From career growth to family ties: Why interns choose Best Buy

When Jonathan joined Best Buy's supply chain team as an intern this summer, he fully embraced one of our company values - learning from challenge and change.

"They want you to learn, they want you to be challenged, and that's the beauty of it, right?" he said. "I think being able to challenge yourself to be the best version of yourself is what we should all strive for."

Jonathan is one of more than 100 interns who joined our corporate teams for the summer. They've been busy learning, networking and contributing to high-impact projects across a variety of departments, including category management, marketing, Best Buy Ads and finance.

Jonathan's also part of the record 32% of interns who joined the program from stores and other locations around the country. He's an operations supervisor at our reverse logistics center in Chino, California.

Shay, an intern for the Early Careers team who runs the internship, also joined from the field. She's a sales associate at our store in Miami.

"One thing that really stood out to me, whether it's in the stores or in corporate, is the people," she said. "This is who I am now today, helping out the interns because I love the people that were here for me, and I want to keep doing that."

A family connection

Abdullahi is in his third summer as a Best Buy intern at the corporate office. This time he's working on our merchandising and demand planning team.

"My intern experience has been really great, honestly," he said. "I can't explain how much stuff I've learned, how much I've grown in three summers, and it's been a really great experience."

In fact, it's been so great that Abdullahi encouraged his younger brother, Abdirahman, to join the program this summer.

"It's been really fun," said Abdirahman, who's now interning on the Best Buy Marketplace team. "I've seen him do it since I was a junior in high school. He's always told me great things about it."

Before they were both interns, the two brothers worked together at our Best Buy store in Richfield, Minnesota.

"He's always done his best to hold me accountable and show me the ropes," Abdirahman said.

"Being able to see him kickstart his career at Best Buy together has been really great," Abdullahi said.

Back for more

Abdullahi isn't the only repeat participant. This year's class includes 14 returning interns, including another third-time participant.

"Even without holding a formal title, as a three-time intern here, it's very easy for me to step into the shoes of an informal leader for my peers," said Ethan, an intern for the category management team.

And he hopes to return for one more summer before he graduates.

"The biggest thing that keeps me coming back year after year is the culture of the company," Ethan said. "I feel like people care, and I'm valued for who I am, not just what I bring to the business. It's easy to feel like I belong here."

Learn more about our internship program, including how to apply.

Editor's note: Bissi, an intern on our Talent Acquisition team, conducted and recorded the video interviews found in this article.