This has been a summer like no other for interns at eBay Inc., and nothing brought that home like the Power [UP] intern conference, which brought together all eBay Inc. interns from across North America for three days of inspirational sessions in San Francisco at the end of July.
The conference was the biggest event in the first year of University Programs (UP), with 453 interns in attendance. They heard from senior executives, top sellers and new employees who are just out of college. They also did breakout sessions and enjoyed fun activities, from a puppy room to casino games.
eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe, at left, spoke to the interns on the second day of the conference.
“I view your coming into our company as one of the most important future indicators of our success,” he told them. “Because you represent the future leaders of this company, and you can help us start innovating right off the bat. I know you’re already doing that -- I’ve heard stories of the impact you’re having already.”
He told them about his own career trajectory and his aspirations for the company, and answered interns’ questions.
“eBay Inc. is committed to recruiting university students into our talent pool, and interns are key to that strategy -- our internships are our primary pipeline for fulltime positions,” said Jen Lamorena, senior manager, University Programs, who organized the conference. “The intern conference was designed as the cornerstone of our interns’ summer experience.”
By all accounts, the interns were impressed.
“The intern conference was an eye-opening experience because it brought us out of our little team bubble and showed us exactly what makes eBay the commerce giant it is,” said Sid Sethi, a Buyer Experience intern.
“Being able to spend three days with fellow interns in a close-knit environment was amazing,” added Cecilia Gutknecht, an intern with eBay Research Labs. “Not only were we able to build relationships, we were able to do so while participating in events that were inspirational and thought-provoking.”