6 aspectos destacados de mi pasantía de marketing de productos en Salesforce

With only one week of my virtual Futureforce internship remaining, I stand here [with my new standing desk — thanks, Salesforce!] reflecting on my first visit to the Salesforce Tower. I vividly remember taking this photo last year while visiting my friend and Senior Product Manager at Salesforce, Claire Markham. After learning more about the strong culture and wealth of opportunities that Salesforce offers, I knew it would be a great fit. While global events didn’t allow me to physically return to the Salesforce Tower this summer, I am confident that I couldn’t have made a better choice for my summer internship. Here are six reasons why:

1. A supportive, passionate, and scrappy team
Given this is my first experience in Product Marketing, I feel extremely fortunate to work on a team that continues to challenge and support me every day. Not only do they involve me in key projects, but they also actively listen and seek my perspective at every meeting.

I continue to be amazed by their scrappiness and ability to efficiently get things done as a team. Additionally, our bi-weekly team insights activities have allowed us to get to know each other on a deeper level — not only about each other’s individual working styles but also about key life moments and personal stories.

2. Celebrated my first product launch
When I started my internship, I was excited to learn that my key projects this summer supported the launch of a new product. I had the opportunity to drive several initiatives leading up to the launch, including an internal campaign that highlighted big deal wins, enablement webinars, customer stories, various assets for the sales teams, and even a live Twitter Q&A campaign with Adam Blitzer, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Co-Founder and EVP & GM of Marketing, Commerce, and Community Clouds! Close collaboration with all of the stakeholders — from product managers and solution engineers to creative and sales teams — was critical in making this launch a huge success.

3. Incredibly fun FutureForce team From a seamless onboarding experience and endless Salesforce swag — to my first day of training with DJ Manny spinning beats — I knew the FutureForce team had a fun-filled summer ahead. Not only did I participate in team events such as virtual jeopardy, a scavenger hunt, and a painting class, but I also cooked my first homemade pizza during a virtual cooking class! The fun continued as I ended my week with a virtual wine tasting event — four delicious bottles delivered to my doorstep!

4. Plethora of opportunities for professional development
One of the core skills of any good Product Marketer is solid presentation skills. Salesforce PMMs are known to be top-notch in the industry, as seen during their presentations at big events like Dreamforce. I knew this was a skill I actively wanted to improve, and I’ve been surprised with the endless opportunities to do so — ranging from expert training sessions to presenting in front of 200+ sales executives all around the globe! I’m also looking forward to presenting for Intern Demo Day and to the entire Marketing Cloud PMM org this week.

5. Strong culture & leadership
Salesforce’s strong Ohana (“family” in Hawaiian) culture was one of the many reasons why Salesforce was my top choice. Led by visionary and pioneer of cloud computing, Marc Benioff, I’ve been impressed at how his leadership emanates throughout the company. I was instantly drawn to the company’s mission-driven focus with not only Salesforce.org but also their 1-1-1 philanthropic model, which gives 1% Salesforce product, 1% equity and 1% of employees’ time to philanthropic causes. Interns even receive 56 hours of volunteer time off (VTO); on Friday, I led a VTO activity with non-profit, TechGirlz! Oh, and did I mention that one of my favorite artists, Alicia Keys, performed live during one of our weekly meetings?!

6. Endless opportunities to build lasting relationships
We’ve all had to overcome the challenges of virtual work, but I’m amazed by everyone’s willingness to connect over virtual coffee chats — even at the SVP level! So far, I’ve already met one-on-one with 50+ members of the Ohana. After having various conversations with individuals across the company, I’ve come to better understand how aligned all team members are in accomplishing Salesforce's overall mission. Learning about my colleagues’ personal career journeys and perspectives has opened my eyes to the endless opportunities that exist within the company.

My twelve weeks at Salesforce have gone by quickly, and as I reflect on my internship — and those I met along my journey — this only reaffirms my decision to intern at this great company. I can also unequivocally state that because of the various opportunities I was provided throughout the summer, I will be leaving as a more well-rounded and confident professional than when I started. Most of all, I am extremely grateful for my expanded Ohana and the lifelong relationships I have developed.

You can learn more about opportunities available to interns and new grads at Salesforce on our Futureforce website.