Salesforce — A one-stop for the overall internship experience
Spoiler Alert: I had a really great time during my internship at Salesforce so be ready to hear about all the awesome things that I came across.
The real fun started in May 2018. I was super pumped for summer because I was spending two weeks in London on a trip with my close friends and family and starting my internship right after I came back to the United States. For an intern, it might be an overwhelming experience at first to join a new company and a team and try to catch up with everything that’s going on and what not. But, don’t you worry. Salesforce Futureforce team has a lot of events, information sessions and contacts for you to help you out through that process and at the end, your team always has your back when you need them. They try their best to make that transition smooth like mine.
To share about my experience on becoming Salesforce, every other person on the team had a one-on-one meeting scheduled with me to share what they were working on and what their area of expertise was. It might be a lot to take in at once but you would know whom to contact when you need help. From the very first day of my internship, I felt so welcomed and appreciated in that space. The friendliness of my team members and everyone around me made me feel like I belonged there. I was working with a small team of 8 people who knew how to have fun with work. I dived right in and became part of the Ohana.
After saying all that I would also like to share things that might be more interesting. So, here are the few things that I loved the most about my internship which might help others to make their decision.
1. The Internship is the “fun” job: You will be doing meaningful work on the products that Salesforce delivers and make an impact. But, you have more freedom and opportunities to go through the learning curve. For me, I learned Swift after I had started my internship and was able to add a new feature requested by the client by the end of my internship. Plus, you would get a lot of opportunities to learn about the company, the culture and engage in tons of activities that are designed for you to make your internship experience world-class.
2. Making connections: For me, you get the real learning experience when you meet new people and listen to what they have to share with you. Along with the manager, you are assigned with a Trail guide whom you can talk to and ask anything you want to know. As I was new in the office, he took me around the office and introduced me to people working in different teams. We even went out for Nepali food with them and enjoyed lunch together. I got to know more about them as in what background they came from and what fun stories that they have to share. It was more like a casual lunch with people you know and the employees are pretty open for lunch invitation. Try it.
3. Giving back to the community: At Salesforce, everyone loves the culture a lot and we have 1–1–1 Philanthropic Model. Under that model, Salesforce pledges to make 1% contribution of Product, Time and Resources each. Since its establishment, Salesforce has contributed 2.3 million hours of community service and they empower interns to do so with 56 hours of Volunteer Time Off. I joined my team to support Habitat for Humanity, to help them build houses. I was able to contribute my part for building the house where two, in need, families would be able to live by paying a minimal amount. That was a great experience for me and felt so nice to give back to the community.
4. Swags and events: For a college student, what would be more fascinating than free swags, right? From the day you start your internship till the day you complete your internship, be ready to welcome tons of swags that Futureforce team would be sending your way. From hoodies, backpacks, t-shirts to gift like Apple AirPods and Beats Headphones, you have the opportunity to receive it all. Not only that, we get tickets and gift cards to attend a local sports game and go on a city tour too. I went on a Segway tour of Salt Lake City and it was amazing.
I can literally go on and on about my experience but those were the highlights of my internship. I am not sure if you would be able to get an over experience in any other place. I am not saying other companies do not want you to have a great internship experience but Salesforce goes above and beyond to these 3 months best time of your life. Trust me when I say this, Salesforce will not let you down.
