This summer Salesloft welcomed Kate Weatherby and Avery Dillon as marketing interns. This post is their reflection of their time with us.
When you first hear the word “intern,” you might think of coffee runs, demanding bosses, long hours, and no sleep. Coming to Salesloft, we knew that we would be a part of the best place to work in Atlanta, but we weren’t exactly sure what that would mean to us. Would the culture feel different to us as interns? How would we be included or excluded? How involved would we be? How many coffee runs would we make?
During our 10-week internship, we made one coffee run. Between the 202 meetings, 171 blog posts audited, 404 swag items mailed, and the 388 emails sent we became proactive and genuinely a part of Salesloft. Instead of being demanded to complete meaningless tasks we were given detailed instructions with clear task objectives. We contributed not only to the marketing team, but also to sales enablement and, in turn, Salesloft as a whole.
At Salesloft, the importance of culture is something you hear over and over again. Working here for the summer showed us how the culture is truly ingrained in the everyday actions of employees. As interns, we felt that commitment and passion not only for customers but for the company as a whole. Our first day, we were welcomed with cards signed by the marketing team, and by the end of our first week, the whole company had seen our faces, as we were introduced at the weekly All Hands meeting. While nervous to see a room full of people staring right at us, we knew the excitement had just begun.
Since the very beginning Salesloft’s CEO and COO, Kyle Porter and Rob Forman, meet with all new employees within their first few weeks. During these meetings, they share the story of Salesloft, advice, and open for a Q&A session. The leadership that they possess, along with their genuine interest in employees and transparency about the company, is rare and aspirational.
During our time at Salesloft, we truly made an impact on the marketing team. We weren’t doing work in a bubble without any interaction; we were integrated with the team. Whether it was sending swag to customers or updating the YouTube channel, we always had something to do. The experience came from the eagerness of the marketing team to include us on new projects and get to know us and our interests better. This inclusion didn’t just stay in the office; we had a team outing to Bad Axe Throwing that was full of support and healthy competition. Later in the summer, we went off-site to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity alongside other Lofters. We spent the day working as a team to paint a house.
This supportive atmosphere was not only a part of the Salesloft culture but was also driven by our manager and champion, Sunshine Levin. She made sure that our ten weeks were filled with both impactful work for the company and personal growth. Whether she was reaching out to coworkers to delegate work to us or introducing us to new people, Sunshine never let a minute of our time go to waste. Every week we met with different people within the company including Sebhastien Gibossé (Business Analyst) and Rob Forman (COO). Sunshine pushed us to be excellent and was the best manager we could have wanted.
Additionally, we were able to make connections with six other Salesloft interns, or “Lofterns.” While there was no set internship program, we all reached out to meet each other. This gave us another community within Salesloft with who we will always have a lasting relationship.
While we learned concrete business skills like creating Salesforce reports and dashboards, we also learned more abstract interpersonal skills. This included stepping out of our comfort zone to reach out to other Lofters and learning how to ask for things, as well as teaming with each other. We quickly bonded and collaborated on the majority of our projects. Working together has taught us the importance of teamwork, trust, and communication. Leveraging our unique strengths, we have been able to complete 31 projects in less than 3 months.
The best part of working at Salesloft was the people. By sitting with the marketing team, our days were filled with music, laughter, and lots of inside jokes. It was great getting to know each individual, to learn about their passions and why they love Salesloft so much. While we worked in marketing, everyone, regardless of their department, was enthusiastic to meet us and share their story. This summer would not have been as amazing as it was if it were not for everyone at Salesloft welcoming us with open arms and entrusting us with their work. THANK YOU SALESLOFT!
[ctt template=”3″ link=”dBv3e” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]Salesloft’s interns accomplished a lot this summer! Here’s their story, in their own words.[/ctt]
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