Scaling a Summer Internship Program in a Remote World
In early March 2020, as offices began shutting down worldwide, the team behind Cloudflare’s summer internship program faced a hard question: could an internship function without in-person mentorship? After a brief deliberation, their answer was “absolutely.” As an Internet company, Cloudflare decided to trust the Internet with far more than it had previously, and the remote internship experiment became a reality.
The spring was consumed by planning, interviewing, and hiring. On April 2, the company doubled the size of its 2020 intern class in response to other organizations canceling their programs entirely. Recognizing that many talented students had lost their summer plans, Cloudflare also compiled a list of peer organizations that were actively hiring and launched a three-month webinar series offering mentorship from its executive team to all applicants—regardless of whether they joined Cloudflare.
The program kicked off on May 18 with the first orientation group. Over the following six weeks, six more groups joined, bringing the total to 90 interns. The remote structure opened doors to students worldwide across nearly every team—from Product Management to Engineering to Legal. The class was also notably diverse, with nearly half of the students identifying as being from an underrepresented gender identity or racial ethnic minority.
Adapting the Internship Experience
“How do you replicate the benefits of an in-person experience remotely?” The short answer is you don’t. Instead, the program leaned into adaptation and creativity. Regular touchpoints replaced hallway conversations: weekly Zoom lunches, bi-weekly newsletters highlighting projects, and hour-long executive fireside chats gave interns direct access to leadership. Each intern was paired with both a buddy outside their team and a mentor on their team. A dedicated “Intern Week” in late July brought together students from different teams, regions, and continents. To close out the summer, five intern presentation sessions gave every participant the floor to showcase their projects company-wide.
Feedback from the students was overwhelmingly positive. When asked whether the internship met their overall expectations, 100% responded “Yes”, and 98% said they would consider returning to Cloudflare. Anonymous comments, shown below, echoed that enthusiasm.
Several interns shared their journeys publicly. Selina Cho wrote about personal and professional growth during her Product Management internship. Legal intern Kevin Frazier described community and inclusiveness as a “common thread woven throughout the internship experience.” Ryan Jacobs detailed his work discovering how Cloudflare uses Cloudflare Spectrum while interning on the Spectrum team.
Looking Toward Summer 2021
Building on the success of 2020, the company plans to nearly double its intern class size again for 2021, with a focus on even more engaging programs and challenging projects. Applications are open on the Careers page under the “University” section, or by emailing [email protected]. The program’s success was credited to the collective effort of the Head of University Programs Judy Cheong, the executive and recruiting teams, and all intern hiring managers and mentors who made the remote experience not just possible, but a success.
