A Summer in Tech
Yale SOM’s Technology Club helps students explore career options in the technology field. At a September 30 panel hosted by the club, second-year MBA students shared their experiences as interns last summer at tech giants Google and Amazon. They also dispensed a little recruiting advice.
Ben Freedman '15
Position: Real Estate and Workplace Services
"I was part of the team assessing different technologies Google was looking at for their buildings. I was able to learn about many new technologies and also about architecture and design. I was coming up with a long-term strategy and operational model, so I was able to apply a lot of what we learned in Innovator, Competitor, and Employee from our first-year courses… The strategy I developed is now being implemented."
Clifford Emmanuel '15
Position: Product Marketing
"It is really beneficial within your résumé to be able to communicate how in past work you've interacted with customers, whether that's with clients in a consulting role or directly in a sales role. How you’ve been able to communicate and understand the needs of customer is really valuable. In all of our roles, that's what we were doing. This is a very customer-centric place."
Amazon
Chris Yergan '15
Position: Finance
"They give you really interesting work and really challenging work. Intern projects have a real impact-they're implementing my strategy and launching an advertising campaign based on my recommendations. Full-time, the work is even more challenging and you move up quickly. A few years out of business school many people are managing the financials for P&Ls with the annual revenue of Starbucks. It's very intense, but you also have an amazing level of responsibility."
Disha Patel '15
Position: Retail
"At this point, your focus should be breadth of options and learning opportunities. Because Amazon is growing at a breakneck speed right now, you get to do a lot more than some of the other companies, which are mature and steady. But the key focus for you in your internship should be just learning as much as possible."