With the 2022 Summer Internship Program reaching its midpoint, many Jam City Interns, dubbed “Jamterns,” have had the chance to become fully immersed in their teams and projects. 30 Interns this Summer joined the company to learn, grow, and find their passions, across 17 different business areas. When asked about their experiences so far, the Interns had a lot to say about the company culture, work atmosphere, and workload. We sat down with a few of our Summer #Jamterns to hear more about their unique projects and experiences.
Separation from a traditional Internship
Most times when students consider working for companies and begin the job search, they tend to have a pessimistic view towards what classifies as being an Intern. The media has an interesting way of portraying Interns in workplaces, often perceived as the “bottom of the food chain,” where they are assigned tasks like fetching coffee and running errands for their supervisors. The “traditional” role often determines that Interns are not involved as they’d want to be, meaning they are not always invited to meetings with their managers and executives, and are excluded from many company activities. Interns often feel as though they are not valued in the workplace, but instead being used as cheap labor, where they do not have the opportunity to apply their education to real-life situations.
Jam City is entirely unique, focused on giving students hands-on experience, with a modern and progressive method of the “Internship experience” in the world of gaming.
What makes the Internship Program at Jam City different?
Many of the Jam City Interns rave about the positive work dynamic that exists within the company. The Interns see collaboration between team members as a plus. They describe how they are able to experience work-life balance – managers teach Interns how to manage their schedules so that they have adequate time to finish their projects.
Several Interns noted managers and supervisors encourage them to voice their opinions and share their ideas freely, as well as explain and detail their own responsibilities, which allows them to get a glimpse of what a full-time position entails.
Not only are the Interns’ teams helpful and welcoming, but so is everyone else around the company. “You could literally reach out to anyone from any department and they’re always willing to help.” says Legal Intern Marisol Jimenez Gastelum. When she brought up her past internship, she mentions how she was “scared” of her mentors and would hesitate to ask for help. Jam City is the opposite of that.
Wenbo Guo, an Intern on the Creative Services Team, had a similar experience during his internship at a firm in China. He explains how at Jam City, his director always asks for his input and aspirations. Because of this, Wenbo believes that the company truly values the ideas and perspectives of Interns, which isn’t the case everywhere.
While it is a company leading the way in gaming and technology, Jam City puts as much emphasis on inclusion and company culture as it does innovation. As described by our Player Experience Insights Intern Erin Sawyer, “The company has done a good job at helping employees get involved.” She uses the example of Juneteenth, where Jam Citizens spent the day participating in service activities and took the time to learn more about the history behind this important day. Erin also believes that not many companies prioritize the pace and the drive for transformation like Jam City does.
Dylan Sakamoto, an Employee Engagement Intern on the People Team emphasizes the importance that Jam City sets on building an “upbeat” environment for employees. His previous internship was very “rigid” and did not give him the opportunity to fully become immersed in the workplace, whereas at Jam City, he feels that the “strong company culture” has allowed him to find a close-knit community and team. The way Dylan puts it, “Jam City is a community and not just a workplace. It’s almost like a lifestyle.” To him, being a part of the “People Team” and not just “HR” shows the company is people-focused.
3. Real-life industry experience and projects
Interns appreciate the high amount of support and help they receive from their mentors. At the start of their internships, many were hesitant to ask questions because of previous experiences, and felt their work as Interns would not matter much. But upon starting their internships, many realized that it’s not necessarily true. A fellow Product Marketing Intern, Kaitlyn Dang, notes, “As an Intern, you don’t want to feel like your work is doing nothing. But at Jam City, you feel like you are making an actual impact.”
The amount of trust put in Interns by their supervisors tends to motivate them to work harder. It also helps reflect the true responsibilities of working at such a big company. Sherissa Cheng, an Intern on the Creative Services team believes that the Internship experience very much resembles the challenges of real life. She noted, “You get some independent tasks as an Intern, which gives you the freedom to do things alone. The real world is not about babysitting.”
Jamterns are having great experiences five weeks into their Summer internships and are starting to feel like a part of the Jam City team. The shift from the traditional Intern experience has become quite evident as Jamterns are pleasantly surprised to see how valued they have become within their teams. Working at Jam City has led to a huge “reality check” in the most positive way possible.
Leili Varasteh
Communications Intern, Summer 2022
