The No. 1 thing that makes interns stand out, according to a Google Cloud exec
Landing a summer internship can sometimes feel like only half the battle — the next challenge is often turning it into a full-time gig.
Interning at a tech giant puts you in the running for a full-time role, but that doesn't mean it's a done deal. Yasmeen Ahmad, a product and GTM executive at Google Cloud, has seen her fair share of interns at the tech giant, and she said there's one trait that jumps out to her.
"The people who stand out the most for me are those who really take initiative and look for opportunities," Ahmad told Business Insider in an interview.
Google packages up projects for its interns to work on, and the key is looking beyond the scope of what's offered, Ahmad said. She added that interns should use their assigned project as a "springboard" to explore what Google is doing in other areas, whether that be other teams, projects, or domains.
At a company like Google that has a number of departments dedicated to different products, like Android, Gemini, or Workspace, Ahmad said there's plenty of opportunity to explore. The company also offers programming so interns can get exposure to their peers working on other projects and teams.
"Interns who really think outside the box and leverage that opportunity, I think really do stand out," Ahmad said.
Ahmad's advice echoes that of a former Google intern Tawfiq Mohammad, who landed a full-time offer as a software engineer and also told BI that interns should strive to think "outside the box." The Googler said that interns should "try to own" their assigned summer project.
Ahmad's advice also includes networking. The executive told BI that Google is "highly collaborative," and if you reach out to someone, they'll likely free up 15 minutes for a coffee chat.
A Google software engineer who spent three summers interning at the tech giant before landing a full-time offer, Nancy Qi, previously told BI she thinks one of her strengths as an intern was building relationships with her teammates by getting lunch with them every day. She said doing so helped create "team chemistry" and kept her "motivated to pump out code."
While Ahmad has helped lead multibillion-dollar businesses, she's also felt the pressure of trying to prove herself in a temporary position. The Google executive said that when she landed her first job, the manager told her they weren't sure it would be a fit and planned to reassess after six months.
As someone who started in academia, Ahmad's path into Big Tech leadership was far from linear, and she told BI she had "many moments of anguish" while not knowing her next step. Looking back now, Ahmad said not knowing what was next helped provide her with a broader perspective and taught her to enjoy the journey.
"I think an internship is a great way, whether you know, it's Google other organizations, to be able to come in and explore different roles that you maybe hadn't considered before," Ahmad said.
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