Each summer, we bring on a cohort of interns to gain real-world, professional experience in our fast-paced, innovative organization. Our interns own it by taking on challenging projects and create possibilities for the future of our company. Seeing how much of an impact they’re capable of making in a few short months, many of our interns choose to continue their careers with CDK as full-time employees. 

Today meet Tarun Prince, one of our many interns turned full-time employees. He began his CDK journey as a software engineering intern during our Summer 2020 Internship Program and continued his internship into his fall semester. After eight months as an intern, Tarun was converted to a full-time associate software engineer. His responsibilities include maintaining and developing enterprise data platform applications. 

Hear what Tarun Prince has to say about his career journey at CDK: 

What about your internship experience made you want to come back to CDK as a full-time employee?

I really enjoyed my time as an intern and attribute a lot of my growth in my software engineering abilities to my time at CDK. The stories that I worked on and all the applications and tools introduced to me during my internship gave me hands-on experience working on real-world deliverable products. I didn’t feel like I obtained this experience from any of the classes I took at my university. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to return to CDK was that I enjoyed working with my team and believe that there is still a lot that I can learn from them. I wanted to continue the growth and learning that I obtained from my internship through a full-time opportunity at CDK.

How has CDK supported your growth as a young professional?

CDK has enabled me to continue growing and improving in my role. Surrounded by a very supportive team that encourages me and is readily available to provide help, I’ve become a better software engineer and a more effective worker.

Why would you recommend the internship at CDK to other students or graduates looking to gain professional experience?

One of the things that I most appreciate in an internship is the ability to get a glimpse into what an actual full-time job would look like. I can honestly say that there is barely a difference between my day-to-day responsibilities as a full-time software engineer and the tasks that I worked on during my internship, other than a more robust workload. I truly believe that the experience gained from this approach, rather than working on some side-project specifically for an internship program, is far more rewarding and useful to students.

What has been the most exciting or rewarding project you have worked on?

Of all the stories that I have worked on during my time here, the most rewarding one was a bugfix that required me to figure out an issue where a particular subscription for a customer was reaching an error state. This story was rewarding to complete because there wasn’t a known cause of the error, so it felt more challenging to undertake. After I finally determined the issue, I had more thoroughly understood the different parts of the code that I interacted with. I had to be completely certain where things worked or not to determine the problem and implement a solution.

How would you describe the culture at CDK?

I’ve always felt that CDK strives for growth and innovation, especially in the technology departments. During my internship, Mahesh Shah, chief product and technology officer, and the other executives indicated that one of their main goals was to shed the antiquated approaches that CDK was formerly associated with and push to reinvent delivering and obtaining our services through more modern, tech-savvy processes.

How are you empowered to make an impact in your role?

I have a lot of freedom and power to carry out my duties without the constant supervision of anybody above me. Throughout my time here, even during my internship, I was always encouraged to continue challenging myself without any excessive pressure placed on me and had plenty of guidance along the way. . Management has helped me grow into my role by empowering me to learn, assume greater responsibilities and lean on my fellow team members whenever needed.

Questions:

• How did you start your career with CDKK?
  I started at CDK in the summer of 2020 as a corporate communications intern. I was grateful to have had an incredible, 10-week internship experience despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. My work revolved around writing and editing internal and external company communications and creating an analytics report for our communication channels.After a great first internship experience last summer, I was fortunate to come back for the summer of 2021 as an HR communications intern. I am currently helping with the launch of our new career site, re-designing our company’s intranet and writing internal and external messages highlighting HR initiatives.
• What about your first internship experience made you want to come back to CDK for a second internship?
  I loved the scope of projects I experienced during my first internship. By writing articles for our internal communication newsletters and drafting social media posts for our external channels, I got to experience a taste of everything under the broad umbrella of corporate communications. I’ve developed in so many ways due to my first internship: my love for writing blossomed, my speaking skills became sharper and I solidified my passion for working on a team. I knew coming back to CDK was a surefire way for me to continue honing these abilities and creating possibilities for my team and me.
  Also, the Early Career team did an excellent job sprinkling in moments of fun throughout the internship program. From being sent a delicious box of Fresh Beginnings cookies to a virtual build-your-own terrarium activity, they always had something exciting planned for our interns!
• How has CDK supported your growth as a young professional?
  My first summer at CDK was also my first summer ever having an internship. I was inevitably nervous, given my lack of experience in a corporate setting.Fortunately, having a manager who believed in me, the unconditional support of my coworkers, and the Early Career team enthusiastically rooting for my success, the summer turned out better than I could’ve imagined! As the weeks went on, I started to develop a confidence in myself that I’d never known before. I became more comfortable voicing my opinions, asking for help, and reaching out to my colleagues. By the end of the summer, I almost didn’t recognize the person I’d become at work – in the best way possible!CDK allowed me to develop confidence in myself in a professional setting. The company believes that interns can make a positive impact and values them in much the same way as full-time employees. As a result of my time at CDK, I’ve developed a strong sense of self in the work environment that I know will serve me well in my future professional endeavors.
• Why would you recommend the internship at CDK to other students or graduates looking to gain professional experience?
  CDK lets interns “own it” by working on real and meaningful projects that serve the company. CDK debunks the narrative that all interns are capable of accomplishing is grabbing coffee and organizing file cabinets. If you’re ready to make an impact, take on challenging projects, and work in a dynamic environment, there’s no better place than CDK.CDK also equips its interns with a robust set of other development experiences to enhance their professional skills. Whether it be access to LinkedIn Learning courses, meetings with members of the Executive Leadership Team, or resume workshops, the entire internship program emphasizes instilling young talent with the confidence they need to reach their career aspirations.
• What has been the most exciting or rewarding project you have worked on?
  The most rewarding project I’ve worked on at CDK was creating an analytics report for the internal communication channels used by the company. I reviewed over a year’s worth of company newsletters, documenting open rates and click rates, to ultimately determine which aspects of the newsletters resonated with employees and identify areas of improvement. The project took me nearly the entire summer and required a lot of collaboration and persistence. It was gratifying to see a summer’s worth of hard work culminate in a project I was excited to share with my team! It was even more impactful because many of the insights I gained during the project were considered and eventually implemented by my team. I felt incredibly proud that the work I was doing as a summer intern had a tangible impact on the company.
• How would you describe the culture at CDK?
  I’ve always been a curious person: I love asking questions, learning about others, and taking on new tasks. CDK fosters a culture of curiosity by providing employees with the resources they need to explore new opportunities. During my first (and even second) internship, I attended “meet and greets” with various employees holding vastly different jobs. Everyone’s willingness to take time out of their busy schedule, sit down with me, and let me ask them questions about their career, was a true testament to the commitment CDK has made in allowing its employees’ curiosity to thrive!The dedication CDK has made to cultivating an open, welcoming culture where employees are encouraged to embrace their authenticity is evident. I’m proud to be working at a company that places a clear emphasis on inclusion and diversity initiatives. Even as an intern, I’ve consistently felt valued by my colleagues and empowered to let my uniqueness shine.
• How are you empowered to make an impact in your role?
  CDK empowers me to make an impact in my role by fostering a culture that emphasizes creating possibilities. Working on a tightly knit, energetic team has shown me that you can accomplish great things together if every individual leverages their strengths. I’m constantly encouraged to bring innovative ideas to the table and given the freedom to embrace my creativity. CDK values each employee’s contributions to the company, whether at the individual or team level, and constantly motivates me to make the most significant impact possible.