Determined to foster the future of tech and ecommerce, eBay pushed forward with a virtual internship experience this summer to help shape the next generation of talent. We’re launching our Intern Spotlight Series and featuring interviews with the latest class of eBay interns to hear about how their virtual experience made an impact on their future careers in business, tech and marketing.
A communications major at Cornell University, Dami Odunowo approached her eBay virtual summer internship as a true learning experience, eager to hone her skills and find a clearer focus for her future career. Though she had dabbled in other areas of communications in the past, after 12 weeks working with the Global Employee Communications team, Dami now feels certain of her path ahead.
“My experience this summer has helped me decide how I’d like to start my career — in employee communications,” she said. “If I didn’t work at eBay this summer, I never would have discovered that.”
Dami was tasked with a project that showcased eBay’s culture, helping highlight employees that had won internal awards for their exemplary work promoting eBay’s mission to empower small business owners and foster entrepreneurship. As a result, she was able to connect with people across eBay’s global workforce, gathering testimonials and digging into eBay’s vibrant culture. Her contacts throughout the company — along with her friendships with her inaugural virtual internship cohort — left her with an indelible sense of community and a strong connection with eBay overall.
Dami talked with the eBay News team about her summer internship and the moments that will stay with her.
Any moments that especially stood out to you this summer?
I was tasked with highlighting the magical experiences of these awarded employees and documenting their relationship with eBay’s culture.
A large part of that project meant I had to reach out to and meet many different people that work in various areas of the business globally. This was by far the highlight of my internship because of the invaluable lessons and perspectives I was able to get from all these people. Also, finding a community and work family with the other interns was really meaningful — we became very close without having actually ever met in person.
It sounds like you found real connections?
I was surprised at how kind and welcoming everyone was to me, even as an intern. The sheer amount of virtual events and programming put on for all the interns to feel engaged was amazing, not just to learn about eBay’s culture but also to get to know each other. But more than that, being able to speak to and learn from leadership at all levels in the company was really impactful for me, and these meetings were all set up without us even requesting them.
What will you take away from your summer internship experience?
The biggest lesson I learned was that I can really do anything I set my mind to. This internship was the first time I’d ever worked in employee communications, or really in any role where I had to talk a lot and get to know other people. Now, I strongly believe employee communications is where I would like to begin my career.
What does eBay now mean to you?
To me, eBay means being authentically you and empowering others as you are. By sharing my insight and ideas with intern recruiters about how they can improve diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on college campuses, I feel like I have contributed in creating opportunities for others who look like me.
If you are considering eBay for an internship I’d say be open, be honest and be yourself from the very beginning of your recruitment because that’s what eBay is about: being authentic. If you do get the opportunity to intern here, I would say “Don’t miss it!” in 25 languages if I could.