👀 Electronic Arts PM Internship: Application to Offer – iykyk

From Civil Engineering to Product Management

Hi there 👋 — Who are you and what’s your background?

Hi, I’m Tina! I currently go to Vanderbilt University and I started college as a Civil Engineering Major and a Computer Science Minor. At the end of my junior year, I realized that I didn't want to go into civil engineering and that I wanted to go into tech instead, because I really enjoy analyzing everyday products. It’s something that really excites me! So, after my Junior year, I took a gap year and that’s when I decided to pursue some product management (PM) opportunities. I got my first PM internship with Notewardy through a collaboration with Vanderbilt’s Product Space. With Notewardy, I was able to work on their beta product, which is an EdTech tool that uses AI to transform notes into flashcards. For my specific project, I focused on user research and user experience testing as well as low-fidelity wireframe designing. I thought that the experience was really fun and it pushed me to find internships at other companies. I ended up interning at Dolby in San Francisco after that, and that experience made me realize that I want to go into entertainment because I love being able to work on products that people really love.

Now, I’m a few weeks into my PM internship at Electronic Arts (EA)!

Orientation Week, A Game Matching Ceremony, and Lots of Coffee Chats

For those who are unfamiliar, how is the program structured and run?

I’m part of the Central Product Management (CPM) team, which is a smaller program with around 10-15 interns this summer. During the first week, we had orientation during which you go through Product Academy. It’s essentially a week-long bootcamp where you learn the foundations of product management through asynchronous and live lectures with full-time employees. So you don’t only learn from PMs, you also get to meet Game Directors, Lead Analysts, Engineers, Designers, and etc. Outside of orientation week, they also allow time for you to really meet the people you’re working with. Especially with PM being a cross-functional role, it’s helpful to know who does what to better align goals and stakeholders.

After orientation week, you get matched with a game and a game studio, based on your preferences, and there is a matching ceremony that you get to attend. For example, I’m working on a mobile game called Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth this summer and I’m specifically looking to integrate sales into the game. Most of your time is spent with the game studio that you’re matched to, but I would say it is pretty flexible in terms of what you want to work on within the game that you are assigned. Although you primarily work on your mobile game, the program also values your personal development. You get a mentor who can meet with you and guide you through your projects and goals. Being able to coffee chat with other full-times and learn about their work is also something that I really like about the program.

Your Project is Tailored to You

Is there anything the program landing page doesn't tell us about the APM program?

I feel like the job posting is purposefully kept a bit more broad and vague to cater to as many people’s interests as possible. Realistically, you have three months during the summer so you’ll be working on something a bit smaller and you probably won’t get to touch all the skills that are listed. They definitely take your preferences into account before assigning you to a game and project. Your overall internship is more focused on what you want to accomplish.

Due Diligence

Is there a recruitment strategy that nobody is doing right now, but should be?

My strategy was to reach out to people, specifically PMs, at the company and talk to them about their role before my interview. I would ask them about how they landed the role and if they had any advice on the interview process. This really shows initiative and that you’re willing to go out and talk to people, in order to better understand the role and go into the interview prepared.

Four Rounds of Interview

What was the interview process like and what made you stand out as an applicant?

The interview process had four rounds in total. The first round is your typical phone screener. The second round is focused on data analysis, where they would give you a set of data from a fake game and ask you to analyze it. They asked questions like, what does this data mean? How should PMs interpret this and what should they do about it? These kinds of questions really gauge your ability to read and analyze data, in order to generate insights from it. There’s really no right or wrong answer to this and they’re just looking at your thought process and how you structure your answers. My advice for this round is to really try to put yourself into a PM mindset and approach it like you’re a PM at the company. The third round is actually my favorite because you get to choose any game you want, break it down, and go through a PM case study to see what can be improved. The fourth and final round is a conversation with the Director of Product Management and it’s really to gauge whether or not you’re a good fit for the company as well as the team. It’s basically a “get to know you” kind of interview.

Some of the resources I used were Exponent and PM case study videos on YouTube. I really focused on applying the same PM skills to video games instead of regular tech products.

Salary Expectations

What is the average starting salary for program participants and what does the salary progression look like once you’ve graduated from the program?

I think that the average starting salary in video games is a bit lower than your average tech company, and that’s because video games attract really passionate people. With more passion, there’s a higher supply because many people just want to work in gaming. I would still say that it’s a really good salary for a new grad. The hourly range for undergraduate interns is $30 - $35. If you’re an MBA student, it might be around $45 per hour and the starting salary might be close to $90k per year if you join full-time.

Future Plans

What’s your next play after graduating from this program? Has this program impacted your 5-10 year career plan?

I definitely want to pursue product management full-time, because I’m really passionate about being able to shape, ship, and deliver products. I also really like the cross-functional collaboration aspect and being able to work on business challenges, like growth, positioning, and strategy. My internship at EA gave me a better insight to what working as a PM in a gaming company is like. It really clarified things for me and I would say that my next play is to either join EA full-time or a different APM program.