How this BTech student turned a random hostel chat into a Rs 4.5 lakh internship
For Irfan Mohammed, the road to a reported Rs 4.5 lakh a month internship at Revolut, a British multinational bank and fintech company, did not begin with a perfect coding resume or years of grinding competitive programming.
It began with a random conversation at a hostel in Bir Billing, Himachal Pradesh.
The NIT Jalandhar BTech student is currently interning as an iOS Developer at Revolut's Dubai office. He had earlier made it into Apple's Developer Academy in Bali and interned at Dubai Islamic Bank.
In a May 2026 podcast, Irfan explained exactly how the Revolut opportunity came together.
During a Diwali break, Irfan travelled alone to Himachal Pradesh. At a hostel in Bir Billing, he started talking to another traveller, Ishika.
Irfan already knew about the company because he had previously looked at international remote opportunities. So he did something many students might hesitate to do.
"I jokingly just asked, 'Hey Shika, do you think I can get a referral?' And she was like, 'Why not?'" he recalled in a May 2026 podcast with Vaibhav Kanda.
There was another twist. Ishika left Revolut soon after their trip, but she asked a friend at the company to refer him instead.
That referral got Irfan into the recruitment process.THE REFERRAL DID NOT GET HIM THE JOB
This is where Irfan's story gets interesting. He is clear that a referral is not a shortcut to getting hired.
At Revolut, he said, it essentially helped him get past the initial CV screening and receive the online assessment link. After that, he had to clear the same selection stages himself.
His first major hurdle was a HackerRank assessment.
"I have never done DSA (data structures and algorithms)," he said in the podcast, explaining that he had not followed the intensive DSA preparation route many engineering students take.
Instead, he had focused heavily on SwiftUI, iOS development and actually building and shipping apps.
The HackerRank test turned out to include SQL and Python-based data structures, areas he could handle because of his existing programming knowledge.THREE DAYS OF INTENSE SWIFT PREPARATION
The next stage was a technical interview with a senior iOS developer from Revolut in Spain.
Irfan had to share his screen and live-code in Xcode. His AI coding tools were switched off, and he had to demonstrate his understanding directly.
He realised quickly what Revolut was testing: not just whether he could solve abstract coding problems, but whether he actually understood Swift and SwiftUI.
"I didn't know all of the questions that came up," he admitted.
But between the screening and technical interview, Irfan spent around three days intensely revising Swift.
That preparation paid off. He cleared the technical round and moved to HR.HE PREPARED FOR HR LIKE ANOTHER EXAM
Even after clearing the technical interview, Irfan did not assume the job was his.
He researched previous candidates' experiences, spoke to former interns and prepared answers using the STAR method -- an interviewing framework that stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result, used to structure clear and concise answers to behavioural interview questions.
He practised questions about conflicts, problems he had solved and situations from his previous internships.
"Preparation helps a lot," he said.
Then came the email he had been waiting for: he had been selected.
According to his account, the compensation discussed during the process worked out to around Rs 4.2 lakh a month.HIS REAL ADVANTAGE WAS NOT JUST CODING
Irfan believes his technical skills were only one part of the equation.
He had built iOS apps, worked with clients, interned at Dubai Islamic Bank and developed SwiftUI skills. He also had an NIT Jalandhar tag, public-speaking experience and the Princess Diana Award on his profile.
But he repeatedly stresses another skill: communication.
"You could be the smartest person in the world, but if you can't speak it out, if you can't speak it out in a very humble manner," he said, people may never understand your value.
His Revolut journey, then, was less about finding a secret trick and more about connecting several things: a specialised skill, projects, preparation, communication, networking and one unexpected conversation in a Himachal hostel.
As Irfan put it, "Whatever you are doing, just give your 100%."
And sometimes, the opportunity arrives in a place where you were never looking for a job in the first place.- EndsPublished By: Roshni Published On: Sep 11, 2026 14:38 ISTRead | Rs 60 lakh for 2 months, Rs 4 crore a year: Why HFT jobs are India's new gold rushRead | Indian interns are getting Rs 12.5 lakh a month at high-frequency trading firms
