Nahush Patil

I was introduced to the concept of Computer Science during my undergrad. I had no interest or knowledge whatsoever before that. I started exploring the domain during the COVID lockdown. During the second year of my undergraduate studies, I developed a strong interest in Machine Learning and Data Science. I began exploring the field through Medium articles and YouTube videos, which gave me a basic understanding and led to a few small projects. However, I was looking for something more closely tied to real-world applications. I participated in hackathons, which were exciting and fast-paced, but mostly provided an adrenaline rush to build something within 24 hours. What I truly wanted was to understand how things are built when a real client and money is involved and when a product is intended for actual users. That's when SimPPL came into the picture. I first heard about the organization through a college hackathon. My team and I chose a problem statement proposed by SimPPL, and through that, I got the opportunity to join them as a Google Fellow and Research Intern. My initial project focused on collecting and analyzing data from public WhatsApp groups, but the absence of a public API made this task extremely challenging. I explored several workarounds, but they all led to dead ends. Around that time, Swapneel told me about a WhatsApp-based platform for women's healthcare. Since I was already involved in a WhatsApp-related project, he asked if I would be interested in working on it. That was my big break—exactly the kind of opportunity I had been looking for! Building a product from scratch, shipping it to real users, receiving constructive feedback, and meeting client expectations. It had everything I wanted, so accepting the project was a no-brainer.

Sakhi was my first ever real world product which started from a simple working prototype for a hackathon to a full fledged deployed product that was used by people and receiving fundings. While I majorly worked with the technical implementations, I got a taste of project management as I was involved in setting up a roadmap, deciding budget, delegating tasks, defining a scope, keeping track of product progress to make sure that client requirements are met. Working on this product, under the guidance of professionals like Swapneel, Dhara, Raghav and Jhagrut gave me an experience that was truly unique. It was not just about coding a project but taking to the next level where we brainstormed about user experience, engagement, seamless and scalable deployment and feedback for improvement. I learnt how a project (which can be done by any college student) can be translated into a product that can be pitched to potential investors for funding. I was fortunate to have excellent mentors and the best team that I could possibly ask for. As a result of our collaborative effort we were able to achieve the following: - Deployed a product out in the real world that garnered actual engagement - Raised fundings through the MIT Delta V program - Won the MIT PKG grant worth $10k - Got an opportunity to present the findings of our pilot to The World Bank

Towards the end of my internship at SimPPL, I set up one-on-one discussions with Swapneel and Dhara to seek advice and suggestions on finding internships and job opportunities in the US, as both of them had experience with the US academic and job market. One of Swapneel's suggestions was to research the skills required for the roles I was targeting and prepare accordingly. I was aiming for roles in Data Science, Data Engineering, and Machine Learning, so I began exploring and developing the specific skills needed for these positions. Dhara advised me to have my resume and cover letter ready before arriving in the US. That saved me a lot of time, as I was able to start applying immediately. LeetCode and SQL preparation were also emphasized as essential.

There are several ways to approach this process. It is challenging to bring structure into something that is majorly random and chaotic but here is how I handled it. A common perception is that the application process is more about the quantity and less about the quality. Applying to more companies does maximize your chances but this should not come at the cost of the quality of your application. By quality I mean, the way you tailor your resume for the particular job role, write cover letters and personal response questions and parallelly upskill to enhance your profile. I was more focused on the quality rather than the quantity. There is no point in applying to 50 companies every day if you are not taking efforts to make your case/profile stand out. Doing "cool stuff" doesn't matter if you cannot present it in an engaging way. Your experiences make you unique, not your projects. Technical writing changed the whole game. At SimPPL, Swapneel and Dhara focused a lot on doing purpose driven work. That is what I focused on while writing my resume & cover letters. Cover letters and personal response questions are a way to communicate your unique experiences and learnings with the recruiter. Yes, I know no one reads or cares about cover letters but it wouldn't hurt your chances as well. I made sure that I give good responses to these so that even if I get a rejection, I wouldn't be able to point out the reason. Submit a complete version of yourself. You might not know that maybe your well written cover letter would play a more important role than your resume.

A good profile alone is not enough to land an internship—connections often take you further than your own hard work and skills. As harsh as it may sound, this is the reality. Reach out to employers on LinkedIn and craft a well-structured, crisp invitation message (within 200 characters) that gives a clear gist of who you are. I personally experienced a significant improvement in the number of accepted connections after I revised my invitation message. Initially, I didn't give it much thought, and unsurprisingly, the people I reached out to didn't pay much attention to my requests. After a conversation with Swapneel, who helped me understand what such messages should include, I took time out to carefully write one myself. As a result, the acceptance rate increased noticeably. Once I was nudged in the right direction, things became much smoother. I even created different message templates for various scenarios—what to say if someone accepts my request, how to ask for a referral, and what to say if they agree or decline to refer me. I strongly recommend maintaining a spreadsheet to track whom you've contacted. Job openings can be volatile—you can't wait for referrals forever. I've missed out on a few opportunities simply because I didn't follow up in time. Keeping things organized helps you stay on top of the process and maximize your chances of success. I made quite a few mistakes during my process. I didn't place enough emphasis on presenting my content well. I assumed that simply showcasing my work would be enough, which caused me to fall short when it came to how I presented it. I also could've put more effort into LinkedIn outreach. I used to give up too easily, thinking, "No one accepts these requests," instead of reflecting on why my connection requests weren't being accepted. With time, I realized that presentation and strategy matter just as much as the work itself.

My experience at SimPPL contributed to my all-round development, focusing on both technical and non-technical aspects. It taught me how to lead a team in a professional environment, communicate and pitch ideas to clients, manage project costs, design system architectures from scratch, and—most importantly—helped me build meaningful connections with incredibly talented people. Sakhi truly set my profile apart from other students. As a fresher with no prior work experience, I had to rely heavily on my projects to brand myself. Every student has projects, but showcasing a product like Sakhi sparks genuine curiosity. I now have a resume with two internships, four projects, and a solid tech stack—but I always get asked about Sakhi. People are curious about the work, the experience, and the impact. In fact, during one career fair, a recruiter was so intrigued that he asked to see a demo of Sakhi—while others in line only got a quick two-minute conversation. Sakhi gave me the opportunity to talk about real-world processes—from ideation and development to deployment and impact. Swapneel and Dhara have been exceptional mentors. Their perspective is always two steps ahead of mine, and their suggestions around resume and cover letter writing have helped me tremendously. Small tweaks can make a big difference: framing matters. For example, saying "It's not just a chatbot, it's a GenAI healthcare platform" makes a stronger impression. So does including meaningful metrics and presenting information in a crisp, structured way.