Choosing a career path is a lot easier said than done, especially when you’re still exploring your interests and figuring out what kind of work you enjoy. At Matchbox Design Group, we believe internships should feel less like a high-pressure decison and more like a guided adventure.
When Jenny joined us in September, our goal wasn’t to fit her into a predefined box. Instead, we wanted to give her the space, support, and freedom to explore what she naturally gravitates toward.
Internships at Matchbox
We’re big believers in sharing what we know, learning from our team, and drawing inspiration from industry experts. Internships add to that cycle of learning by bringing fresh energy and new ideas.
Internships at Matchbox are intentionally flexible, hands-on, and designed to help students and emerging professionals figure out what they actually like doing. (Because honestly, who actually knows that on day one?) We don’t expect interns to arrive with all the answers. What we do expect is curiosity, willingness to learn, and the occasional Slack message asking, “Is this a dumb question?” (Spoiler: it never is.)
And since we value the work our interns contribute, all Matchbox internships are paid—no unpaid labor, no “experience-only” arrangements. If you’re doing real work, you deserve real compensation.
In return, we offer:
- Real projects, not busywork
- Opportunities to collaborate across teams
- Guidance from people who genuinely want to help
- A peek behind the curtain of agency life
- A supportive atmosphere where asking questions is encouraged
And as we mentioned, the benefit goes both ways. Interns bring new perspectives and skills that keep us inspired and evolving. We get to watch talented young professionals find their footing in the industry and they get valuable experience and clarity. It truly is a win-win scenario.
Jenny’s Experience at Matchbox
“From this September to now, I’ve had the pleasure of working at Matchbox as an intern. Having never worked in any similar roles, I was initially a little anxious – however, with the support and flexibility I received, I had a great time and learned a lot.
For context, I’m a current college student majoring in Graphic Design and Computer Science + Math. So far, I haven’t been sure of what I want career-wise, or what direction I want to take, and Matchbox didn’t make me choose. I was able to explore across teams using skills from both of my majors.
At the beginning, I started working on the design team, creating social media posts in Figma and sitting in on calls. I then transitioned into working on the engineering support team, getting a closer look at the WordPress infrastructure that Matchbox uses. Thanks to the flexibility of everyone here, I was exposed to a wide range of job functions, which is useful knowledge that I will keep with me as I begin my career. I listened to planning meetings that gave me insight into the process of working with clients, experimented with editing WordPress sites, got into the rhythm of engineering stand-ups, and so much more.
Even on slower days, I was given many opportunities to learn about the company and gain general knowledge of the tools I was using. Matchbox team members recommended articles to read, videos to watch, and what items I should direct my focus toward. This gave me ample time to discover and try out widely-used features. For example, despite being enrolled in a design program, I had never even heard of Figma tokens, which are widely used in the agency world – this is information I’ll use for a long time!
What I’m most appreciative of from my internship, however, is the guidance and support of everyone at Matchbox. No matter what team I was working with, I found that I was always able to ask questions or request feedback. People went out of their way to say hi to me in meetings and were very kind in one-on-one calls. This made the role much less intimidating, and made it much easier for me to communicate. Overall, this has been a great experience, and I’m very grateful for this opportunity and the people I’ve met!”
Creating Space for Interns to Grow
One of our favorite parts of having interns is watching them gain confidence—sometimes slowly, sometimes all at once. Whether it’s presenting a piece of work, mastering a new tool, or jumping into a team call for the first time, we love seeing those “oh wait… I can do this” moments.
We try to keep things welcoming and collaborative. That means offering feedback with kindness, celebrating progress (big or small), and making sure interns never feel like they’re navigating things alone. We want every intern to walk away with skills they can use anywhere and a clearer sense of what kind of work interests them.
Interested in an Internship at Matchbox?
If Jenny’s experience sounds like something you’d be interested in, then we’d love to meet you! We’re always excited to connect with curious, motivated people who want to learn, experiment, and grow alongside a supportive team.
Send us your resume and let’s start the conversation.
