With the end of summer getting closer, you might be wondering how to lock in a return offer at your internship.
These days, it's tough to even secure an internship at a big company — and Tinder is no exception. Tinder's Tindership program drew 30,000 applications per cycle for just 27 spots, a spokesperson for the company said.
What does it take to turn a such an internship into a full-time job? Business Insider spoke with three former Tinder interns who did just that. They said sharing their Gen Z perspective, voicing their opinions, and showing they understood the app helped them stand out.
Read on to learn how they landed full-time gigs:
Ryan Stewart, brand manager
Ryan Stewart, 28, joined the company as a design intern in London in 2021. He said that being an avid Tinder user helped him standout during the interview process.
"Knowing the product, if you have that insight that you can show, that's a gold star," Stewart said.
Stewart also said being based in the UK worked to his advantage. The European team was smaller, which gave him more visibility and opportunities to build relationships across the business. He said he prioritized asking questions, volunteering to help, and meeting people in different departments.
He also shared his perspective with leaders and scheduled one-on-one meetings with senior directors to learn more about the business. Although those conversations were intimidating at first, he said approaching them with curiosity made people receptive.
"If you're seen as being curious, there's no wrongdoing there, and I think you can you can go for it," Stewart said.
When his internship came to an end, Stewart took an unconventional approach to landing a full-time role. He pitched a position based on gaps he had identified during his internship.
"My mindset was: The worst thing they say is 'no,' and I'm already leaving anyway," Stewart said. "So I might as well might as well give it a shot."
Eric Brandon Kam, backend software engineer
Eric Brandon Kam, 28, first learned about Tinder's internship program in 2020, shortly after he downloaded the app for the first time.
Kam, who works in Tinder's Palo Alto office, said he believes the cover letter he wrote, which included mentioning a Tinder date, helped him stand out in a competitive applicant pool, where engineering internships often attract thousands of candidates. He said he made a point to highlight his experience as a Tinder user, showing that he understood the product from a customer's perspective.
During his internship, he said applied multidisciplinary engineering principles that he learned at Stanford. He said Tinder's culture values strong ownership from engineers.
"Instead of just implementing tickets, I gave my own perspective on how we could better engineer a project to prioritize both user outcome and long-term code health," Kam said.
Kam said he also stayed curious and communicated constantly, getting to know his coworkers and asking them about what they do.
He said that was "especially important for a remote internship."
Taylor Wong, product marketing manager
Taylor Wong, 25, got her start as a marketing intern in 2022 after hearing about the opportunity from a study abroad roommate whose uncle worked at the company.
Wong ended up extending her internship three times and worked part-time in college before getting an offer the spring of her senior year.
"I just kept sticking around," Wong said.
Wong said one of her biggest advantages was being part of Tinder's core audience. Since the company is heavily focused on Gen Z users, she said colleagues frequently turned to her for insight. Although she was initially intimidated to speak up in meetings with older, more experienced colleagues, Wong said seeing that the team genuinely valued her perspective gave her confidence.
"When you are the Gen Z person in the room, everyone wants your opinion," Wong said, adding that other interns should "lean into that superpower."
