Recapping KnowBe4's 2023 Summer Internship Program

Virtually Onboarding Our Interns

At KnowBe4, our interns experience the same onboarding process as our full-time hires. This starts with icebreakers to build rapport within the intern team, their managers, and other teams they will be interacting with. Through a virtual scavenger hunt, interns meet key leaders, gaining insights into their roles. Plus, interns enjoy a complimentary lunch delivered to their homes during their first week.

In essence, our onboarding process integrates new team members, aligns them with KnowBe4's culture, and establishes a strong foundation for success.

"Our onboarding team loves being an integral part of the internship program year after year. Not only do we ensure the interns' first week is unforgettable, but we also get to bring that 'red carpet' experience through all 12 weeks of the program. By the end, our interns have made forever connections with one another. We love watching their success!"
-Lyss, Director of Global Onboarding, Clearwater, Florida, U.S.

Professional Development Workshops

After the initial onboarding and training phase, interns join their respective teams and start working closely with their managers. Throughout the internship, there are three workshops aimed at boosting professional development by bridging academic knowledge with hands-on experience.

For example, one of our sessions equips interns with essential skills to enhance their LinkedIn profiles and resumes, along with effective strategies for presenting themselves to potential employers. Another workshop is dedicated to helping interns plan their future career paths.

Ask Me Anything Sessions

Our interns also participate in “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) sessions with KnowBe4's senior leaders. The first session is with KnowBe4’s CEO, Stu Sjouwerman, where our hybrid interns get to meet Stu in person! During the rest of the AMA sessions, the interns meet with KnowBe4’s Chief Product Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer, and SVP of Global Talent. During the AMA sessions, the interns can ask these senior leaders anything they want, including questions about success, leadership, career advice, how to get a permanent position at KnowBe4, or personal questions. KnowBe4's leaders are transparent with the interns and provide them with crucial life lessons as well as funny stories. 

Internship Projects

A central part of our internship program is the projects interns work on during the entire summer. Instead of mundane tasks, interns focus on meaningful assignments within their departments. For example, courseware interns learn how KnowBe4 constructs courses using HTML, CSS, and Pug.js. They collaborate with content publishers to update storyline courses using our proprietary course builder. Similarly, our sales interns worked together to make an educational video for the entire company about the top sales techniques and strategies they learned during the internship program. These intern-led efforts provide tangible value to the interns and KnowBe4!

Team Building Activities

This year, our award-winning internship team organized multiple virtual and in-person team-building events for our interns. One of the most exciting internship events for our hybrid interns was the boating social! This event was held near our global headquarters in Clearwater, Florida. The interns and the internship team spent an afternoon cruising on a boat with a delicious lunch buffet and beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico. Our internship team did a fantastic job putting together this amazing event! 

Our interns also participated in multiple virtual events together, such as “The Escape Game”, where they worked to solve puzzles on their screens by brainstorming ideas in small groups. Interns even traveled on a "Virtual Trip Around the World," where they visited Spain & Italy and were able to ask local tour guides questions about the different cultures.

Our interns also worked together to create the design for their internship t-shirts! This is a fun project that incorporates silly inside jokes that are significant to our 2023 interns. The group's design was influenced by the different activities and landmarks on Clearwater Beach. They made it extra special by including things such as 13 shells on the tiki hut to represent all 13 interns, the Calypso Queen boat in the background from our boat day excursion, phishing hooks that represent our cybersecurity products, and the KnowBe4 logo on our office building in the downtown Clearwater skyline! 

Swag and Gifts

Swag and gifts are a fun part of KnowBe4’s internship program. After graduating from their first week of training, interns received two classic KnowBe4 shirts, a custom mouse pad, a KnowBe4 stainless steel cup, a pop socket, a KnowBe4 pen, and an umbrella. 

Throughout the program, the interns received several gift packages from KnowBe4, such as sweet treats from “The Stuffed Cookie." Upon graduation, the interns received even more swag from KnowBe4’s internship team! Their final gifts included a KnowBe4-branded Herschel backpack, a reusable orange tumbler, a wireless speaker, a pin, an internship-branded blanket, and the t-shirt the interns designed together.

Internship Graduation

For all of the hybrid interns and their managers, an optional in-person graduation party took place with delicious food, sweet treats, and fun music. They had a blast connecting in person one last time. 

Intern Perspectives

Check out what some of our interns had to say about spending their summer with us!

"Interning with KnowBe4 was a life-changing and incredibly eye-opening experience. I had the opportunity to meet so many professionals, learn and practice using cutting-edge technologies, and work on a software project that real customers will get to use. Both the internship team and the training team did an amazing job keeping everyone engaged with so many fun events and meetings, and the R & D team was always supportive whenever I felt stuck or needed help. The culture here is truly unique and the program exceeded every expectation that I entered it with, especially with it being remote. Most importantly, I learned that it is truly possible to love your job and be excited about work! I could not have asked for a better place to experience my first internship, and I’m so excited to have been given the opportunity to return full-time!" - Latasha, software engineer intern

"Working at KnowBe4 as an intern was eye-opening, and has helped me grow into both the professional and person I am. From start to finish of my internship, I felt like a valuable addition to KnowBe4 and to my team! I am lucky to say that I was able to be part of such an amazing internship program!" - Sara, optimization manager intern

Whether the interns continue to work at KnowBe4 full-time, return to school, or move on to pursue other opportunities, we strive to make our internship program an experience that will positively impact every intern and help them find success in their careers!

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