PhonePe stands out as a prominent fintech startup in India, actively influencing the nation's digital payments landscape. With a user-friendly platform and an extensive range of services, PhonePe has established a notable presence throughout the country. Its offerings include a convenient UPI interface, accessible credit facilities, and a diverse array of products tailored for Indian shopkeepers.

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Securing an Software Development Engineer (SDE) role at PhonePe is highly sought after for Indian tech professionals. However, gaining entry into this position can be challenging. While the conventional approach involves applying directly through the PhonePe jobs portal, a more accessible and effective route is to obtain a referral from an existing employee.

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In this article, we'll delve into PhonePe’s work culture and explore how you can leverage a referral to enhance your chances of landing a rewarding career opportunity within this tech powerhouse.

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How to get a job at PhonePe?

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Coming to the main question first, how to get into PhonePe. There are several ways of doing that. First go over to PhonePe careers page and scour through it and find the job you're looking for. You can check active jobs on their LinkedIn page as well. Apply to the job and wait for your resume to get shortlisted out of hundreds of resumes.

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But if you’re looking for a more effective and an expeditious way to land a job at PhonePe, you should consider following the referral process. This method entails asking current employees who can advocate for you within the company for a specific job role. The referral process is advantageous for three primary reasons: firstly, existing employees already possess credibility, so anyone they vouch for is likely to be viewed favorably. Secondly, if their referral doesn't meet expectations or leaves the company shortly after joining, it could affect their reputation within the company. Some companies have employee referral programs and employees get monetary incentives if their referral joins the company. Therefore, they have a vested interest in recommending candidates who are qualified and likely to succeed.

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How to Get a Job Referral

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Let’s talk about the process of how to get a referral at PhonePe. Here’s a step by step guide for it.

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Finding a Potential Referrer

• Open LinkedIn and dive deep into research mode. Read and research about the company, its culture (you can read about it in this article below), and its employees. 
• Try to find if anyone in your friend circle/ acquaintances/ college alumni are currently working at PhonePe and reach out to them.
• You can install our chrome extension to cut through the manual process and see which of your 1st degree LinkedIn connections are connected to PhonePe. You can even ask them to provide a referral through a 1 click easy process.
• Don’t sweat, if the above step doesn't work. You can check out job referral sites which have a curated list of people who have agreed to give referrals in their companies. We have made a list of PhonePe employees who have agreed to give referrals. You can check out a few of them below (install our extension to check the rest).

1. Afthab Ali- Currently working as Senior Product Designer at PhonePe | Previously worked in Olx, Qburst | College: National Institute Of Design, Bangalore (2020)
2. ankit kumar- Currently working as SDET at PhonePe | Previously worked in Zendrive | College: Motilal Nehru National Institute Of Technology
3. Anurag Srivastava- Currently working as Software Engineer at PhonePe | Previously worked in Whatfix, Accolite | College: MS Ramaiah Institute Of Technology, Bangalore (2018)
4. Chirag Mittal- Currently working as Software Engineer at PhonePe | Previously worked in Nurture.Farm, Bounce, Shipsy | College: IIIT
5. Harsh Thaker- Currently working as Engineering at PhonePe | Previously worked in Tracelink, JP Morgan, Smartstream Technologies, Citiustech, Neebal | College: Birla Institute Of Technology And Science Pilani
6. Himanshu Singh- Currently working as Software Engineer at PhonePe | College: IIT Dhanbad
7. Kripa Jha- Currently working as Software Engineer at PhonePe | Previously worked in Paypal, Freshworks, Pramati Technologies, Helloverify, Nagarro, Hewlett Packard | College: Lovely Professional University
8. Pranav Gupta- Currently working as Software Engineer at PhonePe | Previously worked in Compass, Samsung Electronics, Siemens Technology India | College: Indian Institute Of Technology Mandi
9. Prince Bharadwaj- Currently working as Associate Product Manager at PhonePe | College: IIT Kharagpur
10. Pritam Barua- Currently working as Software Engineer at PhonePe | Previously worked in Tekion, Factset | College: IIEST Shibpur
11. Ramchandra Arya- Currently working as Software Engineer at PhonePe | College: IIT Dhanbad
12. Ritvik Singhal- Currently working as Software Developer at PhonePe | College: Indian Institute Of Technology, Roorkee (2020)
13. Sanni P.- Currently working as Software Engineer at PhonePe | Previously worked in Zestmoney, Aubergine Solutions, Salient Apps, Indianic | College: Amiraj College Of Engineering And Technology
14. Shahid Sayyad- Currently working as Software Engineer In Test at PhonePe | Previously worked in Cognizant, Capgemini, Tavisca, Meesho | College: Shivaji University
15. Vikas Kumar- Currently working as Product Solution Engineer at PhonePe | Previously worked in Urbanpiper, Codebucket Solutions Private Limited | College: Purnea College, Purnia

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• Try to find people with whom you share a common interest with such as your ex- colleagues, college/ school mates, people from your hometown or people with mutual connections. If you don’t find anyone like that, try to find a mutual interest which you can talk about eg, interest in startups, finance or even anime.

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You can also search potential referrers directly through LinkedIn

• Search for PhonePe employees in the search bar and then filter them using connection, location and college filter. You can also navigate to the "People" tab on PhonePe’s LinkedIn page and search through the employees.
• Remember to try to find people with maximum mutual interest and working in the same or similar role you want to apply for.

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Crafting Your Request

• Now that you've identified your potential referrers, it's time to prepare your approach. Remember, personalization is key here.
• Start by researching the referrer's background and interests. 
• Craft a LinkedIn message or email. 
• Start with a brief greeting followed with an opening line using the shared interest (same college/ school, mutual connection/interest). 
• Introducing yourself and explaining why you're reaching out. Be clear and concise about your intention, attach your resume and any relevant work sample.
• Highlight how your skills and experience align with the job requirements and the company's goals and make it clear why you're a perfect fit for the role. Emphasize on how it would benefit both the organization and yourself. 
• Don't forget to express your gratitude for their time and consideration.
• Be patient about it and wait for at least a couple of days before sending a following up.
• Be polite in case they refuse or don’t reply. Thank them for their time and make sure that you don’t burn the bridges. If they refuse, try to get their feedback and work on it.

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You can check out sample examples of personalized referral requests below in this article.

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Bonus Tip: Making it Easy for your Referrer

To make it easy for your referrer, consider providing a prefilled message that they can simply copy and send to the hiring manager. We have attached the template below.

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Sharing the template below:

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Hi [Hiring Manager],

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I hope this email finds you well.

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I'm writing to recommend [name] for the [role]. [name] and I worked at [company] together/ attended the same college and collaborated on various projects during our time there. He's demonstrated himself as a hard worker and a dedicated team player.

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Sharing his contact details below:

Email: xyz@gmail.com

Phone: +91 xxxxxxxxxx

Resume:

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Best regards,

[referrar]

Work culture at PhonePe India

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PhonePe boasts a work culture that is both dynamic and demanding. Understanding the nuances of PhonePe’s work culture can greatly aid in navigating the job process and acclimatizing to the company's environment.

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Pros:

• Talented Workforce: PhonePe boasts a talented workforce, providing employees with opportunities to collaborate and learn from skilled professionals.
• Fintech Brand Value: Working at PhonePe offers exposure to the fintech industry, allowing employees to gain valuable insights into fintech operations and data, enhancing their professional brand value.
• Work-Life Balance: PhonePe maintains a good work-life balance, enabling employees to achieve harmony between their professional and personal lives.
• Good Learning Curve: Employees have the chance to work on large-scale projects with impactful tech, leading to a significant learning curve and skill development.
• Amenities: PhonePe offers delicious food options in the office, ontributing to a positive work environment and employee satisfaction.
• Job Security: PhonePe provides job security to its employees, fostering a sense of stability and confidence in their careers.
• Flat Hierarchy in Engineering: The company operates with a flat hierarchy, where individuals are recognized and evaluated based on their ideas and work contributions rather than hierarchical titles.
• Ownership: Employees are encouraged to take ownership of their tasks and projects, promoting a sense of accountability and performance.

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• Cons:
• Lack of Internal Mobility: It can be challenging to switch projects or move between teams within PhonePe, limiting exposure to different tech and roles.
• No Remote/ Hybrid Work Option: PhonePe does not offer remote or hybrid working arrangements and has very a strict Work From Office policy.
• Low Career Progression: Employees feel dissatisfied with the career progression opportunities at PhonePe, as hikes may not meet industry standards, and the flat hierarchy leads to confusion regarding pay and advancement opportunities.

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In the end it’s about weighing pros and cons to reach a final decision when considering joining PhonePe as an SDE. 

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Different roles and hierarchy at PhonePe

• PhonePe, prioritizes individual growth and contribution over traditional titles and hierarchies. They emphasize enhancing roles based on increased responsibilities and fair compensation, rather than relying on titles as the main motivator for team members. This makes sure that participation in important discussions, initiatives, or decision-making processes is determined by one's role and performance and not by their title and fosters a culture where organizational hierarchies don't dictate daily interactions, and where discussions focus on the technical merits of arguments rather than the status of those involved.
• Within PhonePe, two main roles in the Individual Contributor (IC) track are Software Engineer and Software Architect. some text
  • Software Engineers are primarily focused on specific product teams or related projects aligned with organizational goals. They become deep product experts over time.
  • Software Architects take a broader approach. They are responsible for addressing overarching technology goals such as scalability, reliability, performance, and cost optimization across data centers.
• You can also go into the managerial path with the Engineer Manager role which progresses into Head of Engineering with increased experience and expertise along with handling P&L responsibilities..
  
  

You can read more about it in this blog post written by PhonePe’s co-founder and CTO.

PhonePe salaries for different roles:

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PhonePe is known to pay good salaries to its engineers. On top of the base salary, SDEs are given additional stocks as well. Salary range for different experiences are given below,

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• SDE (0-3 yrs exp)- 19 LPA - 27 LPA 
• SDE (4-6 yrs exp)- 25 LPA - 40 LPA 

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Samples for asking for Job Referral:

Email sample for job referral: Reaching out to a college senior

Hi Anuj,

Hope you’re doing well.

I don't know if you remember me or not but I worked as a volunteer in your team in our annual college cultural fest. We worked directly in the stage play event when the judge canceled at the last minute and led to the whole event getting delayed, quite a fiasco it was.

I'm actually reaching out to you because I needed a small favor. I recently saw that an SDE position has opened up at PhonePe and I'm interested in applying for it. Would it be possible for you to refer me for the same? I have 1.5 years of experience as a Fullstack Engineer at Weekday (a YC backed startup) and I believe my skills and experience align well with the requirements of the SDE role at PhonePe.

I've attached my resume for your reference. If you're able to provide a referral or offer any advice on the application process, I would be incredibly grateful.

Thank you for considering my request. I truly appreciate your time and assistance.

I know that you’ll be submitting a referral in your internal portal but in case you’re going to mail the hiring manager you can use something like this.

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Hi [Hiring Manager],

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I hope this email finds you well.

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I'm writing to recommend Amit Singh for the SDE role. Amit and I attended the same college and collaborated on various projects during our time there. He's demonstrated himself as a hard worker and a dedicated team player.

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Sharing his contact details below:

Email: xyz@gmail.com

Phone: +91 xxxxxxxxxx

Resume:

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Best regards,

Anuj

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Warm Regards

Amit

Phone: +91 xxxxxxxxxx

Sample of how to ask for referral on LinkedIn: Reaching out to a person with mutual connection

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Dear Anuj,

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Hope you’re doing well.

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I got your reference from Akhil. I believe you guys went to college together. He is an ex colleague of mine, we worked briefly together at Weekday before parting ways.

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I'm actually reaching out to you because I needed a small favor. I am actively looking for a new job and saw that an SDE position has opened up at PhonePe. I wanted to see if it would be possible for you to refer me for it? I have 4 years of experience in a similar role at a YC backed startup. I believe I possess the technical skills and relevant experience required for this role.

Attaching my resume for your reference. If you're able to provide a referral or offer any advice on the application process, I would be incredibly grateful.

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Thank you for considering my request. I truly appreciate your time and assistance.

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Warm Regards

Amit

Phone: +91 xxxxxxxxxx

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