Every year, our very own Nextdoor neighborhood grows as we have the pleasure of hiring new neighbors. In the summer, this comes in the form of new interns. Stay tuned as we feature their experiences and projects while they reflect on their time in our neck of the woods!
The first intern to be interviewed in the Intern Series is James Wang. Here are a few fun facts about James:
Where are you from? Vancouver, British Columbia
School? Simon Frasier University
Studying? Design
Nextdoor Team? Design
Mentor? Brian van Veen
Special Talent? Making a rose out of a napkin
Nextdoor neighborhood? Central Sunset
What I love about my neighborhood? While living in Central Sunset, I was five minutes from the beach and two minutes from Golden Gate Park. I also loved that my neighborhood was multicultural, with a large Chinese population. There were also a lot of Asian markets which reminded me of the tastes and flavors I grew up with, making a new city feel just like home.
Favorite memory? Singing karaoke with the other Nextdoor interns as well as participating in an Escape Room. It was great seeing how everyone on different teams approached problem solving differently and contributed in their unique way.
James joined Nextdoor because he wanted to gain design experience in the consumer space, where he could work at a smaller company and also “have responsibility and the potential to make a big impact.”
James joined our design team to work on Neighborhood Favorites, a new feature that makes it easier for neighbors to find, recommend, and support the best local businesses in their neighborhood. James described being a main designer on this project as “a unique privilege, where I was able to work directly with other project managers and engineers and feel like a valued member of the team.”
“It taught me to be a more independent, autonomous, and confident designer,” James shares while reflecting back on his summer. “Being responsible for a project helped me become more comfortable with large projects moving forward.”
Getting to know and befriend other Nextdoor employees was also a highlight of James’ internship.
“The people at each company are what makes every internship unique, and the people here are energetic and friendly,” James shared. “A lot of his had to do with Nextdoor’s culture, which is supportive and helpful.”
Once James’ internship ended late August, he set out to gain further experience in user interface design with eventual plans of backpacking along the Silk Road in Northwestern China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
When asked if he had any parting advice to other interns, James shared to “never think of yourself as an intern, but as a full-time employee. At Nextdoor, you have an impact and can take a seat at the table. I never felt afraid to be myself and I don’t think I can stay that about every place I’ve worked.”
If you want to join the fun, we’re hiring!
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