This Former Intern Now Mentors Other Interns as a Full-Time Employee: A True Story

At AvePoint, we believe in nurturing our interns to help them establish meaningful professional connections and relationships that can benefit their future careers. However, our internship program also serves as a platform for us to discover and attract talented individuals who could potentially become valuable full-time employees at AvePoint.

Over the years, we’ve witnessed numerous college students thrive during their internships with us and eventually join the company as full-time employees. One such success story is that of True Sandoval, who currently serves as AvePoint’s senior marketing analyst. True’s journey with AvePoint began as an intern in the summer of 2021.

Today, True is not only a full-time AvePoint employee; she’s also managing interns. Here’s a “True” story about her internship and employment journey.

From Internship to Employment at AvePoint

True was an exceptional intern who seamlessly integrated into AvePoint’s culture. Likewise, AvePoint was the ideal company for her to launch her career.

“There were a lot of opportunities to explore different projects and learn or use different skills,” she recalled.

“I knew at some point in my internship that I didn’t want to leave. It’s because, at AvePoint, I got to talk to a lot of different people from different teams. I liked how generous they were with their knowledge and with helping other people or walking them through their experience.”

In fact, True never left.

Shortly before True’s internship ended, a marketing analytics specialist role opened, and she grabbed the opportunity. Today, after about two years of working at AvePoint, True has gained more skills and has now experienced guiding an intern herself.

Adopting a New Way of Learning

As someone who now manages interns, True understands that – like when she was starting out – there’s a lot of room for learning for interns. And in some instances, it’s about exploring new ways of doing things. “I feel like coming from school, most times, you’re trained to want to do things one way. Whereas in work, there’s not always one right way,” she said.

“One of the greatest lessons for me was being more open-minded and not trying to do things in one specific way or getting stuck doing things one specific way. Try less to be perfect and just be braver.”

According to True, interns are not expected to know everything. She knows that, like other fresh graduates, interns often still lack real-world experience in business operations from the get-go. What matters is having a learning mindset and bringing their own unique perspective.

She also believes that initiative is vital to a productive internship. “Be proactive in everything – listening, showing your work, asking questions, and leveraging your environment.”

For young professionals, foundational skills and the right attitude are the most essential traits to succeed in their internship, she said.

Read: What Interns Actually Think Of AvePoint’s Internship Program

How Managers Can Better Guide Interns

True’s previous internship experience at AvePoint gave her a unique perspective on managing interns.

Recalling her own internship, True said that her manager at the time “was very attentive” to what she needed and gave her the flexibility and the freedom to expand her project. Now, she tries to mirror that experience by providing freedom and flexibility to her intern.

“In the project I gave my intern, I took her feedback and kept track of her learning. She gave some recommendations, and when there was a different angle she wanted to take or look more into, I definitely encouraged that,” True said.

“I tailor my management style to fit my intern’s learning curve. Coming from being an intern, I understood that to be an effective manager, we must learn how the interns learn.”

Now that she’s viewing internship from a manager’s lens, True encourages all leaders mentoring interns to adopt the same approach of providing flexibility and support.

“It can be a little overwhelming for interns to learn a bunch of information at first – they have to learn about the company and how the business works. Provide resources that interns can go back to. Also, don’t forget to be flexible and understand that things don’t usually go to plan.”

To learn more about our internship program, check out our Internships page. To see current job openings, visit our Careers page.