Look for passion, and not CGPA when hiring interns – PasteOnMyCity
We recently interviewed Mr. Arun Kunapareddy, Founder & CEO at PasteOnMyCity – a social networking site to share his experience of running an internship programme in his company. Below are the excerpts of the discussion.
Q. What is your philosophy behind having an internship programme at PasteOnMyCity?
I basically wanted some young people around, working with me for my start-up. Young interns are very enthusiastic and they actually have fire in their belly to do something different, something new, and it’s less likely that you would find the same passion in a working professional. I personally believe interns’ opinions and ideas could bring a new turning point in your business. Being a start-up, I also think of cost and, of course, interns are rather cost effective.
Q. Have you ever done any important project in which interns played a critical role?
Well, this was my maiden experience of having interns on board (some of the interns are still continuing). When interns (most of which I hired through Internshala) initially came on board, I assigned them their tasks – they were assisting technical team in developing a mobile app. But they were not satisfied with the work and asked for some challenging assignment, so I told them to develop the same mobile app independently- and they did it! They have done a good job of it, and I am happy with the quality of their work.
Q. While hiring interns, what are the attributes/skills you look for in a candidate?
We do assess applicants rigorously to ensure the quality. During interview I basically try to find out how passionate a particular candidate is, whether the candidate has willingness to learn or not, his/her attitude toward work profile/company profile etc. And yes, we do not give much preference to CGPA. I prefer to mail problem sets to shortlisted candidates to assess their technical skills/expertise.
Q. Have you ever made mistakes while hiring and ended up hiring totally wrong candidate?
As I mentioned earlier, this was my first hiring, and I am actually happy with the quality of work that interns have produced.
Q. A message that you’d like to give to companies/start-ups running internship programmes?
In my opinion, interns should be given an opportunity to do something which they could feel proud of, like some assignment in which they could play an important role. Apart from this, employer should provide proper mentoring and should also offer relevant feedback time to time.
Q. What is your message to students who are looking for internships?
Be confident and fearless. There is nothing that you can’t learn or do.
If you’re an employer and want to share your experience of running an internship programme, drop a line at shadab@internshala.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Are you an employer looking for interns? Hire interns through Internshala; it’s free and hassle-free.
