Gaining invaluable skills for the future

Integrated Media Analytics Intern Bennett Heyn shares what he learned during his time at Adobe.

At Adobe, internships are more than mere on-the-job training; we encourage our interns to dream big, and we equip them with critical opportunities to learn, build community, and make an impact. We’re featuring their experiences here on Adobe Life to provide a glimpse of how these extraordinary people are contributing to Adobe’s mission of changing the world through digital experiences.

Bennett Heyn returned to Adobe this summer for his second internship with the company. He said that the knowledge he has gained from his time here has been invaluable and has given him skills he’ll need to follow his dreams after he graduates. We spoke with him to learn about his experiences.

Which university are you currently enrolled in and what is your internship title?

I’m a senior at the Ohio State University, and I study Information Systems within the Fisher College of Business, with a minor in Design Thinking. At Adobe, I’m an Integrated Media Analytics Intern, working on mobile app analytics and growth. This is actually my second time interning at Adobe.

What about joining Adobe attracted you?

I’ve always wanted to work at a tech company in Silicon Valley. My freshman year, I did an internship at an agency that specializes in search engine optimization, which I’m very interested in. My brother also works at Adobe, and right as people began working from home in March 2020, I went with him to Adobe Townsend in San Francisco to pick up his stuff from the office, and I got to see that building as well as the Hooper building, which both were really cool. That summer, I saw that Adobe was offering internships in SEO, and it was a perfect fit. Adobe has a great company culture and work environment, which is why I came back for a second internship.

What is your main project this summer?

I’m working on a project that is trying to understand what factors influence ranking and positioning in the App Store for Adobe products. Is it reviews, ratings, or downloads? Is it amount of money we spend on marketing? Or is it something else entirely?

A big part of that is also understanding what’s called “organic uplift” — imagine that we spend $1000 in paid ads today, and then a week later we get 200 more organic installs, which means people search and install the app without clicking on an advertisement. What’s the correlation and how does it work? We’re looking at how all of these pieces fit together.

You came in first place in the Intern Project Expo this year. Can you share more about that?

All Adobe interns have a project over the summer, and the IPE is kind of like a science fair where we show off what we worked on. This year and last year, the whole event was virtual, which is cool because we got to see entries from interns all over the world. Everyone at Adobe can look at our work, comment, and vote on projects they thought were the most innovative. It’s a big opportunity to connect with people in other parts of the company, share your work, and get their support.

I came in third in the IPE place last year, and I’m very competitive and wanted to go for first place this year. I focused on really improving my entry this time. I looked at the winning project from last year, which has a really easy-to-follow structure with images and memes and things like that, and I followed that approach.

What has it been like working virtually as an intern?

Honestly, I like virtual more because of the flexibility. You can structure your work to what’s best for you, and no one judges you if you need to take a five-minute break here or there. I don’t think we missed out on anything by being virtual. Adobe does a lot to keep everyone engaged with fun activities and events, like virtual mixers every Friday. We even got to meet and talk to the CEO and other leaders in the company, which I thought that was pretty cool. The whole experience has taught me to communicate better, and that you don’t need to be together in person to be a productive team. Not to mention that they also sent a lot of good swag!

Did your time at Adobe affect what you plan to do after you graduate?

I think it has helped me see the path that I was already planning more clearly. I want to eventually start my own company, and in my free time have worked on a couple different projects around that. For example, I earn a little bit with personal blogging and SEO projects. I also created and marketed a product that helps you find where you parked your car, and I’m trying to put together a system that lets people input their shopping list and see the best path at the grocery story, making in-store shopping easier. Working at Adobe has equipped me with skills that will help me make that vision come true.