FORESIGHT(2023): Summer Internship at DSP | Aditi Maurya |

1) Brief Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is Aditi Maurya, a final year undergraduate from the Department of Chemistry, enrolled in its 5-year Integrated MSc course with micro-specialization in Artificial Intelligence. I have got an internship offer at DSP Asset Managers as a Quantitative Investments and Analyst.

2) How did you get into DSP? What was the selection procedure?

The selection process was resume based followed by Technical and HR interviews. In technical interviews, they asked about my past projects, the architecture of language models (since it was mentioned in my CV), some basic financial concepts (only the ones mentioned in my resume, again), and my Kaggle competitions. Apart from the resume-based questions, they asked one guesstimate. The interview was too intense and the interviewer was putting pressure to check if I’m confident in my answers. It went well.

After the technical round, there was an HR round in which they asked basic HR questions along with some questions based on my major course ( why being in chemistry, going for a quant profile, etc.)

3) How to prepare for them?

My advice for the students who are planning to appear in the DSP ( quant in general ) interview is that have a thorough understanding of the projects and competitions you have mentioned in your resume because they will dig deeper into your resume, can ask architecture of the models, the terms you have mentioned and like anything which is there in the CV, so be prepared.

Apart from that, have confidence in yourself and don’t get afraid if the interviewer puts pressure on you, keep calm and answer confidently. Do practice guesstimates, probability and statistics, and quizzes for a safer side. In most of the quant profiles, guesstimates and statistics are asked.

4) What difficulties did you face while preparing for this Company/Profile? How did you overcome this problem

Since I was preparing for the quant profile (or data science profile) primarily, I practiced all the standard questions and was confident enough with my projects and competitions so, in general, I haven’t faced any issues in particular, the only challenge was to handle the pressure during the interview as I have already told it was a bit intense.

5) According to you, who should ideally apply for this job?

Most people who are interested in finance and quantitative profile should prepare for this job because the kind of projects we are working on is based on pure finance along with financial and statistical modeling. Also, after getting selected, one has to give the exam of NISM Mutual Fund V-A to finish their internship. This is what they will tell you during the onboarding process.

6) Any specific advice you want to give to the junta sitting for internships this year?

Regardless of the company, start preparing for tests at least 3–4 months early and keep in touch with your friends to be on track. Solve standard questions from heard on the street, 50 challenging problems in probability, brain stellar, puzzles, and guesstimates. Go through previously asked questions of various companies. Try giving mock interviews parallelly, so that it gives you confidence and reduces anxiety before the actual interview. Keep your introduction ready and learn it by heart. Also, talk to seniors about the hiring process of specific companies you are targeting. Try to learn about the latest products or launches by the company you are applying for and the background of the company’s foundation.

On the interview day, remain calm and keep yourself hydrated throughout the day as it will be hectic. Your mental toughness counts more than your technical skills during CDC season. Work hard smartly and handle the rejections positively, as it is a part of the process. Do never give up, Bounce back fast.

7) What are some of the major points you think would be valid to mention in your CV while targeting this profile? (any specific suggestions you would like to make?)

For quant profiles in general, previous internships/projects, competitions, and strong analytical skills matter. Because of the relevant projects/internships, the interviewer gets something to talk about and you have an opportunity to make an impression. Adding competitions, especially the Kaggle competitions (if you have achieved some position) helps you to get an edge over other candidates. Try to avoid mentioning the basic Titanic Kaggle competition, I do not recommend it to anyone, try something different as there are ample competitions available. Positions of Responsibility (PORs) are not that important but look good if you have them.

Do not write anything on your resume that you are not confident about. If you are mentioning any project/intern make sure you are very thorough with it. Even if you exaggerate anything, just ensure you can defend it well.