My title is UX/UI & Web Intern. I’m mostly there to help with design research, presentation development & pitches, as well as basic wireframing, frontend coding, motion graphics, & if needed some general graphic design. My supervisor’s name is Shan Gnanasambandham (Gah-nay-sam-bah-nd-ham) and he is the founder of Clarkstech and works with other companies in other roles from what I can tell, or at the very least, keep in close touch with them and often works with them.
The process in which I was offered this internship was someone spontaneous and unusual, or maybe it’s more common than I assume. As I was applying for internships one evening, I was on voice chat with a friend of mine. They had gone away for a moment to grab some food, as they were on a “lunch” break. When they return they suddenly ask me if I’m up for an over-the-phone interview right that moment. I was shocked, to say the least. Basically, my friend works for Wells Fargo and they also have professional networking connections through their temple and well know mother. My friend recommended me to Shan on the spot when they asked if they knew any graphic designers. Since they were already in a voice chat with me, they told Shan that I might be up for an interview right then and there, and I was! I spoke with Shan over the phone and I was completely nervous, unsure what this was going to entail.
They asked about my education, qualifications, & experience since they did not dee my resume or portfolio beforehand. They explained to me what the position was for and what my responsibility would be. He asked me questions about UX/UI terminology and if I knew what these things were, he would also describe what they were and I answered back their names. I didn’t get anything wrong and he said it sounded like I knew what I was talking about. He also said they would need to discuss this with their team before he can consider hiring me. He asked me to provide him with my resume and portfolio for review but to also take a couple of days to develop a low fidelity and high fidelity wireframe for a website of a client they are working with. This was to act as proof of my capabilities. Based on how well I do, that would determine if they would move forward to the second stage of the interviewing process, meeting with the team. After getting off the phone with Shan I was shaking, nervous, but excited! I wrote up a cover letter and sent an email of it along with my resume, portfolio, & social media links.
Unfortunately, the position they wanted to hire me into was not suitable for me as of right now since it was a full-time passion but Shan said not to worry as another part of the department needed a part-time intern. We continued to email and speak over the phone about the terms required of my internship. It took about a week and a half to 2 weeks to finalize the internship, from interview to agreement.
I had interviews for other internship positions going on during this waiting period since nothing was set in stone. But the main reason I chose to work with Shan & Clarkstech was definitely influenced by my friend’s recommendation. Due to this, as long as I do well in the internship, Shan said that there is a spot for me at their company after my internship and graduation. I was really interested in the many different digital products they offer. This means I could branch out to other departments if choose to hire me after my internship. I could also learn more about designing digital products and maintaining them on a client-to-client basis.
