Lessons from a Remote Product Design Internship
Internships and early career work experience can be traced back to apprenticeships and guilds in the Middle Ages. Because specific trades required time, practice, and mentorship to master, apprentices would work in the same home and studio as an experienced tradesman in order to truly hone the craft. This in-person training was a core component of apprenticeships and eventually internships.
In contrast, a majority of internships in 2020 (specifically in tech) were held remotely. Due to Covid-19, it wasn’t possible to be in the office working side-by-side. Internships had to adapt to provide a comprehensive learning experience in a new type of environment. My internship at Glassdoor taught me that it can be a valuable opportunity. However, it comes with different guidelines. Working remotely can be challenging for anyone, but there are specific lessons I’d like to pass down to future interns and new grads who will be starting a remote (or partly remote) program.
Lesson 1: Introduce yourself to the team
When starting a new role remotely, it’s important to introduce yourself to people within and outside your team. Take full advantage of any video lunches or social hours that are already set to meet people. However, I found that what works best for me is to set up one-on-ones with individuals. It’s difficult to engage with a group of people when everyone’s inside a Zoom box, but it was easier for me to learn about someone when there was only one person in the call. I could ask more questions about a person’s career, how they started in tech, and where they see themselves in the future.
My process was to find the people I would be interacting with the most. I would send them a quick message on Slack to say “hello,” introduce myself, and ask for some time for a coffee chat. Most people were able to take time out of their day to meet. I made sure to come prepared with questions and conversation topics. For someone who isn’t the best at meeting people, having a rough plan of what I wanted to talk about was helpful in getting the conversations rolling.
One consideration is that it might not be possible to connect with everyone at the company. My strategy was to stay in touch with the product design team and people I would have met at the Chicago office. It’s still likely that I did not meet with everyone I would have in an office, but I could still make the most of the connections I did make.
Find Support Among the Cohort
Wherever you work, your cohort of interns or new grads are an integral part of the experience. I found it easier to talk about problems or concerns I had with other interns, as they could closely understand the situations I was in. Even when you’ve only known each other remotely, there’s a special relationship between other interns and these connections can be as valuable as the connections made with senior members of the team.
To foster better connections with your cohort, make some time for just the interns and new grads. Glassdoor hosted great intern events where we got to meet senior executives or play Jackbox games together. However, it’s also important for interns to meet outside the regularly-scheduled activities. The other interns and I made time for weekly lunches where we could have more open conversations about what we accomplished and what we were struggling with. Having this open dialogue was helpful when you needed support for the week.
Try to participate at least once every meeting or conversation
I received a simple piece of advice before my internship: try to participate at least once every meeting. The goal is to add one thoughtful question, feedback, update, introduction, etc. This is a piece of advice that has been an integral part of my internship. Taking part in critique and feedback sessions was particularly helpful. It was a little intimidating to give critique to designers with more experience, but it became easier once I shifted my goal to giving one piece of thoughtful feedback. This advice kept me accountable to participate as a full member of my team and think critically about what I am providing to the conversation.
The one caveat is to try not to force yourself to speak during a meeting. Sometimes, there is nothing you can really add to the conversation, and that’s okay — it’s more important to stay engaged with what’s happening, as any other full-time employee would. I find that I learn just as much by listening and observing as I do speaking.
Be mindful of communication
One of the main forms of communication when remote is video conferencing. It’s a great way to have face-to-face interactions when you’re not in the office. However, it can be tiring to be on a video conferencing tool for too long. Even for someone new to the workforce, I found that being on video calls for several hours a day could be taxing. My advice would be to have blocks of time scheduled where you don’t have any video calls (my time is always in the morning). And if appropriate, consider moving around meetings to make sure you have time away from video conferencing tools.
Another piece to keep in mind is that there are already other tools to utilize for communication in a remote environment. Email and messaging services, like Slack, can come in handy for quick messages and questions. However, it can be difficult to understand which communication tool to use when. I found that if a face-to-face conversation would take 10–15 minutes, it might be best to use a messaging service instead. Utilize video conferencing for larger conversations or times when you need to talk to someone.
Be Comfortable with Asynchronous Feedback
With different messaging and documentation tools, one of the biggest adjustments to remote work is getting comfortable with asynchronous feedback. It’s not possible to tap someone on the shoulder to walk through something for five minutes. There will be a delay when waiting to hear back on Slack or receive comments on a document. I found it most useful to have a list of tasks to get done for the day. If I needed to wait to hear back about something, I knew what else to work on while waiting. It can be an adjustment to receive asynchronous feedback, but being able to move different tasks can make sure you’re not waiting for someone to reply.
Final Thoughts
Starting a new career, remote or not, is always challenging. The goal is to be exposed to the company and craft. The unique challenges of being remote center around communication. It’s now even more important to think critically about what to say and how to say it. I believe it’s a skill that can be acquired and will lead to a valuable and fruitful early career experience.
The nature of work in a post-COVID world is still unknown, but it comes with promising opportunities and freedoms. It’s very possible that there will be more remote experiences in the future. My internship was just as much a lesson in how to work in this environment as it was in product design. For interns and new grads starting a new role, I hope this gives you a good head start.
