Student Fintech Analysts

My Experience at CFTE:

I joined CFTE as an intern in the Marketing team, taking on tasks from writing blogs to social media. As I grew further in my role I had the opportunity to explore other avenues like content marketing, event management and website design that really helped me broaden my expertise and pushed me out of my comfort zone. If I were to describe what each day looked like, I can definitely say no two days were the same, each day had a new challenge which in my opinion was super exciting!

As a part of CFTE I had the opportunity to work on a number of different projects, but there were certain projects that really stood out for me. I had the chance to work on an interesting viral marketing campaign for the launch of our new e-learning platform, THINK. What I found exciting was that we not only had to pique people’s interest through the campaign but get them to register for our new platform and get their friends onboard as well. This required constant iterations and brainstorming sessions by the Marketing and Product team which I found to be really invigorating.

I also got the opportunity to lead the organisation of our first in-person event since the pandemic. What really made me enjoy the project so much was that, at the beginning, I had no clue how we could pull off such an event, but each step of the way during the planning and organising phases I learned something new and mastered a new skill. I even ended up emceeing the event, something that I would have never done had this opportunity not arisen!

How has your work at CFTE helped gain the skills for your current job:

After CFTE, I moved back home to India to work for my family business in the logistics industry. Though moving to a whole new industry required me to learn a lot of new skills, there were several transferable skills from my experience working at CFTE that I could apply in my new role.

One of the most important skills that I built was relationship management and effective communication with multiple stakeholders. Being in the Marketing team I had to speak to and maintain relationships with clients and experts who were lectures at CFTE or important collaborators for our events. In our family-owned logistics firm as well, there are a number of clients and partners that we need to maintain relationships with, and having the experience I did help me have an upper hand.

My experience at CFTE also helped me become very multifaceted and helped me build the ability to take on tasks that were outside my area of expertise. Often in a startup, you need to jump on different tasks to keep things going, and that is quite similar to working in an SME (the organisation I am in now!). Today I have the confidence to be able to jump into different departments to achieve whatever the required deliverables may be.

Advice/comments for future joiners:

If I were to give any advice to future joiners it would be mainly two things. Firstly, don’t be afraid to try new things that may be outside your comfort zone. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and grow! Had I not had the courage to take on tasks that seemed daunting at first, I wouldn’t have grown into the person I am today. Taking that leap of faith can be a chance to learn something you may actually be really good at.

Secondly, it’s also always important to keep an open mind. Everyone you work with will have a different way of looking at things and will have a different opinion on how something should be done. Be open to hearing multiple perspectives though they may not always coincide with your own, because eventually when you build something or are solving a complex problem, getting several minds working together can make beautiful things happen.