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For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to pursue writing. Because of that simple fact, the idea of working for a tech company never really crossed my mind. Why would a company like Salesforce want to hire me, a #GirlWhoDoesNotCode? I’m a rising college senior and have had copywriting internships the past two summers, so I thought I had my future career path pretty figured out. But I saw an internal communications opening on Salesforce’s Employee Engagement team and it sounded like it could be a good fit, so I decided to apply. It’d be something different, I thought.
Turns out, I got the internship. I would be spending the summer writing emails, blog posts, and posts for Chatter, Salesforce’s internal social network, among other projects. Don’t get me wrong — I was really excited to have gotten an offer from a great company and to try something new. But I was almost certain that a huge corporation like Salesforce would be a little stuffy and dry compared to the small, creative advertising agencies I’d interned for in the past. Well, turns out I was wrong (and I’m glad I was!).
These are the five reasons the internship far surpassed all my expectations and proved to me that the #SalesforceOhana is the place to be.
Futureforce University Recruiting, which focuses on hiring and onboarding interns and new college graduates, is amazing. From my first communication with the recruiters during my recruitment process to my final goodbye, they were nothing but friendly, professional, and attentive. The program, which hosts interns around the world, comes with a ton of perks, too. Or, more accurately, they completely spoiled us. We had a full day of onboarding, and we played bubble soccer, went to a Giants game, took a cable car tour of San Francisco, and went on a day trip to Santa Cruz. There were Lunch & Learns with executives and other awesome Salesforce leaders every week who were eager to share their experiences and advice with us. Most importantly, Futureforce set us up with teams and managers who had exciting projects ready for us to tackle.
Each intern was given 56 hours of volunteer time off (VTO) for the few months we were on board here at Salesforce. That’s as many hours as full-time employees get in an entire year! I’m sure most interns didn’t actually complete that many hours (major props to anyone who did), but it’s really cool to know that the company values giving back so highly. One of our Futureforce events was entirely centered around volunteering, and my team provided me with monthly VTO events too, so there was no shortage of opportunities. A few of my favorites were a Santa Cruz beach clean-up, writing cards for children at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, and caring for the pups at a senior dog rescue.
3. #SalesforceOhana Culture
Working for our internal communications and marketing team, I got a nice big dose of Salesforce culture this summer, and it was great. Yes, that’s right — I drank the Kool-Aid. Culture is probably the biggest reason why Salesforce is able to pull off being a huge company that feels like a small one. There’s a level of connectedness and caring between members of the Ohana that feels genuine and special. People are there for one another as colleagues, friends, supporters, allies, and champions. Marching with Salesforce’s San Francisco Pride Parade contingent, attending the equality event Ohana Fest and learning about our Ohana groups, and writing blog posts about inspiring stories within the Salesforce community are just a few of the ways I got to experience our amazing culture firsthand.
Similar to the culture, the people here are unique and amazing. Not a day went by that I was not impressed by someone I came across. It’s Salesforce, so there’s an expectation that everyone will be smart. But watching my team present in their Quarterly Business Review and listening to our team’s All Hands meeting blew me away. Innovation extends far beyond the tech departments here, and the amount of brain power going into that creativity is downright inspiring. The best part was that these people trusted me to do actual work and make legitimate contributions to the team. There wasn’t a shred of busywork in sight.
When I got my internship offer, I was proud to tell people I’d be working at Salesforce because it’s a successful, well-known company. But now that I’ve learned about the company, culture, and values, and have done real work to contribute to the productivity of my team, I’m proud for a different reason. I’m proud to be working for a company that values giving back to our community, sustainability, innovation, employee wellbeing, and #EqualityForAll. It’s really incredible to be able to work for a company that has the same values I do — and wears them on its metaphorical sleeve. Even if it was only for the summer (which flew by way too fast), I’m proud to have had the opportunity to be a part of the #SalesforceOhana.
Would you or someone you know be a great Futureforce University Recruiting candidate? Learn more about the program here.
