How Discord DMs Got Me an Internship

Let’s rewind to early 2025. I was somewhere between finishing my undergrad in 2024 and not cracking my master's entrance exam. Plot twist: things didn’t go as planned. As I stared down a not-so-friendly exam calendar, I realized Plan B (a job) might just become Plan A.

So while prepping for the exam, I simultaneously started job hunting, a bit of an emotional tug-of-war, honestly. But then came a small detour that changed everything...

The Discord Referral That Actually Worked

Here’s where the story gets a little bit of LinkedIn meets Destiny. I had known Anil Seervi for 5-6 years. We first met on Discord (yes, Discord), bonded during the lockdown, and stayed in touch over the years.

Fast-forward to December 2024. I pinged Anil on LinkedIn and asked if there was an opening at his company. He said, “Sure, send me your resume.” Next thing I knew, he passed it along to the HR team at Zenduty. One message, one shot and it hit.

The Surprise Interview Call (Yes, On a Sunday)

I got a call the very next day and the team wanted to schedule an interview. Sweet. Except... Ankur (our CTO) couldn’t make it, so it got pushed.

Then, out of nowhere, on a chill Sunday evening around 6 PM while I was halfway through a movie and some snacks, I got the call: “Interview in 15 minutes.”

No time to panic. I cleaned up my desk, grabbed a notebook, and joined the Google Meet. The first round was 20-25 minutes, introduction, a problem to solve, and a casual chat. I was slotted into frontend (though I originally asked for backend) and was told there’d be another round.

Frontend Round with Anil (Yes, the Same Anil from Discord)

Round two was taken by Anil himself, it was a full circle moment. It was about 45 minutes to an hour long. We covered JavaScript (where I was in my element), HTML/CSS (okay-ish), and React (about 70 to 80 percent confidence level).

After that, silence. I wasn’t sure if there would be an HR round or not, so I called HR myself to ask. Turns out, I was selected. Boom.

The Join-Date Twist

My joining was set for January 15th. Bags packed, tickets booked, playlists ready. Then... an email. “Joining moved to Feb 7 due to internal discussions.”

Not ideal, but weirdly lucky, my master’s entrance exam was on Feb 1. The delay gave me just enough time to give it one final push. Spoiler: still didn’t go well, but hey, the stars were aligning for Zenduty.

Day One at Zenduty

I finally landed in Bangalore, reached the office on Feb 7, and met Anil in person for the first time. I also met Rakesh, who shockingly turned out to be from the same town as me.

Got my MacBook, company swag, a tour of the stack, and some legal paperwork out of the way. And just like that, I was onboarded.

Building, Breaking, and Shipping

Being a frontend intern, my first task was on the company’s landing page. It was rocky at first — I hit some API issues and made some rookie mistakes. Huge thanks to Mohit who mentored me through that. The second task? More complex UI, more trial-and-error, and finally... it shipped.

Next up: testing. Enter my intern buddy Osaf and mentor Javeed. Together, we rewired a lot of things to make the system more future-proof. We had late nights, crazy ideas, and breakthrough moments. Looking back, that testing sprint was some of the most intense and rewarding work I’ve done.

After that, I moved into smaller UI improvements and performance tweaks. It felt like a cool-down lap after a marathon.

Culture, Cricket, and... Melody Chocolates?

My first Friday at Zenduty? Cricket. Great bonding moment, terrible batting (note to self: don’t forget glasses next time).

I don’t drink coffee or tea (yeah, I know). So during chai breaks, I mostly spectate and eavesdrop on fun convos. Sometimes I just take a walk around the park near the office for peace. Other times, I’m hunting for biryani with Osaf.

What we talk about at work ranges from AI and phones to space travel and random office debates. There’s always banter, especially in the engineering corner, from kachori on rainy days to us unofficially turning desks into the office “diabetes hub” (don’t ask, just bring sweets).

Also, I still ask myself every time I eat a Melody chocolate from the box at the desk: “Melody itni chocolaty kyun hai?”

Final Words

Internships aren’t always what you expect. Mine started on Discord, had a detour through entrance exam season, and landed me at a desk in Bangalore surrounded by brilliant people.

From my first UI bug to long testing nights, every moment here has been growth in disguise. The kind of growth that comes with great mentors, better teammates, and an environment that balances productivity with fun.

If you’re reading this wondering if it’s okay to stumble, shift plans, or message someone on LinkedIn out of the blue, trust me, it is.

This is Anish, SDE Intern at Zenduty. Over and out.