FLEXWORK Flourishes With Palo Alto Networks Interns

Since you’ve been with Palo Alto Networks, how have the company’s values shown up in your day-to-day experience, or for you personally?

Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, securing an internship came with thoughts of shared office spaces, lunch with fellow interns, live presentations and mapping out routes for the best possible commute. However, with the changes the world has faced in the past year and a half, internships and work as a whole continue to be reimagined.

FLEXWORK is a direct response to these changes and has granted employees across Palo Alto Networks the opportunity to create meaningful work from anywhere — including interns.

This summer, the intern cohort here at Palo Alto Networks consists of 202 interns from all across the country — and the world! While many of our interns are still remote and haven’t been able to head into an office quite yet, FLEXWORK and Palo Alto Networks’ commitment to employee choice has made their summer better than imagined. Hear a few of their experiences below:

“The remote working environment gave me flexibility with timing. I met with a lot of interns through Zoom meetings and attended more intern events compared to what I could have done If the internship was not remote.”

- Keerthiraj Nagaraj, Data Science Intern, University of Florida

“I love the idea that all the graduating students and early career workers will now have the opportunity to dictate how day to day life should be run. I don’t think a generation has had the opportunity to do that in a long time. My hope for this new normal is that we can embrace change and listen to each other to build an efficient, and dare I say, enjoyable work lifestyle.”

- Kelsey Henson, Software Engineering Intern, Georgia Tech

“The fact that the internship is online allows for less interruptions and saves me commuting time. I feel these factors have enabled me to spend more time towards my project. I am currently working remotely from Iowa where I go to University. Since the time zone I am in is ahead of the rest of my team in California, I am able to start my day earlier. I can be more prepared with updates or questions by the time my team begins work.”

- Yamini Mathur, Software Engineering Intern, Iowa State University

“What helped me was contacting a bunch of interns to set up 30-minute calls. That actually allowed me to get to know a lot of the interns. In addition, every Tuesday and Thursday, some interns in the area get together in the office to work. That has definitely helped me feel more comfortable in the internship program as well.”

- Aishwarya Golechha, Consumer Finance Intern, University of Edinburgh

The internship program here at Palo Alto Networks is growing by the year. With initiatives like FLEXWORK that make employee choice a top priority, we are excited to see how our early-in-career teams and company as a whole continue to flourish.

Interested in learning more about our internship and early in career opportunities? Visit our Early in Career Site.