How it all began
A little story on how I got my internship in San Francisco
So I will do an international internship in San Francisco for the next 12 months as a software engineer.
But how did it all begin? Let me tell you my story.
The trip
All students of my university in their final year are allowed to go on a trip to the USA. My field of study is New Media and Communication Technology and we were allowed to go to San Francisco to visit technology companies such as VMWare, Adobe, Nvidia, …
And to experience and absorb some of the American culture of course!
Unfortunately, the trip only lasted for a week. Way to short to be honest. But we made the most of it! The fact that I managed to arrange an internship in San Francisco proves this.
What I wanted to do in the USA during our short trip (unlike others) was participate and engage in the Bay Area’s rich tech/start-up environment.
So the first thing we did was sign up for local events. And so, on our very first day in SF we went to Atlassian’s roadtrip. Not knowing what to expect we just went to see what it was and to be honest, we weren't disappointed. At the contrary!
At first we received a warm welcome and cold beer.
(Being Belgian, offered a cold beer is always appreciated)
Then we talked to some of the employees of Atlassian, they were all very friendly and surprisingly up-to-date on the latest soccer news.
So after a small chat, some beers and something to eat we finally settled in a comfortable looking couch to watch the presentation.
Afterwards, we talked to some other employees and locals and we had some pretty interesting conversations. We even got to talk to a Twitter employee. And it was only the first day! Madness!
Anyway, I hope I've illustrated just how eager we were and how we got the most out of our trip.
So instead of hanging out at a bar and paying for our beer (like most of my classmates), we went to an amazing Atlassian event with free beer!
Seriously, I would have done it even if we had to pay for the beer.
Anyway, I’m going off course here.
It all started at the company visit at Adobe.
Our school has been partners with Adobe for years. And that’s why we were able to visit their office in San Francisco.
It was there that certain students were allowed to present their work to some of the Adobe employees. But before the students started their presentation, there was a small announcement from a start-up saying that they were looking for international students to do an internship in San Francisco and if we were interested, we had to go and talk to them after the presentations.
I pondered on it, doing an internship in San Francisco. I quickly discarded that idea though. I’m not sure why, but I just didn't feel like I was going to be good enough as an intern.
But my friends that were sitting nearby looked at me and they said. “Dude, we should totally try that. And if nothing happens, then so be it.”
They were right. If I didn't grab the chance, I would have been a fool for not grabbing it when it was thrown right at my face. The least I could do is try. And so I did.
I’m happy that I've had support from my friends. If not for them, I might as well have done nothing and let the opportunity slip away.
So, after the student presentations there was time for a beer and a friendly conversation. It’s at that moment that I approached the start-up company to ask about the internships.
Of course I went to get a cold beer first. Everyone knows that the best way to start a conversation is with a cold beer.
But enough about the beer.
So me and one of my friends approached the guys from the start-up who fortunately weren't talking to anyone yet.
“So, how about that job”, I said.
(Truth be told, that probably wasn’t best opener, but it didn't seem to have bothered them.)
They gave us some information about their company and their product and meanwhile more students were interested and were also chatting with them and asking about the internships. Before we left we gave them our contact details in good hope that they would contact us again.
Which — to my surprise — they did.
They had e-mailed us an invitation to their headquarters in San Francisco for a more in-depth introduction to their company and their product.
Also free pizza!
So they did their presentation and then there was time for a chat and of course, the pizza. At that moment the CEO of the start-up approached me and my friend and said “You guys look interested in doing an internship here”. And we totally were. We continued to talk for a few moments and then we left with a vague “We will contact you guys further via email”.
At that point I doubted that they would contact us again to talk further about the internships. But they did.
And after a lot of e-mails back and forth and a few Google Hangouts, I finally received an e-mail saying that I was accepted as one of their interns!
Truth be told, it was one of the most memorable days of my life.
I never though I would make it this far, but here I am, writing about my internship in San Francisco.
