Swiggy’s Senior Manager – Campus Program, Manasa M.N. shares experiences, challenges and milestones from her seven-year journey at Swiggy.
Manasa M.N. joined Swiggy in 2017 as a Senior Recruiter. Stepping in at a time when Swiggy was still in its rapid expansion phase, she has evolved with the brand. Seven years later, she continues to grow alongside Swiggy as a Senior Manager – Campus Hiring, with a plethora of experiences, learnings, and accomplishments along the way. Here’s the story of her action-packed first day, the multiple hats she wore, and everything in between.
1) Tell us about your Swiggy journey till now.
I joined Swiggy in May 2017, based on a chance suggestion from a colleague. Recruitment has always been my area of interest, and I wanted to help people build their careers. So when my colleague suggested that I explore a recruitment-based role at Swiggy, I gave it a shot. When I joined, I remember Swiggy was only in its third year of operation. I was excited about signing up for what would turn out to be an exciting and rewarding journey.
Over these seven years at Swiggy, I have been a part of different units within the Talent Acquisition team, hiring for both tech and non-tech roles. Currently, I am leading the Campus Program initiative as a Senior Manager.
2) What was your interview experience with Swiggy like?
Right from my first interview with Swiggy, it was evident that the focus was on my potential and the unique value I could add rather than just being about prior experience. There was a sense of flexibility, where an individual’s capabilities mattered more than their academic and professional background. I wasn’t just evaluated for the role at hand, but also on how I could contribute to Swiggy’s larger vision. This fresh perspective stood out to me, which is why the interaction is still etched in my mind. It made a great first impression right from the start.
3) What was your first day at Swiggy like?
On my first day, I remember stepping into an environment where the energy was palpable. I could tell that productivity levels were high, and it made me want to jump right into work. By the second half of the day, I couldn’t resist asking if there was something I could help with. I then got to work on a hiring-related task where we had to figure out strategies for identifying ideal candidates. From day one itself, I felt a strong sense of accountability for initiatives that all of us knew would have a big impact.
4) How has your role evolved over the last seven years?
I started off in an individual contributor role as a recruiter. Over time, I got to build diverse teams, and then as an Assistant Manager, I started hiring for critical roles for new business units. Soon, given the sheer number of campus hiring drives, I found myself adopting offbeat and unique hiring practices, where I also had to tweak my approach to managing a diverse talent pool.
5) What has been the most exciting thing about campus hiring?
Earlier, I was mostly hiring for non-tech roles while building the Swiggy Instamart team, with just a few roles related to mergers and acquisitions. But with campus hiring, the talent pool became much more diverse. It’s been amazing to interact with people from across specialisations, who bring in so many different perspectives. Leading the Campus Program for Swiggy has reinforced my interest in shaping early careers, and the company’s larger goals provide a strong sense of direction in this journey.
6) How do you feel about Swiggy’s growth over the years?
It feels magical! When I joined, I still remember how we enthusiastically chased one milestone after another. Like I said, it was a crucial phase, when Swiggy was expanding to more cities. We used to have an active count of the cities we had reached, and as soon as it touched the target number, we would celebrate together across the floor! From then till today, the list of milestones continues to grow, with the most recent one being Swiggy going public.
7) What are some challenges you are most proud of overcoming?
Swiggy’s rapid expansion between 2017 and 2019 was a challenging phase. It helped me realise my true potential. Moreover, during the pandemic in 2020, I had just taken up the campus hiring mantle, and we had to do it all while working remotely. It wasn’t easy to run campus hiring programs remotely back then. Hiring more than 1,000 campus graduates was a huge task, but we managed to streamline all the processes remotely. Overall, it was a great learning experience.
8) What is it that made you stay with Swiggy for seven years?
The growth opportunities and a sense of belonging have bolstered me throughout this journey. Every candidate interaction has helped me grow, making me better at problem-solving. Additionally, Swiggy’s culture is built on collaboration and ownership, which in turn aligns with my own values. In these seven years, I have always seen that ideas are encouraged and effort is recognised. All of this has made me want to continue this adventure.
9) What is an accomplishment you are most proud of?
Being able to easily navigate different roles, and quickly learn new things even while starting from scratch. Again, hiring for Instamart – a new business unit back then – was incredibly fulfilling. An achievement that stands out for me is onboarding around 150 campus hires in 2022. It was a mammoth task to bring them all together from across India for the induction, and then enable a seamless transition to their respective job locations. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned so much to implement in future processes too.
10) Which Swiggy value do you resonate the most with and why?
For me, it has been the Always be Curious, Always be Learning value. Throughout my journey, I’ve always had the curiosity to learn new things, especially in situations where I’ve been responsible for implementing things on my own. It has been a journey of constant learning, making mistakes, and bouncing back.
11) What advice would you give someone who wants to venture into a career similar to yours?
It’s important to understand the business and to be data-driven. Moreover, you must be adaptable to be able to hire across different roles. You should also celebrate your achievements and take pride in the impact you create, because every person you successfully hire will eventually help the organisation achieve its goals.
