Employer Story - Marcus Bristol from Pushpay

We met with Marcus Bristol from Pushpay in Auckland, who onboarded three talented interns this summer. He shares why taking on interns has been rewarding for the team at Pushpay.

Is this your first time hiring interns?

We’ve been involved in Summer of Tech for six years. It’s been amazing; that’s why we keep coming back. We find the experience to be really smooth and supportive. Year after year, we get amazing interns.

Why do you hire interns? 

Giving back to the community and guiding young professionals also gives some of our senior engineers the opportunity to learn some mentoring and coaching skills. When we bring an intern in, they spend a lot of time with the mentor. They work together on a project, and it’s a really good experience for the (senior) engineer. We also get to play with a research project in a way we might not be able to do otherwise.

What value does an intern or graduate bring to the team?

The biggest value is the energy they bring! They are really passionate, eager to learn and add a lot of energy to the team. 

They really energize the team and ask questions, tell us stories. 

What did you look for in a candidate?

We don’t necessarily look for skills. Those can be taught. We look for attitude and aptitude. 

We look for their willingness and ability to learn; sometimes, we look into what they’ve been involved in at Summer of Tech and their academic careers. 

How active are they in the community, how passionate are they?

How has hiring an intern helped your business?

Hiring interns has helped us give back to the community, be innovative and brainstorm new features we could explore and introduce to our platform. 

Would you be interested in getting interns again in the future? Why?

Yes definitely! For the same reasons - to give them an opportunity to grow and teach them knowledge. Sometimes interns stay on, and we’ve had 50% of our interns stay as full-time employees. 

What has been the highlight of your work with the intern so far?

The passion they bring in. It invigorates everyone. Traditionally, the highlight is a presentation they do at the end of their internship. Even those who aren’t involved in the internship programme join to see what our interns have been working on. 

What is something you have learned from your intern?

I’m constantly surprised. I’ve been in the industry for years, new tech - same problems. There’s an assumption that interns are really green, but they soak up new knowledge like a sponge. 

Some individuals are a full member of the team by the end of the week without even trying. 

What is your top tip for a student interviewing for an internship? 

Have a conversation, ask questions, be human, be relatable.

You can read Marcus’s top tips for how to ace your job interview here: How To Ace Your Job Interview