Rachael Pyram is a 4th year PhD student specializing in Organizational Psychology. Over the summer, Rachael interned with Google within the People Analytics unit. Rachael shared with us recently about her internship experience and how it helped shape her career path.
What are your research interests?
I am interested in relational dynamics, which is how the relationships employees have with one another shape their experiences at work. I study this from a future of work and diversity, equity, and inclusion perspective, to explore how changes to the nature of work and the composition of employee characteristics provide nuance to the employee experience.
Tell us about your internship!
I interned at Google this summer! I was within the People Analytics unit and worked on the DEI Analytics team. I primarily worked on assessing the impact of a career development and retention program, which informs whether the program is operating as intended and if the participants are experiencing favorable outcomes.
I wanted to intern at Google because they are an organization that has an established dedication to people science. My first exposure to their valuation of organizational psychology research was at the annual Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology conference, where people analysts at Google consistently partake and contribute to the scientific discourse.
How did your education in Org Psych help you in this role?
There were great opportunities for obtaining applied experience through coursework at MSU, specifically in our Personnel Selection class and Applied Skills class, where I was able to work with Kincentric and Ford Motor Co, respectively. Having that industry exposure helped me identify what skills would be most transferable to an internship role, and what skill gaps I would need to be proactive about addressing. Additionally, the substantial methods training I've received in this program prepared me to take on the challenge of using new methods when asked.
What did you like most about your internship?
I loved the people I worked with— I learned so much from them and in working with them I made the decision to go applied after graduation. I particularly enjoyed collaborating with people outside of organizational psychology. Accessing their perspectives on how to study employees and the workplace has informed the way that I ask questions and my perceptions of the outcomes most valued by practitioners.
Did anything surprise you about your internship?
Though Google has become more hierarchical as it's grown, I was surprised by how flat the organization felt. It was encouraged to meet with senior leaders, and I felt very comfortable reaching out to people all the way up to the VP level throughout my internship.
Is this similar work to what you’d like to do in the future?
It is my intention to pursue a people analytics role after graduation, so this internship is directly aligned to the kind of work I would like to do.
What do you like about organizational psychology?
I like that organizational psychology is an applied science. This allows the research we do to be more impactful, as our field values the reciprocal influence of having both one foot in science and one foot in practice.