Today marks the first day of fall! This means that the season of sunscreen, ice cream, and unforgiving UV rays (plus equally unforgiving sunburns) is sadly over, and if you’re a college student, so is internship season. It’s crazy to think just a few months ago I dropped my textbooks and ventured from the classroom, ready to tackle real-life work that would hopefully translate into real-life experience. As someone who’s racked up thousands of hours in internships over four consecutive summers, I know how hard it can be to find, apply for, and commit to an internship. There are a thousand questions you’ll have to ask yourself: What is there to learn? Will I enjoy the experience? And most importantly, will I do something that actually matters? I’ve talked to the other SessionM interns to help summarize the SessionM intern experience that we had this summer. Here are 7 good reasons we think you should consider interning at SessionM.
1.The office:
The first thing you notice about a place of work is…well, the place. The SessionM office is completely open and casual. There’s desks, couches, armchairs, long tables, and a large bean bag in the middle of the office floor. The kitchen is well-stocked, but we’ll get to that later.
Even as interns, we’re never confined to one type of sitting arrangement each day. We can sit or stand at our own desks or ditch the desk completely to kick back on the couch, lounge on a chair in the kitchen area, grab a space at the high table near the couches. You wear what you like and work how you want. But there’s more to working at SessionM than relaxed dress codes and comfortable couches..
2. Culture:
Inclusive. Passionate. Innovative. Vigorous.
I asked each of the 2019 summer interns to summarize SessionM’s culture in a word. These were the words they came up with. From day one of working here, you begin to understand SessionM as both a company and a community. Culture isn’t something you can see when you’re filling out online applications, or looking at glossy office photos. But it’s one of the most important elements of an internship that makes a good work experience great. And at SessionM, it’s apparent from day one. As one of our very own interns says:
“From the top to the bottom, it was amazing to see the level of focus and excitement that exists within SessionM. I’ve learned to appreciate the great work culture here.”–Andrew, Finance and Sales Operation Intern
3. Free Snacks & Catered Meals.
Self-explanatory. Who doesn’t want free office snacks?
The SessionM team is well fed, from free snacks in the kitchen, to team lunches catered on Wednesday, to a multitude of beverage options on tap. “My favorite office snack was the cold brew…except when it kept me up all night.” –Doug, Marketing Intern. There’s always something in reach to fuel that next block of work, and innovation.
4. You’re part of your team.
Learning is a part of everyday life here, for both the team and the interns. “Working closely with the smartest developers I’ve met is a superb learning experience. The gulf of domain knowledge is vast between me and them, but I try to reduce that a bit everyday.”–Nishchay, Software Engineer Intern
We’ve all heard the internship horror stories where hapless interns are ordered around the office or fill their time with nothing but busy work.
In many ways, SessionM retains a startup mindset in that aspect. Interns are hired out of necessity, not to fill a quota. You come here to be part of a team and do the same kind of work everyone else does, and the team welcomes you for that, as us interns can attest to.
“The Marketing group is a fantastic group of people who welcomed me to SessionM and taught me so much about the world of SaaS. They bring expertise and knowledge about product offerings, sales techniques, and content every day with a smile on their faces.”–Doug
5. Friendly faces, friendly people.
Going into an internship usually means keeping your social expectations fairly low. This meant that when we were led around the office for introductions on the first day, none of us really expected to get to shake hands with the CEO of the company. Or the CPO or CTO, for that matter.
The thing about SessionM’s people is that everyone is equally approachable. From the software engineers to leadership to the talent acquisition team, there’s no real barrier stopping you from going up to someone in the kitchen or the middle of the office and talking to them. People are truly welcoming, to the point you forget you’re the intern in the room.
“My favorite part of the internship would definitely be the people I met and worked with while I was here. People from all levels of the company, from the executive team all the way down to other interns, made it a point to introduce themselves.”–Doug
6. You will get paid for your work.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve learned to read between the lines when skimming internship postings. When “opportunity to learn” and “valuable work experience” are the only benefits listed, odds are good that you’re probably not going to actually get paid for your work.
Thankfully for us, SessionM believes in the value of their interns’ work. You’ll gain valuable work experience and the opportunity to learn and grow on a team that cares about you all while getting paid. If that doesn’t sound like a dream internship, I don’t know what is.
7. Hands-on learning through hands-on work.
SessionM doesn’t believe in busy work, and neither do these internships. From day one you’ll be hands-on in the trenches alongside your team.Making the leap from academia to real work is intimidating, intense. It’s also the best way to learn and grow.
I’ve experienced that firsthand in the talent acquisition department. Here I am, a recent grad, and I’m already interfacing directly with candidates, helping them make the leap from interest to interview. It’s a lot of responsibility, and it helps you think fast and learn even faster. And I’m hardly alone in that.
“Things I’ve learned: a new technology stack, AWS architecture, talking to a CEO.”–Nishchay
I can’t say for certain that a SessionM internship will be the right fit for you. As fun as the culture is, as friendly as the people are, work here is challenging. Sometimes you won’t even know where to start. What I can say is that if you’re excited to hit the ground running, to meet cool people and encounter complex projects, to learn and work and learn some more then this could just be the place for you. Check out the open positions here!
Special thanks to Doug Greene, Andrew Murrow, and Nishchay Shah for their time and quotes.
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