Please briefly describe your background prior to Haas
I worked as a social impact consultant at FSG, advising companies and funders on how to best use their money and resources to create social change (across financial inclusion, health, education, and other areas).
What industries and functions did you recruit for and why?
I was interested in the intersection of social impact and business, so I started by looking at social impact roles in tech. I found that these roles weren’t quite what I was looking for (they leaned more towards corporate giving and volunteerism rather than systems change), so I started to look squarely in the tech space. I applied to roles at large tech firms in strategy and operations because I wanted to gain skills that could be applied later in the social sector.
Briefly describe how you approached recruiting. Anything worked particularly well for you?
I started by mapping out a few hypotheses, and ended up narrowing down to social impact and tech as I began applying and networking in earnest. Networking in particular was extremely helpful – 1) it allowed me to build a deeper understanding of the companies and roles I was applying for, and 2) was the reason why I was able to get the PM role at Visa (I met an alumni at Visa Day at Haas last October who connected me with the team I was applying for, giving me invaluable info for my interview process).
Briefly introduce your internship company and your team
I interned as a PM on the US Debit Product team at Visa. Visa is a payments company, providing the infrastructure on which people and businesses transact. US Debit is Visa’s largest revenue driver as a large proportion of consumers continue to use debit for their transactions. My team partnered with banks to design and issue debit cards to reach different consumer groups.
Briefly describe your summer project or job description
I had two projects: 1) to gather data on unbanked and underbanked consumers as a potential segment for Visa Debit to expand into; 2) to learn more about affluent / high-spending debit consumers and suggest refinements to our products to effectively reach them. This involved analyzing consumer data, updating product roadmaps, and assessing the landscape of issuing banks and competitor payment platforms.
Fun facts about the company
- There are a ton of Haasies at Visa across its global offices, and they were always more than willing to share advice and provide support. 2) The internship program was pretty well organized – they made sure that we had mentors, trainings, and resources throughout the summer. 3) Visa has a cool perk where full-time employees can spend 30 working days each year working in any location. 4) The SF office is new and is really nice – right next to the Giants stadium and has a beautiful view of the Bay.
Thoughts / reflections on your internship
I learned that PM looks very different across different companies, and varies substantially based on the product and customer. At Visa, our primary customers are issuing banks, who in turn have everyday consumers as their customers – so our products have to take both of those stakeholders’ needs and changing behaviors into consideration. I found PM at Visa to be a great way to be at the center of company strategy, while also having a nice balance of learning about the intricacies of your specific product.
One hypothesis I wanted to test this summer was the extent to which social impact is truly embedded in a large company’s strategy. Visa says it is a mission-driven company, and I think to a certain extent its work does have impact in including more people in the financial system. I think there’s still a lot of room for deeper systems-level change, and hope that Visa and other payments companies start to center that more in their business strategy.
Closing thoughts or advice
Two pieces of advice – 1) lean heavily toward networking early in your search, around 80/20 networking to applying. Then when the roles really start popping up in November/December, switch to 80/20 applying to networking. I really think that relationship-building is critical, and don’t be afraid to ask each person you connect with for a referral. 2) Lean on the peer advisors – I had so much help from them last year, everything from bigger picture questions to small details for my resume and applications.