Surpass dreams program

After presenting at the defense of “Above the Dream” at the SKOLKOVO School of Management, I received an invitation to the final round of interviews at a partner company. I had previously completed an internship in the CIB department of one of the large banks, but I really wanted to try my hand at this particular company.

I am currently interning in the Institutional Sales department, which deals with equity capital issues. I am glad that I joined the team at this time, when changes in the stock market give me the opportunity to participate in solving unique and interesting problems. In addition, my development is greatly facilitated by the high level of corporate culture in the company.

"Above the Dream" is one of the best case championships in Russia. The selection takes place in several stages. The program consists of different parts: team building, advice from consultants and industry experts, lectures from invited speakers. Each part is very important both for solving a business problem and for developing soft skills.

To work on the business task, we were divided into teams. Discussion of possible solutions began even before the winter school, since the topic — Yandex fintech development — was fascinating. At the SKOLKOVO school, after getting acquainted and team building (a quest through the innovation center), mentors were assigned to the teams, who helped the participants find a solution.

Networking is one of the most important parts of the program. Students began communicating during a joint breakfast. Then, until lunch, we listened to lectures from experts together, and until evening, we worked on solving a problem under the guidance of a mentor. After dinner, everyone gathered for lectures by outstanding guests of the program. They talked about corporate values, career paths, and shared life stories.

Being at the SKOLKOVO school for a whole week is a unique opportunity. During this time, participants need to do a lot: develop a good solution, meet experts, and get to know a lot of people. The most important thing is to spend every day of this busy week with the team and enjoy the atmosphere.

I came to “Above the Dream” not so much for the victory, but for communication, for networking, and also for the opportunity to solve an interesting problem. This time the task was very difficult both strategically and technically: we had to choose a priority direction. And this, according to the jury, we succeeded in best. We won.

Of course, I had to work on the problem “a little”. I mostly slept for about four hours at night, and only two hours before the defense, I was overwhelmed with emotions. As it has become clear now, it was all worth it. I am very grateful to my team, although we had many inconsistencies regarding the solution, because we completely changed it at the last moment. I realized how important it is to trust people, to listen to them. It is important that everyone in the group is heard.

I advise everyone who wants to develop actively to participate in various championships as much as possible, look for case clubs, and not necessarily only in your university. And, of course, try to apply for participation in “Above the Dream”. This is a useful program: I think people come here not to win or get a fast track for an internship in a large company. They come precisely to improve their own skills, improve their network.

If you decide to participate in “Above the Dream”, it is very important not to give up! Last year I already tried to become a finalist, but, unfortunately, I did not send a presentation at the selection stage. Moreover, I had a lot of work, but just at that time I went to work, returned home late, kept putting off the last step, and, unfortunately, gave up. Therefore, this year it was especially important for me to close this gestalt and still get here.

It's great that a student from any university can participate in this program, the main thing is initiative and willingness to work. The program was structured perfectly: all the invited speakers were correctly selected for both the topic and the audience and really focused on what was important for our case. We applied much of what they said in our solution to the business problem.

Another great thing is that at the winter school we all interact with each other in person. I met friends I had known for a long time, and complete strangers from different universities and institutes, and even from universities I had never heard of before. And I am very happy that now, after finishing the winter school, I have become a member of the “Above the Dream” alamni! The alumni community is growing every year, and many of my friends are already members. I have known for a long time from my friends from different universities that this is a great and useful community.

About the Leadership Program

During the winter school, we were told about the opportunity to get into the Avito leadership program: this is no longer an internship, but a full-fledged development program for employees with high growth potential. Only those who have already graduated or are finishing a university, and also have experience in the chosen field - business development or marketing, were accepted to this program. Immediately after the winter school, I began the selection process, which consisted of six stages: resume screening, numerical and verbal tests with proctoring, video interview, solving a small business problem, a day at the professional assessment center and a final interview with a future mentor. Honestly, it was not easy, but I liked it.

Now I work in the strategy department as a junior project manager, and in a few months I will be assigned to the key account department as part of the rotation, after which I will be engaged in analytics and product management and, finally, I will return to the strategy department, where I will continue working. It doesn’t sound very clear, but it is very interesting. I like the team and the tasks. Colleagues and mentor help to immerse themselves in business, and this is a great motivator. By the way, there are three more graduates of the “Above the Dream” program from previous years on my team, and two more are on the leadership program - this year’s finalist and last year’s finalist. I think such coincidences are not at all accidental.

About the Surpass dreams program

My friend and last year's finalist told me about the program. The general mood was: Sasha, you definitely have to participate! Having become a finalist myself a year later, I completely agree with her. There were several stages of selection: first, extensive testing, and then an independent solution to a business problem: to come up with and calculate a loyalty program for Avito. They gave me two weeks to prepare, but I did it in three days (and three nights). So, if you've made it to the last minute, don't give up and decide, there's always a chance to make it.

When we reached the finals, we were divided into teams. Before school, the guys and I called each other several times, spent an hour and a half discussing each other’s solutions, who was strong in what, and, most importantly, what each expected and wanted from the program. We honestly admitted to ourselves and each other: we wanted to win and find a good job. I think a clear understanding of the goal helped us achieve it in many ways. Thanks to consensus, we were able to overcome all disputes and determine the basis for the solution before arriving at SKOLKOVO Business School. In addition, by the time we met with the experts, we had compiled a list of questions that would help us in making a decision.

The task was not easy from the point of view of the financial model: loyalty programs are not directly converted into money, and Avito does not publish its reports. Our mentor helped organize a discussion with experts who advised how to cope with such a task. We are very grateful to them for their help. Of course, experts will not tell you the right solution, if only because there is no obviously correct solution, but if you lack some skills or knowledge to solve the problem, they will help you quickly figure it out and give advice. Be sure to use this opportunity, including for your professional growth.

I can't help but note the coherence of our team: we divided the areas of responsibility and tried to make sure that everyone was responsible for their own piece of work: someone had the presentation design, someone built the financial model, me and another team member were responsible for the performance. Of course, we really wanted to win, and yet, when the results were announced, the victory was a surprise for us, it was very emotional. All the teams showed deeply thought-out and interesting solutions, so it was not entirely clear who would win. Of course, we tried very hard, but I still think that we were a little lucky.

Advice to future participants

Everyone must participate! Even if you think that this is not your profile or you are not successful at something, you need to try and not give up, be sure to finish the job and send the solution. During the winter school, there will be enough time to solve the problem, but you will definitely not have enough. Try to call the team before the classes and outline the main line of work. Be sure to attend all lectures and casual meetings: it is super useful and interesting. And do not forget to sleep, walk a little, and most importantly - communicate with each other. I have probably never seen such a concentration of talented and charged guys anywhere else. Good luck!

About the internship

My selection for the internship began almost at the same time as the beginning of the final of the Above the Dream program. One of the interview stages was already during the program itself, which was an interesting test, I had to pull myself together in conditions of a heavy workload of the Above the Dream case and show myself from the best side, and I succeeded. After the end of the program, having received an offer, I was very happy, but I understood that there was still a lot of work to do and I would have to try to stay in such a prestigious place, but it energized me.

The internship at Aspring Capital gave me the opportunity to significantly improve the skills required to work in investment banking in a relatively short period of time - multitasking, working under high pressure, great attentiveness and concentration. During the internship, the most important thing was to show that you are ready to work hard, learn from mistakes and not make them in the future. Proactivity is what definitely helped me move forward and get more interesting and voluminous tasks. The Aspring Capital team helped me gradually get to the heart of the matter, all my colleagues shared valuable experience, which over time allowed me to significantly improve the quality of the final result. After successfully completing the internship, I joined the team as a full-fledged employee.

I can say that the most interesting thing for me in an investment bank is the opportunity to work on large projects in almost all areas of the economy, to take on a large area of ​​responsibility and thus constantly grow and develop. Each project requires a detailed study of all aspects of business and the market, which allows you to learn something new every day. I am very glad that I can fully realize my potential. I believe that our team is very energetic, positive and hardworking, this motivates me to move forward with the Company, to set and achieve the most ambitious goals.

About the Surpass dreams program

I got to Vyshe Mechty on the recommendation of friends who were telling me about the program with glowing eyes. During the selection process, I was interested in working on a case for the Avito Company, it was necessary to develop a loyalty program (the case was solved individually). In my opinion, the case was "with an asterisk", it was necessary to assemble a comprehensive solution from the countless number of methods for increasing customer loyalty that would most fully meet the needs of the Company. Another difficulty was that the Company had already implemented some aspects of the loyalty program at the stage of solving the case, so it was important not to repeat itself in the solution.

The most interesting stage was the final of the school in Skolkovo, where it was necessary to combine the solutions of all team members into one and develop a conceptually complete proposal for Avito. In the process of solving, we thought a lot about the idea itself, piece by piece collecting the full picture in order to present our solution to the jury members in the most clear and structured way. In the end, our solution turned out to be as complete and very meaningful as possible.

Our team consisted of very energetic people with interesting and diverse backgrounds. I had a lot of fun working with the guys, everyone had their own clear position and vision, but after discussions we always came to some kind of consensus. And we also laughed a lot, which gave us positivity during the intense work even in its most difficult stages.

The lectures organized especially for the finalists of the program, which we attended during the week of the finals of the program in Skolkovo, were also very valuable. They definitely helped in the process of solving the case. The lectures for professional development were very interesting, I made a lot of notes, which I still review from time to time.

Advice to future participants

I would like you to never give up, no matter how primitive it may sound, remember your strengths, develop all the skills and abilities necessary for success in the field that interests you, and move at your own pace towards victory throughout your life. Do not forget that the most important thing is to enjoy what you do. The program "Above the Dream" will definitely be one of the important and useful stages on this path. The main thing is to get the most out of it, both in terms of professional development and in terms of useful networking.