Snap, Code, Deliver: A Masai Graduate's Journey at Snapdeal
Sachin's journey, from having no formal coding experience to becoming a significant contributor at a leading e-commerce giant like Snapdeal, underscores the value of skill-based education and hiring.
There’s no match for a skill-based education and hiring in today’s competitive job market. Read how Sachin’s career took a leap with Masai.
Here’s the story of Sachin's inspiring journey from having no formal coding experience to becoming a significant contributor at a leading e-commerce giant like Snapdeal.
The Indian E-commerce industry saw a massive boom during the bygone pandemic, specifically, the beauty & wellness, and fashion categories with the former achieving a 295% growth rate in 2021. [1]
Interestingly, this rapidly expanding sector is juggling between positive cash flow and yearly net losses at present.
Companies are willing to amp up their spending in order to get a headstart for the potential-heavy future with an expected growth of 67% to US$96.41 billion by 2027. Within the same time span, user penetration is expected to hit a staggering 73.7%, demonstrating the wide adoption of E-commerce even in the lower tier cities. [2]
A renowned name in this fast-paced, ever-evolving industry is Snapdeal, a company renowned for its innovative business model and diverse product portfolio.
Snapdeal, founded by the duo of Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal in 2010, has rapidly grown over the last decade. With an installed app base of 200 million and a monthly user base of over 25 million currently, Snapdeal's mission is to create India's most reliable and frictionless commerce ecosystem that creates life-changing experiences for buyers and sellers.
Driving this mission forward requires a team of talented tech professionals who can navigate the complexities of the e-commerce world. One such tech talent is Sachin Gupta.
Sachin's Journey at Masai
Born and brought up in Baghpat, UP, Sachin completed his B.Sc in 2019. It was his encounter with a friend who was doing some exciting work at Amazon that got him interested in the possibility of a tech career. While exploring similar career avenues, he came across Masai on YouTube.
Offering a well-structured and comprehensive curriculum, and an environment that fosters industry preparation, Masai was the perfect launchpad for Sachin's coding career.
From day one of the program, Sachin found himself immersed in a rigorous yet rewarding educational journey. Every day brought new challenges, new concepts to master, and new code to write, which gradually built his foundation and refined his problem-solving skills.
Sachin at Snapdeal
Upon getting hired, Sachin quickly adapted to Snapdeal's dynamic work environment, contributing significantly to various projects. One of his most notable assignments involved migrating Snapdeal's infrastructure from a data centre to the AWS cloud, a project that exposed him to a variety of new technologies and deepened his understanding of the intricacies of cloud-based platforms.
He successfully steered the migration of two critical components to the cloud environment proving his mettle in executing complex projects.
One of the challenges he faced was a significant shift in tech stacks from MERN to Java Spring and Spring Boot. Leveraging his strong learning foundation from Masai, Sachin overcame this challenge with aplomb.
Feedback and Recognition
During his time at Snapdeal, Sachin has always been receptive to feedback from his manager and colleagues thereby continually growing, and improving in logical thinking and problem-solving skills.
As a result, he has also received consistent recognition and praise from the senior management for his commitment to continuous upskilling. This is demonstrated through his consistent growth in performance assessments at Snapdeal.
Sachin's journey, from having no formal coding experience to becoming a significant contributor at a leading e-commerce giant like Snapdeal, underscores the value of skill-based education and hiring.
His story is a shining example of Masai's approach to tech education, where the focus is on practical knowledge, problem-solving skills, and teamwork, in addition to fundamental technical knowledge.
Here, Sachin is providing tips for beginner coders on how to crack coding interviews.
Cracking the coding interview can be challenging, but with the right preparation and mindset, you can increase your chances of success. Here are some tips to help you prepare effectively:
1. Understand the Basics: Ensure you have a solid grasp of the fundamental data structures (arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs) and algorithms (sorting, searching, recursion, dynamic programming, etc.).
2. Practice Coding: Practice coding regularly on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, Codeforces, or similar. Solve a wide range of problems to improve your problem-solving skills.
3. Review Data Structures and Algorithms: Be able to implement common data structures and algorithms from scratch. Understand their time and space complexities.
4. Analyze Previous Interview Questions: Study questions asked in interviews at companies you're interested in. Many companies have a set of common questions they frequently ask.
5. Mock Interviews: Conduct mock interviews with friends or mentors to simulate the interview environment. This helps you get comfortable with explaining your thought process.
6. Optimize for Efficiency: Always aim for the most efficient solution. Practice optimizing your code for time and space complexity.
7. Solve Problems on Paper or Whiteboard: Coding interviews often happen on a whiteboard or paper. Practice solving problems in this format to get comfortable with it.
8. Know Your Resume: Be prepared to discuss your resume and any projects or experiences you've listed. Be ready to explain your contributions and the challenges you faced.
9. Behavioral Questions: Expect behavioral questions that assess your soft skills, teamwork, problem-solving approach, and how you handle difficult situations.
10. Ask Questions: At the end of the interview, ask thoughtful questions about the company, team, or projects. This shows your interest and engagement.
11. Communication is Key: Clearly communicate your thought process while solving problems. Interviewers often value your approach and problem-solving skills as much as the correct answer.
12. Time Management: Manage your time well during the interview. If you get stuck on a problem, it's okay to ask for a hint or move on to the next question.
13. Stay Calm: Interviews can be stressful, but try to stay calm and focused. Take deep breaths, and don't let nerves affect your performance.
14. Learn from Rejections: - If you face rejection, use it as a learning opportunity. Ask for feedback and work on the areas that need improvement.
15. Continuous Learning: Keep learning and improving even after interviews. Technology and industry trends evolve, so stay updated.
16. Cultural Fit: Consider the company's culture and values, and make sure they align with your own. It's not just about them interviewing you; you're also evaluating if it's the right fit for you.
17. Stay Positive: Job interviews can be a long and challenging process. Maintain a positive attitude and keep applying to multiple companies.
Remember that practice and preparation are key. With dedication and persistence, you can improve your coding and interview skills over time. Good luck!
Final Thoughts
The tech talent gap in India, coupled with the accelerating digital transformation, presents an opportunity for companies to rethink their hiring strategies. Traditional degree-based hiring is giving way to skill-based hiring, a trend that is gaining momentum globally.
A recent study by LinkedIn indicates that over the coming 18 months, skills-first hiring will be a primary focus for 75 percent of hiring professionals in India.
BW Businessworld
If you’re also looking to bolster your organisation’s growth with skill-first hiring, look no further and consider hiring a Masai graduate today.
Click here to know more about Snapdeal
Click here to connect with Sachin
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