Spring semester is in session, and the hunt for internships has commenced. (Let the Hunger Games… begin.) At a time when most college students are on a frantic search for their dream job, NYU freshman Aneesh Ashutosh is ahead of the game: he’s been working as an intern for Twitter (that’s right, Twitter) since October. By combining his interest in programming, passion for marketing, and, most importantly, unrelenting perseverance, Aneesh has made incredible strides as a first year student.
The Rundown:
- Name: Aneesh Ashutosh ‘19
- School & Major: College of Arts and Science, Computer Science and Economics
- Hometown: Weston, Massachusetts
HC NYU: You’ve been programming since the age of 12. When and how did it become more than a hobby?
AA: It’s kind of funny. I started programming by editing a Star Wars game my brother and I used to play. I just downloaded the modding tools online and followed some basic tutorials to tailor the game to be more fun for me. There’s a huge community of game hackers out there, creating mods and tutorials for free. I’d go from copy-pasting the scripts and tweaking values to make my characters overpowered to writing my own, complex mods. In high school, I volunteered to teach middle school students the basics of computer science and they were a lot more receptive when I taught them how to make Minecraft mods than when I tried to teach them in a more traditional classroom setting. I definitely think videogames are a great catalyst to get kids into programming.
But beyond this, I think my older brother, Abhi (currently a senior at NYU studying computer science), played an incredibly influential role in helping me foster my curiosity and passions. He also starting coding young, taking a computer science class early in high school, and one day, I decided that I wanted to try out programming for myself. With time, my former hobby became my life’s ambition. While I fall asleep on my chem textbooks after fifteen minutes of skimming, I can start coding late at night and watch the hours fly by until sunrise – no caffeine needed.
HC NYU: You’re currently an intern at Twitter. How did you obtain such a competitive internship?
AA: When I got to NYU, I immediately started looking around for job openings in the city. I joked with my high school friends over the summer that I would take anything from barista to waiter just for the experience, but I really wanted to get experience in computer science. I’m a firm believer that on-the-job and hands-on learning is the best way to truly understand a concept. My brother helped me out in the beginning stages, showing me the resources available within my major. I signed up to the NYU Computer Science Opportunities mailing list and came across an email from Vine. So I paid a visit to the offices in between my hectic freshman fall class schedule, and the interview went smoothly. At the end, I expected to hear back from Twitter in a few weeks, but my interviewer offered me the job on the spot. I was ecstatic… and 15 minutes late to my next class. My teacher chewed me out, but it was worth it.
HC NYU: Can you describe a typical day in the office?
AA: I currently work on Vine, mainly writing scripts to improve the overall quality of the app. I spend most of my time with my manager and the Android/iOS teams to make sure each release is as clean as possible. I organize my class schedule around my job. I have class from 9:30-12:15, and then head straight to the office right after, getting there around 12:40. I usually grab lunch with my co-workers while I’m there. It’s much better than dining hall food. Unlike the stereotypical image of strict corporate office, Twitter offers a very lighthearted ambiance. At first, I was unsure of my place because I was an intern. I have friends who work for Fortune 500 companies who’ve been treated as if they were disposable, expected to work late hours and sleep at their desks. Soon, though, it was made pretty clear that despite my youth, I was a part of the team, not just an equal, but as a friend. I’m definitely closer to some of my co-workers than I am with my classmates at school. I spend 25-30 hours a week in the office. I’m grateful that the team has been so welcoming and supportive of me throughout my time there.
HC NYU: Aside from Twitter, you’re also the Marketing Director for TEDxNYU. What are your main responsibilities?
AA: We’re a very small team – right now, we have about three people on marketing covering everything. We mainly work with social media and physical marketing. Whenever we have a big event, the team and I will go around every residence hall and post flyers on every floor. We also take high quality photos at events, sharing them with the public, using Facebook’s post ranking algorithm to gather the most views. I recently organized and led my first TED event, a short presentation by two talented NYU researchers about AI. We collaborated with a number of other clubs to get the message out. It was a huge success. On the day of the event, we ended up having to turn away people at the door. It was completely packed, but beyond quantity, people were engaged throughout the presentation and the subsequent discussion. It was clear that they didn’t come just for the free dumplings.
My ultimate goal as the Marketing Director is to expand TEDxNYU’s reach to other schools, like Tisch and SPS, that don’t traditionally come to our events. TED is all about ideas; it’s universal, and not just limited to CAS and Stern. There’s no reason interest should be limited by the public preconception of a TED talk.
HC NYU: You’re familiar with in-person interviews given your past experiences. Can you share some of your tips?
AA: Beyond the basics, be confident when presenting yourself. A lot of interviews are really conducted through body language, so try to stay composed physically and mentally.
Don’t lie during your interview. Everybody conducts background checks, and you’ll always get caught. I have a friend who lied about a detail on his resume, and got fired within a week.
I also believe that the way your resume is presented is crucial. Stern has some folks who are dedicated to creating the ultimate resume template, so I reached out to them. I highly recommend, if you need help building your resume, to contact your friends in Stern.
List all your relevant experience on your resume. If you’re applying for your first job and you’re not sure whether or not to put down that babysitting gig on your resume, just do it. It’s better to apply with some experience, even if it’s unrelated, than applying with nothing at all. Once you get experience in your field, you can purge your resume of your extraneous work. Use common sense of course; if you’re applying to a huge, competitive firm, it’s better to admit your lack of experience. Don’t pad your resume either; recruiters know it when they see it. Finally, dress to impress.
HC NYU: What do you ultimately hope to accomplish?
AA: My eventual goal is to go into entrepreneurship and start my own business in the tech sector. Technology is still a relatively new and untapped field; there’s a lot left to do. I’m pursuing a minor in Business at Stern so I can hopefully jump straight to my goals after NYU. I know that the connections I’ve made through work will be of great aid.
HC NYU: And lastly, just for fun, speed round.
- Role Model: Business Magnate Elon Musk
- Dream Internship: Google, just because they have insanely cool benefits.
- Favorite Clothing Brand: I’d say J.Crew or Brooks Brothers, but between you and me, I buy all my clothes at Costco.
- Favorite Band: Definitely Fenech-Soler. They’re a low-key electronic/alternative/indie band from the UK, but they drop great vibes.
Follow Aneesh on social media!
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/aneesh.ashutosh
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/aneeshashutosh
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/aneeshashutosh
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/aneeshashutosh