This past summer, I interned at 23andMe in Mountain View, California as a Communications & Data Analytics Intern. 23andMe is a direct-to-consumer personal genomics and biotechnology company that uses a customer’s spit sample to provide them with 125+ personalized reports about their ancestry, health, traits, and more. I split my time mostly between doing communications and content work and a few data collection and analysis projects. I wrote media pitches, helped answer questions from reporters, created internal and external blog posts, and contributed to communications materials for the release of various trait reports. On the data side, I tracked their media presence and metrics such as amplifications, sales, and potential customers to draw insights about the impact of different articles.
Aside from how much I was learning in my everyday work, the company culture at 23andMe welcomed and encouraged me to do as much as I could throughout the summer. Additionally, there were a number of events for interns to work together and get to know each other.
I finished the summer with a sense of fulfillment and achievement, and I know I can credit much of that to the culture. Read on to learn about how 23andMe’s company culture made me feel welcome as an intern.
1. Emphasis on transparency as a core value
When I first got to 23andMe, I was immediately encouraged to ask any and all questions I had. During onboarding meetings, weekly meetings with my team, and one-on-ones, there was no question that was off-limits. Since 23andMe is in such a unique space in biotech, it is easy for people to doubt new and innovative technology – but within the company, transparency was the backbone of the culture and my everyday work.
2. Trust and autonomy from the get-go
One of the things I was most looking forward to for the summer was the opportunity to hone my data skills using real datasets. I was particularly interested in increasing my understanding of the process of data collection, analysis, and visualization. I started out using our PR software to create weekly reports, and then began playing around with the software to see what else I could learn from it. I began to take information from it and organize it in Excel sheets, and then used the sheets to create visualizations in Tableau. It was incredibly exciting because no one on the team had previously tracked the data in the way I was doing it, so I had to create my own success metrics. Having the amount of flexibility that I did was exciting but difficult – there were so many things I could look at, so I carefully chose what I thought would be most beneficial and what would create the most actionable advice for the rest of the team. It was truly amazing to have the team trust me to work on such a large project and to have their support as I navigated something new.
3. The belief that good ideas come from anywhere
A notion that CEO Anne Wojcicki believes in particularly strongly, it was emphasized throughout my summer that good ideas can come from anywhere. Employees of every level were interested in the contributions of interns, at times even more so than regular employees because we had fresh eyes. We were encouraged to suggest more efficient ways of doing things to our teams, and we weren’t doubted because we were “just an intern.”
4. Open and honest communication at Q&A’s with executives
Another major part of the welcoming aspect of the culture was the bi-weekly Q&A’s with the leadership team. We spent an hour during lunch with an executive, learning about their career path, interests, and what exactly they do at the company. These meetings were incredibly informative and helped to make otherwise daunting figures more relatable. The executives were excited to speak with us, ask us questions about how our summers were going, and even asked us if we had any suggestions to make about the company! The leadership team is extremely busy to begin with, and because 23andMe is in such a novel space, it wasn’t uncommon that they were asked to be speakers for events – making time for lunch with the interns was something I valued highly.
5. Company-wide research initiatives
During my summer at 23andMe, one major event that occurred was the Proposathon, a company-wide research competition. The theme was about increasing trust in the general and medical communities, and employees interested in participating assembled into teams of 3-5 people. I was part of a team with four other interns, and we pitched our idea and ended up winning “Fan Favorite.” The process was incredibly rewarding, especially because we knew that the rest of the company was genuinely interested in what we had to say. We weren’t only encouraged to participate for the experience, but we were encouraged because people saw that as college students, we had a unique perspective to bring to the table. When I look back at my summer, I can confidently say that the Proposathon was one of the most fun and exciting parts.
I’ve found throughout a number of jobs and internships I’ve had thus far that the biggest determinant of motivation and success is the culture and the people. The culture is what encouraged me to take risks and try new things I’d never done before, and to get involved with the company and the people in a way I could never have imagined possible for an intern. I was constantly encouraged to ask questions and had frequent check-ins with my team so they could ensure I was working on the things I wanted to be working on. Throughout my summer, I didn’t only feel valued – I left knowing I made real, tangible contribution to the team, and was supported every step of the way.
Featured photo: Lily Brickman (center) and her team of fellow interns after winning “Fan Favorite” at the company-wide research Proposathon.
