Hello My Name is Harsh Goyal and I am currently doing PGDM 2
ND YEAR (FINANCE) from NMIMS, BANGALORE. Recently I have done my Summer Internship in a FINTECH start-up
“AVAIL FINANCE”.
Avail Finance which caters to explore the possibility of association for extending financial benefits to Blue collared employees with its various Financial Products.
I interning under the Credit Team works for the likes of Swiggy, Zomato, Ola, Quess Corp, etc., and providing services to financially include their workforce. Avail work closely with the companies to float out these benefits, and leverage their support to reach out to the end employee, and verify the earnings made by the employee on the platform.
Roles and Responsibilities (Contribution to the Company)
My responsibilities came under the “In-review” stage where I used to assess the loan application based on the earnings and expenditures of customers by analysing their bank statements and salary slips. A huge part of the evaluation is analysing the customer’s CIBIL Report. In which, if the status is Settled, Written-off, post write off settled and post settled write off, it leads to a decrease in the CIBIL score. Apart from this, checking for any overdue and days past due from any of the past loans shows the credit history of the customer and how he/she pays their dues. Analysing the lifestyle of the customer by checking the expenses and also interacting on call gives us an overall idea whether the customer is creditworthy. Based on the financial as well as the social behaviour of the customer, I decide whether the customer is eligible for loan or not.
After clarity of the work culture style and various norms of the company the no. cases reviewed by me in one day as an intern increased day by day. I, as a part of the credit team, had great responsibilities in order to be accurate in viewing the credit history of the customer, analysing minute details and understanding the various fraud behaviour (if any).
Company on the go has set targets for each month which are predefined and I feel privileged to contribute is a bit in the real working of the company. Credit team along with Onboarding and Post-approval team Worked day and night to achieve the targets for the month of April 2019.
Preparation Strategy and some helpful Tips for cracking of selection procedures.
- Research the company beforehand
- Before attending the interview, you must always do some research about your prospective employer and the job role for which you are being interviewed.
- By doing this, you will be able to answer well when interviewers ask you questions like: 'What do you know about our company?' 'What are our products?' 'Who are our competitors?' etc. I was specifically asked about what do I know about the job role that was being offered to me.
- Be confident
- When you are called inside the interview room, walk straight, with a slight smile on your face. Greet the interviewer by giving a firm handshake. Look into the eyes of the interviewer and respond to questions asked, as it will make them feel that you are confident about yourself and your answers.
- Say, 'I don't know', if you don't know the answer
- If you are asked a tricky question, and you do not know or are not confident about your answer, then say, 'I am sorry, sir, but I do not know the answer to this question. ‘The interviewers are fine if you don't know the answer, but would not like to listen to any faulty or wrong answers. If you do not know the answer, it is a good idea to tell the interviewer that you can find out the answer. Ask where can you research, who can you ask, etc. to find the answer. This is reassuring to the interviewer.
- Conclude the interview on a positive note
- Thank the interviewer for his/her time. Ask them any further information that you need to know about the company, like their work culture, on-boarding process, etc.
- Experience and Learning from Summer Internship
- At Avail, the main aim is to make credit easier for the blue collared segment of India. People
- who live with not so consistent income should be able to get easy personal loans. According to the founders, it’s easy to simply ignore this segment because nobody else caters to them but dig deep and we see the problems that these people face because of inconsistent income. And they suffer even more because not many people are willing to lend money to them. It was this thought that sparked the idea of Avail Finance and to date, Avail is constantly striving to reach bigger segments among the blue collared employees, to tap in new customers as well hold up existing ones with smooth user experience.
- It was really a big learning experience of corporate work culture and how big targets are achieved. I really had a chance to explore industry insights and learned new techniques of doing work with more ease and increased efficiency.
- About the Mentor
- I express my sincere gratitude towards company mentor Mr. Jeswin George, Manager – Credit & Risk, for his constant guidance, support, cooperation and encouragement to give my best during the Internship Program. Mr Jeswin George constantly gave me new learnings throughout my internship and taught me how things work in the Industry which the company was catering to. He has Experience of serving for Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and currently Avail Finance. He carries a very composed and calm attitude and make things happen with his dedication and knowledge. He was always ready to answer all my doubts and provided with guidance how I should improve on myself so that I also achieve good results in academics as well as in later career.