What It’s Really Like To Intern At WayUp—As Told By 7 WayUp Interns

At WayUp, we know a little something about what it takes to have a top internship program.

It means giving your interns the freedom to try, the guidance to succeed, and the kind of work that makes them want to show up every single day.

And, of course, you should be paid for doing it.

WayUp interns are compensated for their work, and they learn the kinds of skills they’ll need to excel in their careers. From group outings to see “Mean Girls” on Broadway and a trip to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees play to a special celebration on National Intern Day (complete with a barbecue), WayUp’s interns also get to have some fun in the process.

Here’s what all that looks like at WayUp, as told by seven of our summer interns.

Sameera, Marketing Storyteller

“My favorite project was working with the marketing team on our email strategy and seeing how much work goes into it both creatively and technically,” Sameera, WayUp’s Summer 2018 Retention Marketing Intern, tells us. “The average person might just see it as an inbox full of messages, but there are so many moving parts!”

Sameera was able to take ownership over important, public-facing projects like the WayUp Weekly newsletter, SEO content curation, and everything in between.

“People are constantly taking on new projects and ideas to implement. Seeing them come to life during the time I’ve been here has been really cool,” she adds.

Morgan, National Intern Day Hero

WayUp’s brilliant Brand Marketing Intern, Morgan, says her favorite experience was working on the campaign for National Intern Day.

Morgan poured her heart and soul into a movement for interns everywhere that got more than 800 million impressions—yes, that many millions!—on social media. Working closely with WayUp’s Brand Marketing Director, Hannah, she contributed to one of the most successful efforts in company history.

“Hannah is so encouraging and makes me feel like the work I’m doing is valuable,” Morgan says. And it wasn’t just Hannah’s support that let her know her work was valuable. It was the content of it, too.

“I was surprised at how much responsibility I was given,” she adds. Morgan worked on branding language, managed data, and maintained the image of the heavily-trafficked NID website. Now she’s ready for any marketing challenge.

Louis, Data Science Mastermind

Louis is a Data Science grad student from France studying at Columbia University in Manhattan. For his summer internship, he wanted to apply his data science background to improving user experience. WayUp’s Director of Data Science, Harlan, let him do just that.

His main project: the job recommender system.

When you log in to WayUp, you’re met with a myriad of jobs and internships miraculously paired to your interests and experience. Louis wanted to make it even better. That’s why he applied machine learning algorithms and user data to craft an even better turnout for job recommendations.

He loved being a part of a team that let him work independently on his task while still staying connected to the greater mission.

“Everyone at WayUp is really dedicated to the company objective,” he says. Although, his favorite part was, “the high autonomy and trust that Harlan has granted me from the very beginning.”

Lucille, Product Manager-In-The-Making

Product Management is one of the coolest sectors in tech. Combining elements of both business and software development, it’s truly one of the most modern fields to enter. But to find yourself standing at the corner of two amazing pursuits can be hard to do, especially when you’re an intern.

“Finding a product management internship was almost impossible to start with,” Lucille says. “I’ve been so lucky to have an internship that allows me the autonomy to work on the projects I’m interested in, but also gives me the support and direction I need to succeed.”

Lucille was able to work end-to-end on a self-service onboarding system, all while getting hands-on experience with every step of the product development timeline. She’ll have experience that almost none of her peers will have—making her the ideal candidate when it comes to the post-grad job search.

Peter, Finance Extraordinaire

Peter just finished his sophomore year at the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham, so the WayUp Finance and Accounting team was the perfect place for his summer internship.

Working closely with WayUp’s VP of Finance and other senior members of the team, Peter helped them line up their tax liability and financial reporting.

“Using Google sheets and Excel to help me become more organized throughout the process taught me so much about how versatile both programs are,” Peter says. “It enabled me to take ownership of the process and make sure that I was using my time in the most effective way possible.”

Emma, Astounding Data Analyst

Emma worked as a Data Analytics intern for one of the fastest-paced teams at WayUp. Working closely with both a Senior Business Analyst and the VP of Analytics, Emma became a master of WayUp’s data repositories.

But Data Analytics isn’t just record-keeping. It’s solving problems and puzzles that have serious implications for the business as a whole. And that’s what she loved most.

“My favorite thing I worked on was looking into the intersection of available jobs and qualified profiles,” she says. “This project began very suddenly and was time-sensitive, so the whole analytics team started working on it immediately. It was really exciting to all be working on one big problem together.”

Emma really started to see the world through data. She even polled members of the team on their fruit snack flavor distribution! Her analytics mastery truly knows no bounds.

Danielle, Client Cajoler And Candidate Connoisseur

“The best thing about working for a company like WayUp is that it’s not a ‘typical’ internship,” Danielle tells us. “When I say typical, I mean getting coffee and making copies. Honestly, I don’t even know where the copy machine is! It’s awesome to work at a startup because even though I’m an intern, everything I do is extremely helpful to the team. I actually see the work that I put into my internship benefitting the company. You can’t get that type of experience just anywhere.”

Danielle thrived in two client-facing departments—sales and customer success—becoming an expert on client relationships. Working both to advise clients on sourcing candidates and develop new sales with tools like Salesforce, Danielle became familiar with the entire lifecycle of a client.

She credits her success to her managers taking the time to guide her. “Every manager that I have has made my experience so incredible here. They have taught me so much and take time out of their day to teach me things, make me feel included, and even give me shoutouts. I couldn’t have asked for anything else from them during my time here,” she says.

Now It’s Your Turn

Are you ready to write your own WayUp story? Check out more articles, fun facts, videos, and job opportunities on our WayUp company profile!