Making an impact as a remote design intern at Shopify
When I joined Shopify as a product design intern in January 2020, I was ecstatic to move to Ottawa and work at an amazing office, especially at the HQ! A couple of months into my internship term, the company went remote in response to COVID-19. At first, I wasn’t too worried about working remotely, especially since I’ve experienced what it was like working from home. However, I was worried about not delivering my fullest potential in terms of collaboration and communication. After a month of working from home, I’ve adjusted my work habits to ensure that I was making an impact as an intern.
As an introvert, I find that working from home has helped with my productivity. Although, there were times when I felt unmotivated and distant. I‘ve adopted various habits and ways to perform at a high level throughout my internship. For those who are starting their remote internships for the first time, I want to share some tips and advice that I learned from my remote internship.
Get to know your team
Luckily before the company went remote, I was able to interact with all the interns, my mentor, lead, and team. I took the time to build a connection and trust with my coworkers through 1:1s and coffee chats. But during this remote time, building and maintaining our interaction with coworkers is more important than ever. The best way to do so is to reach out to each member of your team and set up 15–30-minute coffee chats over Zoom. Ask for context about the project, team, and company, and chat about non-work-related topics to get comfortable with your coworkers!
Work meetings are great to keep each other updated on our work. During my online meeting, I love playing around with Snap Camera and joke around with my colleagues!
To strengthen team bonds, I’d suggest team-building activities such as playing Jackbox games and Animal Crossing, hosting an eating competition, or simply eating lunch together. It’s also a great way to get to know people and create friendships with your fellow teammates and interns.
Use collaborative tools
In my experience in planning for remote collaborations and workshops, it’s important to prepare tools to help facilitate collaboration and communication. There are many collaborative tools out there to whiteboard, brainstorm, and communicate ideas. For example, Figma, Miro, and Google Jamboard are excellent tools for design collaboration. Use all forms of collaboration and tools to help you and your team get shit done.
Share your work often
Working from home decreases visibility on our work. We can no longer glance over at coworkers’ computer screens to see what they’re doing. As an intern, it’s important to keep your teammates updated on your work. In a remote setting, I find that over-communicating and using various communication channels helped my teammates gather context on my work. For example, I’ve created documentations on Google Docs to show my work and project progress. I would share the document with the rest of the team and allow others to collaborate by adding comments and suggestions. During team meetings, I verbally share updates on my work without going deep into the details. If team members are looking for more information, I’d direct them to my documentation. I find that documenting my work saves a lot of time from repeatedly explaining my work to each person or in every team meeting.
Whether it’s written communication on Slack or verbal communication over Zoom or Google Meet, asking a ton of questions and providing extra context on your work will help others gain context and stay updated on your work.
Take the opportunity to share your work in group critiques and team meetings to gain visibility on your work. Gaining feedback as often as possible also helped me become a better collaborator and designer throughout the internship. I enjoyed pairing with designers, UX researchers, or developers on a project. From talking, sharing ideas, and even providing feedback, it allowed us to connect on a deeper contextual level.
Finding your work-life balance
While working from home, hours and days blend into one and I tend to lose track of time easily. Having a work-life balance becomes difficult because I find myself working during lunch and after-work hours. Having a work station right next to my bed makes it difficult to stay productive.
As a result, I try to block some time during the day to exercise, walk outside, or relax to rejuvenate myself. I let others know about my work schedule and when to book meetings with me according to my work habits. I’m usually in my “focus-mode” in the morning, so I would block that hour on my calendar to let others know that I’m busy during that time. As well, whenever I’m away from my computer screen, I would let others know by setting a status on Slack. Keeping your teammates in the loop of your work schedule allows them to message and/or book meetings with you at the right times.
Take advantage of everything
Ever since working from home, I felt distant from all the resources from the office. But, there are still so many online resources and we’re surrounded by experts in the company. Everyone, especially your mentor and lead, is willing to support your success as an intern. Set goals for yourself and seek resources to help you grow. Be proactive and reach out to amazing people to learn.
Have fun and build long-lasting friendships!
Bond with your team and other interns! Join group activities and get to know each other outside of work. Throughout the week, my team set aside some time to chat about anything that’s unrelated to work. A few interns and I bond outside of work by playing multiplayer games such as Jackbox games and League of Legends. It was really nice to bond with others especially when we’re all from different offices.
Remote internships may feel isolated and lonely but there are supportive folks who will help you make the most of your internship. Be a sponge and absorb as much knowledge as you can. Take advantage of the resources, and don’t forget to enjoy your internship!
