Discovering Career Passion: How a Marketing Intern Found Her Path at Appian

Christine Ling joined Appian for the summer of 2024 as a Marketing Intern on the Web team. She is a rising junior at Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in Marketing with minors in Human-Computer Interaction and Sociology. Christine has a broad interdisciplinary background but wasn’t sure what her future career would be prior to entering college. Her goal for the summer internship was to find out which of the disciplines she enjoys doing in a real workplace setting to help her figure out her future career. Here is her story about the summer internship in Marketing at Appian. 

What attracted you to the internship position at Appian in the first place?

Appian was the only company that offered an in person interview which was interesting, especially in the post-pandemic era. I found the in-person interview very valuable – to step into the beautiful office, the conference room, and I immediately envisioned myself working here. The interview process was streamlined and time efficient. I recall it took about 2.5 weeks, which is very short for interview processes nowadays. 

“From the beginning, everyone made me feel like Appian cared about their interns; I felt like I am valued here.” 

How would you describe the company culture?

The culture is on par with other Tech companies, e.g. having free snacks in the office and the product-focused, innovative atmosphere. Marketing is a bit more formal than let’s say Engineering – you definitely notice it with the dress styles, but in terms of interactions, Marketing is still very friendly like the rest of the company. Overall, the office atmosphere is more laid back than if it was a Financial company. I really see this in my day-to-day interactions. Not only with the colleagues within my department, but as I am interacting with other departments, it’s consistent. People always say good morning and hold the door for you and it's a very friendly atmosphere to work in.

Tell us about a project you worked on during your internship that was your favorite, the most challenging, or the most exciting.

My most interesting project was the first one I worked on – it was a redesign of the 404 page on Appian.com. Initially, when I saw the project description, I was taken aback since designing 404 pages never crossed my mind. After I processed the project information, it made me really enthusiastic to work on it because while we never want a 404 error to happen, inevitably a broken page link will happen. I had to shift my thinking and really problem-solve. I had to figure out how to redirect the website visitors and maintain their interest. It was a cross-functional project as I worked closely with the business technology, creative, and content teams. I truly got to see the whole web page creation process from end to end. That was special because it’s not always typical for an intern project to be fully executed so it can have real business impact. The 404 page I redesigned is currently live! My work is truly out there, which feels good.

Would you say that the internship matched your expectations going into it?

At the beginning of the summer I wasn’t sure what to expect without past in-person corporate experience. Initially, I was expecting to get acclimated to working in an office with the 9-5 schedule and commute. I had to adapt to that schedule and learn how to navigate the office environment. I learned over time how to navigate various situations. For example, if I encounter a roadblock, I now know who to go to help me navigate that situation. Over the summer, I developed a sense of autonomy, and now I feel comfortable reaching out to new people to get my questions answered. 

“I also didn’t expect my projects to be so closely matched with my interests and skills – being able to provide my input on the type of projects I get assigned to was unexpected, but in a good way.“

It showed that my manager understood my background and foresaw what I can contribute with my skills, rather than give me some busy work typically allocated for the intern. 

What kind of impact has this internship had on you?

It helped me better understand where my strengths lie and where I’d like my career to go. Now that I’ve been doing UX research work in a marketing context, I’ve seen how I do really well in the intersection of marketing, project management, and UX. This is a realization that I most likely wouldn’t have come to without this internship because at school, these disciplines are separated. 

What are you most proud of that you’d accomplished at Appian?

I am most proud that I was able to make genuine connections this summer, both with people that I work with directly as well as those who weren’t on my immediate team. I am glad the office has been a place where I was made to feel as part of the Appian community. I always felt very included. It has been a really nice feeling given I am an intern who is here just for a short time. 

How have you expanded your professional network for your future career opportunities?

By having a lot of coffee chats, especially with people from different backgrounds and departments. I set a goal to have at least two coffee chats each week at the beginning of the summer. By following through with that goal, I’ve found so many different career paths, learned about people’s experiences, and have seen the kindness that people have.

Finally, what advice do you have for other students considering an internship with us?

Make an effort to get to know new people, especially around the midpoint of your internship when it may feel like you’ve been working with the same people for a while. Meeting new people will ensure you are continually learning and growing. My second piece of advice is to give your manager your feedback since they can’t read your mind. You have to advocate for yourself and your needs. As a result, I felt a lot more fulfilled since I was able to communicate with my manager openly about my personal and career goals as they related to the internship. 

Learn more about internship and campus hiring opportunities at Appian.