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Spotify has overhauled its internship program in line with key future of work trends, including artificial intelligence and in-person collaboration.
In an article on its dedicated HR blog page, Michaela Osofsky, Talent Acquisition Manager at Spotify, and Amanda Yepez, Senior L&D specialist, outlined the purpose of Spotify’s annual internship program and the “new layers” being added for this year’s cohort.
This summer, the music streaming platform hired 99 interns across offices in Stockholm, London, and New York.
“It’s a vital part of our talent pipeline, building a strong bench of future leaders, innovators, and collaborators who are already tuned in to the strategy of what’s next,” Osofsky and Yepez stated.
‘Career & connection’ - What’s on offer for Spotify interns?
Spotify snaps up a fresh batch of interns each year, each of whom has successfully navigated a “rigorous, intentional interview process” with the company’s talent acquisition and hiring teams.
Top interviewees are lined up against “future areas of growth within the business,” ensuring the stream of early-career talent is fed into teams and departments that require fresh perspectives and skills: “It’s designed to align top emerging talent with our long-term workforce plans.”
According to the blog post, this approach means interns become “vital contributors” to the business, offering them the best chance of one day securing a position as a full-time bandmate (the term Spotify gives to employees).
Osofsky and Yepez noted the program’s objectives split into two key themes of career and connection.
To help grow their careers, Spotify interns start with a thorough onboarding process before they lead summer-long projects, benefiting from regular feedback that sharpens any technical, practical, or professional skills aligning with their personal goals.
To help build their connection with the company, interns are also given insight into Spotify’s history as a company, including past innovations, as well as current systems of work, patterns of collaboration, and future direction.
“Along the way, they build a professional network of peers, mentors, and leaders that provides perspective and support well beyond their summer with us,” the talent specialists explained. “Together, these elements create a holistic, immersive program experience, one that empowers our interns to see not just what they can do, but who they can become in this new age of working.”
Embedded throughout all that hard work are “cultural events, shared experiences, and, of course, some fun along the way.”
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What ‘new layers’ has Spotify added to its internship program?
Although the onboarding, networking, and fun very much remain a part of a Spotify internship, the streaming platform will this year include “new layers” in its program to “reflect the future of work.”
Namely, dedicated artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) education has been introduced to encourage interns to “think beyond the basics and imagine what’s next.”
“Every intern receives access to company-wide AI tools & trainings, providing a foundational understanding of how the technology is reshaping industries, workflows, and the future of work,” Osofsky and Yepez wrote. “Engineering interns take it a step further with ML Foundations, getting hands-on with concepts that fuel real-time innovation.”
Spotify interns will benefit from a newly-orchestrated ‘AI for the Product Experience’ event, offering attendees an in-depth look at how Spotify uses ML and AI within its existing products.
They will also be given access to broader opportunities for “hands-on experience, connection, and future-focused learning.”
Spotify’s talent team asserted their confidence that the newly expanded internship program will be worth the investment: “It’s a vital part of our talent pipeline, building a strong bench of future leaders, innovators, and collaborators who are already tuned in to the strategy of what’s next."
