AppLovin’s Engineering Interns Grow Their Confidence: ‘The Work Was Meaningful and Impactful’
by Claire Tak on Sep 10, 2020
A part of what makes AppLovin’s culture so exceptional is the regular feedback we get from team members, including our rockstar interns.
Monica Bellare and Maggie Lim who joined the internship program at AppLovin, appreciated the quick responsiveness from the recruiting department. Both women entered the program as engineering interns at around the same time and had the desire to be a part of a thriving, fast-moving startup.
“AppLovin was a bigger company than other startups I had been with in the past and for me, that was super exciting. The work that I created ended up being meaningful and impactful,” Monica explained.
The recruiting experience: AppLovin is quick and responsive
Maggie, who first learned of AppLovin through the Winter Career Fair at UCLA, said she was impressed by how quickly AppLovin’s University Recruiter Diana Nguyen moved forward with her application.
“Diana gave me a personality screening right then and there because she thought I was a good fit. Other places I had applied to were slow to get back to me. AppLovin was definitely fast and it made me feel confident towards the company, as a whole.”
Beyond fast response times, both Maggie and Monica said the interview process was smooth and professional. After Monica’s initial interview, she had a few more technical interviews in the office.
Maggie flew up from SoCal for her interview, right before the lockdowns caused by the pandemic. As the uncertainty of how the workforce would handle the coronavirus situation, Maggie appreciated regular updates from Diana.
Diana’s response? “I’m happy that their experience even in the early stages was a positive one and their internship was that much better because of it!”
Internship experience as women engineers
Maggie and Monica opened up about what it’s like being in a male-dominated industry. Despite sometimes feeling like she has a little bit of imposter syndrome, Maggie is working on improving her confidence.
“I’ve heard passing comments at school and at previous jobs where people say, ‘It’s so easy for you to get that job because you’re a girl.’ It made me feel like I only got this internship because I’m female and not because I actually have skills as an engineer.”
At AppLovin, Maggie and Monica didn’t feel coddled—the praise they received was because they grew their experience and skillset as engineers.
When asked about how she’s better prepared for the real world, Maggie responded, “I’m better prepared and I feel more confident about working with production code.”
Monica agreed, “I now know how I work and how to structure my day with a 9-5 job.”
Improving technical chops at AppLovin
Before joining the program, Monica thought she would work strictly on backend projects but discovered it was more full-stack.
She emphasized, “It was something completely new to me and there was definitely a learning curve, but I gained so much knowledge about how front-end code works. It’s a different style than learning at school because you’re constantly working. My mentor is always there to answer questions and as a result, I’ve learned so much faster.”
Maggie, who came into the internship with one systems class under her belt, explained, “I learned to get over my fear of asking questions or waiting too long to ask them. This experience taught me to be more succinct when asking others for help. Before asking, I first gauge my ability level.”
After their internship wraps up, the two women plan on finishing their bachelor’s degrees. Maggie may explore a master’s degree while Monica plans to find a full-time job, post-graduation.
Want to join AppLovin? See our open positions.
Claire Tak is Marketing Manager, Content at AppLovin.
