How This Humanities Student Landed an Internship at a Tech Company

Tell us about your internship.

I’m a marketing intern at SAP, based out of the San Francisco office. SAP is the world’s biggest provider of enterprise resource planning software, which means software that helps businesses manage themselves better.

What do you do there?

I work for an acquisition called SuccessFactors, and that’s a cloud-based human resources platform that we sell to other companies. It helps you throughout your hiring process, track your hours in payroll, and set goals within your job — basically work more efficiently and improve your experiences. I go into the office as much as I can, but I have great hybrid flexibility.

How did you find this position?

I saw it on LinkedIn, and then I went directly to the SAP website and found a whole internship section, with internships all over the world. I applied for an internship here in the city. My full title is advisory board program manager, intern.

What’s your major?

Communication studies, with a minor in business.

What’s your advice to students seeking internships?

Network as much as you can. Message people on LinkedIn. Email recruiters. Set up coffee dates from job fairs that USF provides. Anything you can do to get your foot in the door. What I’ve learned in my search is that people aren’t necessarily looking for students with a stacked resume full of skills, like “I’m fluent in eight different coding languages.” Most recruiters and hiring managers are looking for a personable, kind, efficient person who can be as helpful as possible to the company, so as long as you intend to be helpful and not drag people down in their work, that’s enough. Market yourself as an assist to other people. Put “eager to learn” on your resume. Humility is key. You have to be willing to learn and willing to accept what you don’t know. One of my favorite things about my job is that everybody there is so supportive in helping me grow, and is investing in my success as someone very new to the tech world.

What’s your advice to students just starting at USF?

If you can, take Foundations of Organizational Behavior, business 304, with Neil Walshe. It totally helps you understand how bigger organizations work. Take any of Neil’s classes. Also take a class with Sarah Burgess in the communication studies department. She’s an incredible mentor.