS-Excel and given data-sets to evaluate your critical thinking along with some subjective questions that you have to answer from a user’s and a marketer’s perspective. If you’re applying for a data analytics profile, the test will include questions based on data mining and situational analysis.
This is followed by a telephonic interview with Uber’s HR executive wherein you are asked general questions about your educational background, interests, the skills mentioned in your resume, and your previous work experiences. Some sample questions are:
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. How would you train the partners if you have to get them onboard on an urgent basis?
3. How did the operations (or the department you’re applying for) department function at your previous workplace/internship?
After this, you are called for a face-to-face interview with the departmental head wherein you are evaluated on your technical as well as behavioural skills. For management profiles, a group discussion on a topic related to a business model at Uber, for instance – ‘The pros and cons of surge in Uber’, may be conducted instead of the interview.
This is the most crucial interview which consists of questions from your past internship experience, Uber products, and some situational questions like:
1. What was the most frequent issue at your previous workplace and how did you overcome it?
2. If a customer faces inconvenience due to an operational issue, how would you manage the situation?
3. How would you encourage more people to use Uberpool?
4. Why did you decide to move forward with this role?
If you’re applying for a software profile, the recruiter will evaluate your knowledge of SQL, list manipulations, data sorting, hash tables, Linux commands, etc. You’ll also be given coding problems such as –
1. Imagine you’re an Uber driver and begin in the mid of an nXn matrix. Write a code that lets you pick up the most riders in your vicinity.
2. How would you implement a rate limiter?
3. How would you flatten a nested list of integers?
The last and deciding face to face interview is with the general manager. This is more of a conversation than an interview where the GM tells you about the intricacies of your role, how they run different campaigns, and how different departments at Uber function. He/she will ask you for your opinions on various strategies they have and the service their competitors provide. You may also be given some case studies such as that of a tiffin delivery system or a waffle shop and would be asked to explain their operational flow and to give suggestions to make them more efficient.
What to expect once your Uber summer internship starts?
Get ready to work in a fast-paced environment. The usual work hours during an internship at Uber are 40-50 hours per week; however, you might have to spend some extra time to finish up your work and meet the deadlines. But, don’t worry, the managers are friendly and the workplace is pretty chilled out. Software development interns are paired with an onboarding buddy who helps them navigate the codebase and internal systems. Most Uber internships also come with a pre-placement offer.
Word of advice from ex-Uber interns:
1. Have a clear understanding of the business model of Uber. Read up on recent news, articles, and case studies online. Also, read issues related to taxi aggregators.
2. Participation in hackathons, coding challenges, and previous internship experience will give you an edge in the interview.
3. The interviewers test you on your ability to think on your feet, so be logical and quick with your answers.
A couple of pro-tips:
1. Students applying for software development profiles should have an excellent knowledge and preferably a previous work experience in at least one of the programming languages used at Uber, viz. Java, Go, Swift, Python, and JavaScript.
2. Get familiar with their product in and out and pitch any ideas that you have for Uber in the interview.
3. Resource: You can practice coding questions asked in Uber interviews here.
Perks:
1. You get free food. Yes, breakfast, lunch, and snacks are all free at Uber!
2. Every month, you get Uber credits for travelling to work.
3. Depending on the team you work with, you’re provided with a stipend for housing.
4. Roll up your sleeves for frequent team outings and recreational activities.
For a closer view of Uber’s work culture, you can read the exhilarating experience of Manideep and Arushi’s venture into brand promotion while they did a summer internship at Uber.
Now that you have a clear insight into Uber’s hiring process, apply to Uber summer internships 2018 and take your career for a smooth ride!
