Asking the Questions that Matter: Sponsoring an Employee Network Group
Amy and her “grandpuppy,” Tucker.
Career development has been a passion of mine and an important part of my career since long before I joined Palo Alto Networks three years ago. So, it was a fortunate coincidence that I was asked, within two months of coming to work here, to step in as an executive sponsor for the company’s Early in Career Employee Network Group (ENG).
In fact, the opportunity landed on my lap — my colleague, who was the sponsor at the time, was unable to attend the group’s meet and greet and asked if I could take his place at the event. Soon afterward, he realized that his schedule didn’t really allow him to continue as a sponsor, and it made good sense for me to take on that role. After all, it was congruent with my position at the company, which at the time was Vice President of Corporate Sales — a role that, among other things, involved bringing on new talent through LEAP, the company’s early-in-career recruitment and training program.
The Early in Career ENG plays an important part in helping employees who are just starting out in their careers to make connections, seek advice, share concerns or frustrations, and develop their skills. It doesn’t necessarily mean its members have to be fresh out of college — some have been working for many years but are just starting out in cybersecurity. Issues that crop up for members include such things as establishing work-life balance, navigating finances, finding answers to work-related questions, strengthening time-management skills, identifying mentors, finding training opportunities, building professional and personal confidence, forming friendships, and finding their voice. Events range from book clubs to speaker sessions, educational presentations, training webinars, the occasional virtual happy hour, and much more.
The year 2020 has presented additional challenges, including isolation — many are recent grads and single, living alone — or feelings of disconnectedness from peers. Socials and meet-and-greet events are often a lifeline for those starting out in their careers, and with those opportunities taken off the table due to the pandemic, finding alternative ways to connect and network is essential in helping these employees stay engaged. For those fresh out of college or new to full-time employment, basic infrastructure, such as desks or designated work areas, is lacking, which adds to the difficulty of working from home. The support, advice, and connection this ENG provides are especially valuable to this group of employees, who appreciate being able to share their experiences with others who “get it.”
Being an executive sponsor doesn’t make me a leader, but rather a sounding board, advocate, cheerleader, and advisor. All the various ENG groups at Palo Alto Networks develop programs and events that are intended to be meaningful to constituent members and drive visibility across the organization. This involves considerable planning and budgeting, which I participate in. Because of my background, I can assist them in building their personal brands and bring vision to the group. I can also help spread the word about issues or concerns facing these employees or opportunities for others in the organization to participate in events or be more inclusive of early-in-career employees.
I also see raising questions as an important part of my role — questions related to what outcomes they’re seeking and how they can achieve them. I see it as the executive sponsor’s responsibility to raise questions they didn’t think to consider, to tease out their thinking and help them come up with solutions.
We all remember our first or second job, and we remember the people who were there to help lift us off. That’s why the Early in Career ENG — as well as the many ENGs we have here at Palo Alto Networks — is so important. It offers a sense of belonging as well as opportunities to both lead and follow, growing their confidence as they do. I avidly study social psychology, and one person known in this space, Brené Brown, once wrote, “We’re hardwired for connection.” Without connection in a company as large as ours, a person can easily get lost. An ENG creates a community where a person can feel safe and understood, and in turn, it helps them to feel more closely tied to the company. It not only benefits the individual but as a result, the company enjoys less turnover and happier, more productive, more engaged employees.
A company always has to be cautious that it doesn’t become exclusive in its efforts to be inclusive. That’s why an ENG is valuable for every employee, whatever affinity group we identify with. Participating in an ENG, even if you aren’t early in your career, offers a window into the issues facing those employees, as well as a deeper understanding of their ideas and perspectives, which can aid in innovation as well as recruitment and retention efforts. We’re never too experienced to learn from others which is why establishing and sponsoring ENG groups is a worthwhile investment.
Where Design Meets Technology
Since the beginning of my career in 2004, I’ve been concerned with how end-users interact with technology. My work addresses the intersection between web design and back-end technology, and my focus is on functionality, readability, and quality of user interface (UI) on Palo Alto Networks’ XDR threat detection and response application. As Senior Front-End Developer, I create the UI that enables customers to successfully visualize security incidents, allow those incidents to be analyzed, isolate infected machines, and more, all resulting in superior protection against cyber attacks. What I find most exciting about my work is that the features I develop impact and help secure the largest companies in the world and that every single line of code I write has a meaning and is visible by tens of thousands of people (at least!).
One of the most visible features I have developed is the application’s dashboard, which loads as the default page when customers open the application and is, therefore, the most-viewed page. It summarizes the security incidents collected by our system and allows users to navigate from there to specific incidents they would like to explore in more detail. And probably the feature I’m most proud of developing is the Remote Terminal, a useful and sophisticated feature that allows a security specialist to connect to an endpoint that might be infected by malware, run remote commands on it, view the task manager, pause and stop processes, and more, just as they would if they were working locally on that machine.
A Positive Culture
Since the moment when my hiring process began at Palo Alto Networks in 2018, I have felt that this is truly one of the best places to work — it is definitely the best place I’ve ever worked. Not only is it appealing to work for the largest cybersecurity company in the world, but my interactions with everyone at the company, from the professional and courteous recruitment specialist to my hiring manager, my department’s vice president, and everyone on my team, have been positive and welcoming.
Even after being here for over two years, I still feel this way. The company places high value on knowledge sharing, collaboration between teams, and trust between managers and employees. There’s no micromanaging. You won’t see Human Resources or managers tracking every work hour we put in; they don’t need to. Instead, there’s implicit trust and mutual accountability because everyone is dedicated to doing their best work here. This creates a unique work environment where people give their all and, even in stressful times, the feeling is positive and supportive.
In my short time with this company, I’ve learned a tremendous amount. I’ve learned how to cope with colleagues of different types and personalities. I’ve learned to prioritize tasks and work independently while also improving my multitasking ability. And I’ve learned that knowledge sharing and collaboration are the best ways to make the company succeed. I’ve taken these lessons to heart as I’ve grown in my ability to deliver the best possible features for customers.
As a woman, I can say that Palo Alto Networks has excellent employees of both genders, and I work daily with other great female developers, product managers, and quality engineers. Although I think some women may feel intimidated to work in technology, they shouldn’t. The atmosphere here is very empowering for women, and I’ve never felt like I was a minority.
I hope more women join this company because I’d like everyone to be able to experience the same positive environment and perks as I do.
Frog in a Well: Employee Network Groups Expand Your View of the World
There is an old Hindi tale about kupamanduka, which translates to “frog in a well.” In the story, the frog imagines his well is the largest water body that exists and that the small circle of sky he sees above is the limit of the horizon. In his ignorance about the world, he is happy, but the tale offers a cautionary note about the dangers of insularity, which can lead to intolerance and a lack of personal growth or understanding of the world. In the technology sector, where innovation relies on a wealth of diversity, staying in the well can keep you from being successful.
I am originally from a small valley in the Kashmir region of India, where we were isolated and had limited visibility and access to the rest of the world. In short, I was a bit like kupamanduka. It wasn’t until I left for college in urban Bangalore that I came to realize how many different cultures and languages were spoken within India, and I began learning the nuances of other people’s culture like never before. It was only the beginning of my personal transformation as I moved to the United States soon after my bachelor’s degree to work and study for MBA at University of Arkansas.
We often hear of people in technology coming from Asia to the Bay Area, where it is possible to remain inside a bubble with people just like me. I believe if I had done that, to begin with, I wouldn’t have learned as much about American culture as I did. I was in the middle of nowhere and took a job working for Walmart — an American institution I had never heard — and I was one of the first Indians they had hired. It was a very monochromatic culture, mostly white and a few African Americans, so I really stood out as different. I am intensely curious by nature, and during my time there I learned a lot about American culture, had my portion of cultural gaffes, understood better the way Americans do things, and I built a lot of friendships. But I also experienced, outside of work, instances of racism and bias that are inherent with people who are ignorant or don’t know enough about other cultures beyond the stereotypes they’ve heard. I had to overcome that and was extremely fortunate to have really good friends and mentors who stood by me; we learned from each other and expanded our horizons as a result.
There are 48 countries in Asia, and roughly 25 of those are represented by employees here at Palo Alto Networks. For many non-Asian people, their understanding of those countries as distinct, and of the great diversity found among Asian people, are a lot like the frog’s — greatly limited. Ensuring that our Asian employees feel heard, understood, and supported and that others within the organization have the opportunity to learn from them and expand their understanding of the world, are top priorities in this organization. That’s why the InnovASIAN employee network group (ENG) was established in early 2020, joining a whole host of ENGs for a wide range of underrepresented populations within Palo Alto Networks. When I was approached about being the executive sponsor for this new ENG, I saw it as a great opportunity to expand horizons for myself and our employees.
As executive sponsor, I’m not leading or making decisions for the group, but I’m helping by offering guidance, advocating on behalf of the group to inform decision- and policy-making, and lending executive-level perspective to education and events. I can help spread the word about activities and discussions the group is developing, and lead by example by participating in them.
I’m able to use my role to offer guidance on career growth among our company’s Asian community — providing advice on finding mentors, taking on new responsibilities, and developing professional skills — and I can play an active role in trying to eradicate biases by helping our group to be external facing and educate others about our cultures, mentorship programs, through activities such as fares of Asia, making foods native to their countries, or participating in cultural holidays or observances. For example, for Diwali, the Festival of Lights, we welcomed our company CEO and Chairman Nikesh Arora and President Amit Singh to participate in making chai (tea) and share what Diwali means to them. It’s education that feels approachable, not onerous, and yet is powerful in how it allows people of different backgrounds to feel connected.
Since coming to America, I’ve seen that what makes us great is the diversity of thought and ability to surround ourselves with people from all walks of life and learn from each other, regardless of caste, color, or creed. It is only by doing this that we “frogs” can see beyond our wells and truly understand the world. That’s the power of an ENG.
Serving Those Who Served
When most people think of military veterans, they acknowledge the courage, the selflessness, and the discipline it takes to serve. They’re grateful, recognizing the sacrifices that often accompany the choice to stand and take an oath to defend their country against all enemies. Not many people can do that.
When veterans return home, they often face unexpected difficulties in transitioning the skills they’ve earned to civilian life and the workplace. Yet veterans are a tremendous asset to any workplace. They bring outstanding leadership skills, a willingness to volunteer for challenging assignments, as well as an ability to adapt to various situations quickly. They have sticktoitiveness that allows them to press through obstacles and accomplish goals in spite of them. Of course, from a technology standpoint, veterans also bring an impressive and unique skill set to any organization or enterprise. You know when you hand projects off to a veteran, those projects will be taken across the finish line successfully.
By the time I was 12 years old, I knew that I wanted to serve. I went on to attend the United States Naval Academy and served in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years. In my post-military career, I’ve been passionate about veterans affairs and advocating on their behalf, and I have actively sought opportunities to contribute in that way. It’s what led me to become a board member of the Marines Memorial Association, a nonprofit organization that honors veterans and their families through education and service. And a few months ago, another valuable opportunity landed in my lap — I was asked to serve as the executive sponsor for Palo Alto Networks’ employee network group (ENG) for veterans, the Veterans Employee Network.
The Power of ENGs
For those who participate in the Veteran Employee Network, the group offers a way to connect with others who have similar backgrounds and perspectives. This opportunity is a global one as nearly all veterans share common principles of the workplace and ethics. Though we come from different areas around the globe and served in a multitude of ways, those of us with military experience naturally seek out others who share that background and commitment. An ENG provides a convenient venue in which we can seek out professional connections and friendships with others who have similar mindsets and values. And it’s a way to enable veterans to join together in service efforts, such as fundraising events or other opportunities to volunteer for the community. Plus, who better to offer support to a veteran than another veteran?
ENGs in general provide an avenue for expressing concerns to company leaders, and they can act as a unified voice for a population that may not otherwise be understood or considered in the decision-making process. An ENG can amplify members’ input, for example, on how to attract and hire veteran talent or engage or support existing employees. Palo Alto Networks’ Black employee network, Ujima — a group for which I was executive sponsor until recently — was particularly valuable in the summer of 2020 during a period of intense social unrest. The perspectives shared by Ujima members were particularly valuable in helping to shape how company leaders approached and made decisions about the organization’s messaging on the issue and how it would take care of its employees. An ENG allows leaders to take a group’s pulse, solicit feedback, and use that feedback to shape their actions.
As an executive sponsor, the responsibilities of the role are mostly strategically oriented. I offer suggestions for increasing engagement by our company’s veterans and how we might have more impact as part of the Palo Alto Networks workforce. I can help share messaging about events so that veteran and non-veteran employees alike feel welcome to attend and can benefit from the insights offered. And as a member of the executive team, I can act as a conduit for information so that the group’s input is truly heard by the people who need to hear it.
Diversity and inclusion are top priorities at our company, but I also believe that every company can do more to identify prospective employees who are veterans and tap into the talents and experiences they can bring to the job. The two areas are in fact complementary to one another and not mutually exclusive. That’s why all employees are welcome to participate in ENGs, not just those who identify as members. In the Veteran Employee Network, we have members who are related to veterans and are familiar with those experiences and challenges and perhaps have even lost loved ones who served.
It’s so important that we give employees the space to continue to be who they are in the workplace and to express what makes them unique. And it’s crucial that their colleagues and managers understand the distinct challenges they face and what attributes they can bring to the table. Being an executive sponsor or participant in an ENG enables this kind of exchange.
I often joke with my wife that on my tombstone, I want written, “Husband, father, United States Marine.” I only served for a handful of years, but it made such a huge impact on who I am, personally and professionally. Most veterans feel that way about their service; it’s a component of their personalities, and I’m proud to say that our ENG provides space in which to share that.
A Huge LEAP on My Career Path
I’ve always been interested in technology and engineering, and my professional background includes nearly 10 years’ experience in aerospace engineering. But I became interested in cybersecurity and decided to earn my master’s degree in cybersecurity from Drexel University, in hopes of working as a systems engineer. Despite this training, however, I had a hard time finding work in the field.
Most of the job postings for systems engineers that I encountered were asking for several years’ worth of experience. I had significant professional experience, but not in this particular field. And how was I to begin obtaining those years of SE experience if I couldn’t even get my foot in the door? There had to be a way — and I found it in the SE Academy, part of Palo Alto Networks’ LEAP Program.
I attended a conference for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and that’s where I encountered Palo Alto Networks for the first time. I met a small group of representatives from the company, and I was impressed with their obvious passion for it. I applied to work here — three times, in fact — and each time I got a little further in the process. But all those positions were for people with more advanced technical backgrounds than I had.
However, during one interview, one manager mentioned that the company was starting up this SE Academy, and he asked if that was something I would be interested in. “Absolutely,” I told him. Within just a few months, I got the opportunity to interview for the Academy, and I received an offer shortly thereafter. So far, it has been just the experience I was looking for!
Inside the Academy
The LEAP Program is designed for new graduates, offering tailored professional development in various specialties through its Academies — in systems engineering, sales, research & development, and product management — to help those early in their careers to accelerate their growth. The SE Academy is a two-year program that provides foundations in security basics, networking, whiteboarding, and more, with professional certifications being part of the process.
This is no internship. Though the SE Academy provides us with learning opportunities, we are full-time, professional systems engineers who are given the latitude to learn in hands-on fashion — by doing the work.
Those accepted into the program get to select one of three tracks: corporate systems engineering (CorpSE), DevOps, and proof of concept (POC). The Academy is fairly new, with the first cohort in our Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) territory having only begun in late 2019. I am one of a small cohort of just three who comprise the first American cohort, which began in February 2020. Since then, the second cohort of five has begun the program as well.
In my CorpSE track, I’m working with the corporate sales team to assist companies of all sizes with their cybersecurity needs. I’m getting plenty of at-bats to understand customer environments and how our products fit those environments. Working alongside a sales rep, I investigate the customers’ needs and work as a trusted advisor who understands the technical aspects of our products but can explain them in user-friendly terms. It’s not so much about pushing for a sale; it’s about making sure you are addressing pain points and offering help where they need it most.
Working with customers is something I love about this job, but I also love that no two days are the same. Every customer and every situation is different, so I’m excited to come to work each day. And while I do love working with customers and being social, I also get to indulge my inner “tech nerd” on occasion as well, so it’s the best of both worlds.
And while I am working as a full-fledged SE, I’m still learning, and all of my colleagues are incredibly supportive of that. It’s okay to make mistakes — they welcome it because they know that’s the best way to learn.
Yet no one treats me as if I’m an intern or as if I am not a “real” employee. No one is trying to weed me out. They want me to succeed. Everyone makes themselves accessible to LEAP participants, no matter how high up they are on the totem pole. Not only are people available, but they really listen; they’re interested in my experiences and concerns. And when I express interest in trying something new and unfamiliar, they encourage me to go for it, because this is the entire foundation on which the company was built: Pushing the envelope and doing what hasn’t been done before.
All in all, I would say that if you have a passion for solving problems and engaging with people, this is the position for you. Just bring your most genuine, best self, and you might find this is the right fit for you.
Developing Women’s Leadership Potential
Palo Alto Networks has been running a project called “Women in Cyber,” and I’ve had the privilege to expand this initiative with my team in Taiwan, China, and South Korea for the past year. I’ve been fortunate to have great dialogue with the women in the industry from our various sessions. And one of the most memorable moments was when, after a speech I gave in Seoul, a young Korean Ph.D. student approached me and asked me a question I loved: “What motivates you, Wenting?”
I was always motivated to achieve academically and to accelerate my path to a career. I started to seek out sources of motivation on my journey, and I learned quickly that I am most motivated by the achievements of others — seeing them be inspired, influenced, and empowered sets a great example for me. In the meantime, I continue to discover new sides of myself, and I hope to continue improving and inspiring others in order to give back to society.
The Journey to Becoming a Leader
I started my career as an individual contributor and then, over time, developed into a manager and people leader. As much as I enjoyed the autonomy and flexibility of being an individual contributor, I was excited when I saw what I can achieve through others, and this motivated me to shift to a new gear in terms of my own work. The myth I had believed was that as a manager, I would simply be delegating work to others in order to meet the goals set forth within a team and company, not making my own contributions.
As my management journey continued, I saw that both of these scenarios were the case. We all eventually would like to achieve business goals; however, achieving with excellence is difficult, and the business continually needs more talent. I started to realise that, as a leader, I was an enabler, and as such, my singular objective was to identify and amplify the strengths of those with whom I worked. It’s about understanding what motivates your employees and improves their wellbeing, and it’s about making this the best possible workplace for them.
Advice to Women for Developing Leadership Skills
If you’re looking to enter leadership yourself, I would recommend taking these steps for professional development:
Get a mentor. It’s never easy to be self-aware enough to identify and confront your vulnerabilities. One of the ways to do this that I have found effective is to have a work or life mentor. A mentor is just like a mirror showing me who I am and how I can transform those vulnerabilities into strengths. Although it is never comfortable to face our weaknesses or the parts of ourselves that need improvement, you might feel you embrace this new chapter when you find you’re more able to contribute at work and discover that you enjoy the new you that arises from the transformation.
Get out of your comfort zone and learn new things. Resilience can be developed. Getting out of our comfort zones and putting ourselves in situations where we can learn new things can unleash our potential. I was born and raised in Taiwan. When I was in my late twenties, I decided to live in North Africa for a few years and simply challenge the way I had been living. I wrote a series of articles about my journey in Morocco, from the beginning, when it was so hard to immerse myself in the culture, to the end of my time there, when I had eventually come to respect and appreciate all those differences. I would say my time there was one of my best life experiences because it opened my mind to places and people I had never before experienced.
Have a growth mindset. Continuing to learn and having a growth mindset are critical. The very first product for me to sell, more than 20 years ago, was a load balancing, disaster recovery system, which today is built by default on a laptop or a server today. The technology evolves, and we need to continue learning to keep up to speed and reflect the way we can contribute to society. While I am writing this article, the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting everyone’s life and the world economy. In order to tackle this, we must continually adapt to all types of situations, and making the best decision is never easy.
In my conversations with women leaders, for the most part, the views they’ve shared with regard to how they got where they are today and what their biggest challenges have been did not have anything to do with their gender. From my observations, the critical factors to their success have been their characteristics of resilience, adaptability, and a growth mindset — traits we should all develop on our own career journeys.
Everyone wants their voice to be heard, and everyone has a dream. If we can help others to fulfill their dreams and have their voices heard, that is a gift we all benefit from.
Discovering My Path
Neel Kattumadam, Software Engineering Intern
It may sound odd coming from someone who just finished a software engineering internship, but when I graduated high school, I wanted to be a doctor. I was accepted into UT Austin, and once I started college, however, I quickly realized that becoming a doctor was a fantasy, because it wasn’t my love for medicine that made me want to pursue that career. As corny as it may sound, what drew me to medicine was helping people with their problems and finding solutions for them. And that applied to technology as well as to medicine.
I had already been taking computer science courses, so I decided to pursue a career in that field. Once I graduated from UT Austin in May 2019, I started looking into graduate programs, and I was accepted into Carnegie Mellon University’s Master of Science in information systems program, which I began last fall. I went into the program most interested in data science, but the more courses in software engineering that I took, the more I liked it.
So when it came time to start exploring internships for the coming summer, I applied to a host of computer science internships, including the Palo Alto Networks program. Its focus on software engineering was appealing to me, and over the course of this three-month program, I’ve decided that this is the career for me.
In general, my team was working on projects that, in several ways, allow us to customize our products to suit the customers’ needs and their unique work setups. My work in particular involved creating a best practices assessment. I came in after the sale had been made and the customer was learning how to best use the product. I love interacting with customers, helping solve their problems, and optimizing their products to improve the way they work, so this was exactly the kind of thing I set out to do!
It never felt like work to me. I never felt like it was a grind to work three or four hours on a project — instead, it was more like, “Oh cool, now I can learn more about this!” I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that with any other subject.
Going Remote
Of course, when I applied and was accepted for this internship, my expectation was that I would return home to the Bay Area from Austin, TX, and work at Palo Alto Networks’ headquarters. But the coronavirus changed everything, and in March I was told that my internship would be done remotely. I left school and moved home to Saratoga, CA, and I spent the three months of my internship working from home.
Surprisingly, I loved working remotely. I enjoyed being able to structure my own day rather than arriving at a designated time. I’m not exactly a morning person, and if I’d had to go to the office, I would have had to wake up early and then sit in traffic for 30 to 45 minutes just to be there on time. But because I was working remotely, I was able to adjust the schedule so that I was at my best — starting my day a little later in the morning and working a little later into the evening. Not only that but I enjoyed having flexibility in my work environment. Sometimes I worked at my desk, sometimes at the kitchen counter with my mom. Sometimes I worked straight through, and sometimes I took a break and watched the news with my family. I think this flexibility allowed me to stay fresh.
Of course, it wasn’t always easy. I think going to work in an office is definitely the best way to network. I only knew three or four interns in my class, and that may have been my fault, because I immediately started flooding myself with work, and I didn’t hop on as many Zoom events as I could have. The face-to-face connections you make with peers when you’re in a workplace are really valuable, so if there’s one drawback to working remotely, I’d say that was it.
However, even though I’ve been remote the entire time, Palo Alto Networks’ human resources and recruiting services are 100% better than any I’ve seen at any other company. I had done an internship the previous year with a large, established, very well-known company, and during that time I only spoke to the recruiter a couple of times and was invited to a couple of socials at bars, things like that. But even being entirely remote with Palo Alto Networks, this was hands-down a better experience for staying connected.
Almost every day, there were opportunities to socialize and connect with each other, to hear speakers share their ideas and experiences, and to learn about new technologies or ways to improve the work we were doing. We even played interactive games using Kahoot or other apps, and the prizes were incredible — an Apple watch, gift cards to Amazon, and more. Gestures like this demonstrate that the company’s doing well, which is reassuring, but also that interns are worth that level of investment. There are numerous small groups that we were part of as well, and in my group, the Global Customer Support group, there was a team of about 15 interns who met every week to share common interests, compare experiences, or ask advice.
In fact, my internship experience was so positive that my manager was able to get approval to extend my internship, giving me the ability to work for Palo Alto Networks part time while I continue school. I would highly recommend this experience, both for the tremendous learning and professional experience you’ll get as well as for the connections you’ll make along the way.
LEAP Sales Academy Offers Hot Career Prospects
Tara Aspin, Business Development Representative
As most people who are early in their careers know, finding a full-time job in your desired field right out of college is a challenge. As someone who’s interested in sales, what I often see is ads for positions that require one to two years’ experience. That may not seem like a lot, but even if you’ve worked a couple of internships, those are typically only about three months long, so by the time you graduate, you still fall short.
While I was completing my bachelor’s degree in Graphic Communication and Management at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, I took a summer internship with Cambridge CM, a construction management company in the Bay Area, California. That’s when I discovered Palo Alto Networks — Cambridge managed the building process of its new headquarters in Santa Clara. I grew interested when I saw the building and how well-appointed it was, so I started doing a little research into the company.
I didn’t really know anything about Palo Alto Networks, but I have always been interested in technology, and I knew cybersecurity was a growing field, so I was curious about whether they had any sales positions available. That’s when I discovered Palo Alto Network’s unique offerings for new grads, the LEAP program, and among its various academies was the Sales Academy. During this one-year program, I would get the opportunity to work as a full-time employee while also being given an opportunity to learn and develop my sales skills — all within the safe confines of an early-in-career program where I’m expected to be inexperienced and learning the ropes. Not only that but the company’s trajectory and workplace culture, from what I could see, seemed exciting to me, so I applied to the program.
Over the course of just a month, I interviewed with a recruiter and three different managers within the sales team, and by September 2019, I was part of the Business Development Representative team at Palo Alto Networks!
Inside the Academy
My year has certainly been exciting! Of the 10 of us in the Sales Academy, four of us were at headquarters, and we were able to work together in the office, collaborating and asking questions, so I had a fantastic support system and was never the odd one out. Early on, we would also do Zoom calls with the teams in Plano, Texas, and New York, learning about cybersecurity and all our products and verticals. We got to try our hand at making and delivering presentations, in groups and solo, which was tremendously helpful in building my confidence in working with customers.
Within about two months, we were each given a territory to cover, and I was assigned to our State, Local, and Education (SLED) accounts in the Northwest. I worked with other Business Development Reps and Field Reps to determine the best tactics for developing new business, and I discovered an array of prospecting tools. I got to work side by side with colleagues in an office for a few months before COVID hit and forced us all to work remotely from home. And although working from home brought new challenges, I no longer had to commute in Bay Area traffic (a definite plus!), and I was already very used to working with team members in other parts of the country, so conducting business and collaborating with peers virtually was something we were all used to doing already.
Valuable Lessons
One of the most important things I’ve received from the Sales Academy is confidence in speaking with customers. I’ve learned so much about how to help customer’s pain points with our products, and the work on presentations I’ve done has really prepared me to talk to customers in a professional way and to address their unique needs.
I’ve also learned a whole lot about time management since I had to manage my day-to-day work prospecting accounts while also making time to expand my product knowledge and prepare quality presentations I’d been assigned. That time-management training will serve me well as I grow in my career.
Early on, I was really intimidated about talking to more experienced team members within the company. I quickly realized that everyone was so helpful and really wanted me to succeed. It has been extremely valuable to set up internal calls with my coworkers, to pick their brains and learn about their career journeys in sales.
The company is certainly generous in terms of its perks — the fancy snack bars, donation matching, the stipends to help us cover home office expenses while working from home, and more. But more importantly, the generosity I’ve found in people who offer their time and commitment to my success has made all the difference. I look forward to continuing to grow in this role and learn even more about this industry and this company.
Culture of Empowerment
Since I was a kid, when my parents gave me a MacBook, I’ve been interested in technology. From there, I fell down the rabbit hole — I knew right away I wanted to grow up to have a career in technology. I started out learning things like PhotoShop, then progressed to programming in high school, and now I’m in my last semester of my bachelor’s program in computer science at UT Austin. Once I got to college, I started looking for high-quality internships to prepare myself for the professional world of software engineering.
Cybersecurity always interested me, but I didn’t really see an overlap between it and software engineering until I found the Palo Alto Networks internship program. The program was three months long, from May through August, and my work was in NetDevOps, which is the intersection of networking and development operations that involves automating network design and changes.
Since I joined the team in May, I’ve been working with Panorama, our firewall management product, to create tooling for our firewalls in order to increase the transparency of how they’re managed. I write many supporting microservices and libraries in Python to interact with services like Okta, ServiceNow, Panorama, and databases. I’ve also automated some of this work through Jenkins or CI/CD pipelines.
Being in the midst of a pandemic, there was no other choice but to do the internship remotely. Fortunately, I was still able to do everything I needed to do from my home here in Prescott, Arizona. It was definitely a challenge, particularly in the beginning. I wasn’t sure how to get the support I needed when it seemed like everyone was so busy, and I couldn’t just walk over to ask for their assistance. That first week mostly involved ramping up, setting up my computer; figuring out how the team works and who provides approvals at what stages; and learning the goals and objectives. But soon I figured out how to navigate those issues and get the help I need, and it was really rewarding to be independent and find answers on my own. I also found that I really enjoyed the flexibility of working remotely. I would say one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through my internship is how to work autonomously — to find or develop solutions on my own. I think that will serve me well in my career.
I started learning right away, and it hasn’t stopped. The interns here are constantly getting new projects to work on, and you have to learn quickly — though I find I’ve really enjoyed that fast pace. I also had previous internship experience, so I was familiar with having challenges thrown at me and having to push through my uncertainty and address them. Plus, speaking professionally, having that experience prepares me more for my career and will show future employers that I can work independently, think on my feet, and operate in a deadline-oriented environment.
Another thing I’ve learned that I have found tremendously valuable is proficiency in Python. Prior to this internship, I was self-taught but I’m very idiomatic in it now. Knowing it well and writing in it concisely is an important skill for the future.
Socializing and connecting with other interns as well as Palo Alto Networks employees has been a bit harder, obviously, because of the nature of remote work, but University Recruiting has put on some fun virtual events that have helped with that.
Even though I’ve been working on my own from home, I’ve definitely been treated as a member of the team, and my work has been meaningful and important. Just because I’m an intern doesn’t mean that I’ve been given menial tasks. In fact, a lot of my code has been used in important projects. In some companies, interns work in silos, removed from the teams, but I’ve been given assignments that were time-sensitive, where I’ve helped someone who was relying on my work to ship a big project. It was a little intimidating at first, but it was also really exciting to be contributing in a real way.
There’s a culture of empowerment here, and we’re all empowered to take on responsibilities and find solutions. Interns are encouraged to participate and complete projects with real stakes attached to them — not just meaningless, fluff jobs — and my code actually makes a difference. For me, that makes this the gold standard of internships.
And that leads me to another valuable lesson I’ve learned along the way, which is taking ownership of projects. I haven’t shied away from opportunities to learn and push myself. For example, our team uses remote contractors, and there have been times when they needed help clarifying spots in the code that were unclear or buggy, so I had to jump in and take ownership — identify places that needed improvement and take it upon myself to make those changes. In fact, I was strong enough in designing microservices that I got the opportunity to mentor another intern in that. So I’ve had a chance to both lead and follow during these three months, which doesn’t often happen during internships.
We’re exposed to people at all levels of the organization. We had an organization-wide intern fest, and we were on a call with high-level executives and the CIO, and I’ve even had some small group sessions with him. It’s really cool, and I’d never expected that from a big tech company like this.
Prior to this experience, I didn’t know what went into next-gen firewalls, and I honestly didn’t know much about what Palo Alto Networks did. But it’s been rewarding to see how all these things fit together, and I like that we’re doing something important — we’re securing companies, which is really exciting.
If I were to offer some advice to future interns, it would be this: Learn as much as you can, and don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially early on. It might seem like you’re being a nuisance, but no one expects you to know everything right away. Come in with a positive attitude, be open, and expect to learn a lot.
Crafting a Communications Career
Maggie Ballard, Corporate Communications Intern
When I applied to be an intern on the Palo Alto Networks Corporate Communications team, I never imagined I’d be reporting to work from my bedroom for the summer.
I was in the beginning of my sophomore year at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, working on a bachelor’s degree in public relations when I started exploring internship opportunities that would provide me with some communications experience. When I came across a listing for Palo Alto Networks’ internship program, it immediately struck me as a strong program. It was well-structured in terms of the support offered to interns. I would experience a diverse range of both internal and external communications. And the access to support from fellow interns and other employees at different levels within the company as well as the company’s role in the booming cybersecurity industry were appealing. Although I had not specifically been seeking a role in cybersecurity or even in technology, I loved the idea of working alongside talented people in a wide range of subjects, from software engineering to threat intelligence or finance, that I could learn from.
Little did I know that “alongside” would have a vastly different meaning from what I’d expected. After a great interview, I was accepted into the three-month internship program at Palo Alto Networks’ headquarters in Santa Clara, California, and planned to start in May 2020. But on April 8, I got the not-so-unexpected call informing me that my internship would be conducted remotely from my home in Danville, CA. By that time, the pandemic had driven everyone to work from home, so I wasn’t surprised, but I was a little bummed that the experience would be different from what I’d imagined. I was nervous about what to expect for the next three months. This was going to be my first “big-girl” job, and I wondered whether I’d be able to get the same value out of the experience in a virtual setting as I would in the office.
Fortunately, my fears were put to rest pretty quickly. Everyone was so great about communicating that I never felt out of the loop. The communications team made a huge effort to include me. In fact, I often felt like I wasn’t an intern at all — I was a contributing full-time member of the team. People were super open to talking to me, both on my team and from other teams around the organization, so I was able to get to know a lot of people who could help me in my career path moving forward. Despite being unable to make connections in person, I was still able to get a sense of the company atmosphere.
Not only that but I was given a wide range of work opportunities in the PR realm — I would help with drafting story pitches, developing media lists, creating briefing documents for Palo Alto Networks spokespeople, talking to reporters, and even writing internal communications. So in addition to the PR-related work, I got a new sense of how journalists work, which was not only interesting but also will be useful as I move forward in my PR career. I had the opportunity to work with the executive team, coordinating their schedules for various roundtable events for the company, which provided me with great experience on the corporate side. One of my favorite tasks was working on our daily news briefings every morning. I worked each morning with one of my managers to draft an email summing up the biggest news of the day in cybersecurity or our company and send it to roughly 75 employees.
In short, the summer was nothing short of wonderful. I am grateful to have been part of such an amazing company this summer — thanks to the efforts made to keep the internship program running in the midst of a pandemic.