Spotify is one of the largest services for digital music streaming in the world with two options for its users, Premium or Ad-supported. Founded in 2006 focusing solely on music, the platform has now moved onto new kinds of audio entertainment such as podcasts. They are also known for their fun, unique features such as the Discover Weekly playlist and, of course, the popular Spotify Wrapped, or your year in review. It’s no wonder why people want to work for Spotify.
If you’re wondering how to get a job at Spotify, there are a few ways to get into this company and tons of opportunity for a driven individual to work with emerging technologies.
Student Internships
Spotify has a variety of internship options depending on your interests or area of focus.
These include summer, thesis, academic, and co-op options. They are also still available during the pandemic; the 2020 Summer Internship program was moved to being remote instead of canceled.
But how do you get an internship at Spotify? The key is to start preparing early. The application process usually starts in late-September for the following summer, but you should start doing your research and building your skills earlier and apply as soon as you can.
As an intern at Spotify, you will get real, hands-on experience and be exposed to the behind-the-scenes of a product so many people use every day. Internship positions span across all of Spotify’s divisions, including Podcast Editorial, Data Science, Rights & Clearances, Ad Sales, Strategy, Culture, Podcast Production, Software Engineering, Product Management, Consumer Marketing, Web Engineering, Content Operations, Product Design, Machine Learning, HRIS, Accounting, Legal, Data Engineering, and Branding.
Jobs for Grads
Getting into Spotify after graduation requires a different process, but can pay off with a little patience. Each year, Spotify receives 350,000 resumes for various positions throughout the company, so you need to apply strategically. Sending a resume to 15-20 positions might seem like a great way to maximize your chances at a job but they actually discourage this. Spotify wants driven people who are actually passionate about the work they do and applying to a bunch of jobs doesn’t help the Hiring Managers paint a picture of you. Spotify is focused not only on the applicant’s skills but also on what drives them.
Here are the categories for jobs at Spotify:
Engineering - Spotify’s engineering team works on the frontline of Spotify’s products. Your work will shape how people interact with the music they love by solving complex problems. The roles range from the client-facing web engineering to data engineering and backend roles for those that prefer logic over UI. Spotify’s software engineering team supports an environment of personal growth and collaboration to ensure the best solutions for their clients.
Data and Analytics - The only way a company like Spotify thrives is by leveraging data. This team is in charge of understanding Spotify’s users and connecting them with artists they wouldn’t have considered. In addition to data scientists, this division also employs economists to better understand how Spotify itself functions as a marketplace.
Design and User Experience - Spotify has hundreds of hours of music and podcasts only a click away but this means nothing if people can’t use the app. The Design and User Experience team is in charge of researching how users are interacting with the app and then implementing these findings on the product side.
Product Management - Spotify’s product is constantly evolving and someone needs to helm these changes. The product management team takes insights from the UX team and tech developments from the engineers to improve the Spotify platform in ways that people will actually appreciate. Typically you are assigned around a certain product area, such as user fraud or royalties, so you can zero in on your area.
Product Marketing - This team is similar to product management but has a different end goal in mind. You are going to be working with the brand insights that product managers have but instead of altering the product you are working on how it should be marketed and to whom. You’ll be in charge of setting the marketing plan and communicating this to other teams.
Sales - Do you pay for Spotify? Chances are you don’t since the majority of Spotify’s customers are in the free tier so ads are a major part of the companies revenue. As part of the sales team, you’ll be bringing in advertisers to Spotify and representing one of the premier streaming services to companies across the spectrum.
Partnerships - Spotify has a variety of podcast networks under their company's umbrella, such as Gimlet and Parcast. Each of these networks specializes in a genre such as true crime and news. These teams are in charge of production and support for any podcast in these networks since the largest hurdle for most podcasters is simply the set-up. If you want to work with up and coming talent in the podcast industry then this is the job for you.
Finance - The finance team is in charge of growing Spotify’s assets as well as setting up the finance behind any major deals such as licensing. If you’re interested in the business behind entertainment and how it works in the 21st century then I recommend applying to Spotify finance.
Legal - Any entertainment or streaming company is going to come across a myriad of legal issues. As part of the legal team, you’ll be on the frontlines of any of these problems as well as being able to shape the new field of digital entertainment law.
People - Spotify is only as good as its workers and no one knows this more than the People team. They are in charge of fostering Spotify’s culture and bringing in the best talent that will also fit into the company's environment. Without this team Spotify wouldn’t be the awesome workplace that it is.
PR & Communications - This team is in charge of maintaining and communicating Spotify’s voice to the public. Nowadays there are many avenues for this voice to be heard so you’re going to be in charge of protecting and promoting the brand through these avenues.
Anchor - This is the name of Spotify’s podcast production platform that serves creators of all levels. The idea behind Anchor is to allow people to bring their ideas to reality and start monetizing for free. Roles within this division range from software development to creative direction.
On the creative side, you’ll be working with brands to design a plan and then communicating any insights into a multi-disciplinary team to better the product as a whole. On the software side, your primary focus will be working with Node.js server behind Anchor, as well as managing the platform’s cloud infrastructure. Beyond this, you will be in charge of taking projects from concept to launch while maintaining extensive documentation of your work with testing. Both of these positions will have you working at the forefront of the podcast industry and new entertainment as a whole.
Brand & Creative - Spotify has millions of users coming to their platform every year, thanks in large part to their in-house marketing division. Since Spotify has such a large variety of brands and artists, you’ll have the opportunity to create content for whatever inspires you. In addition to their creative focus, the Brand & Creative team is extremely data-driven and dedicated to getting results.
Content - Spotify’s Content teams work directly with the artists to help curate the kind of experiences that fans want. Their primary focus is to help ensure commercial models that allow the creators to thrive and Spotify to grow through their marketing, partner relations, and content production teams.
The marketing team works on SEO/SEM-driven strategies for email and viral marketing campaigns. One of their largest responsibilities is going over the analytics to modify and adapt the marketing strategies.
Partner relations are all about helping internal and external partners to maximize their relationship with Spotify. This can range from all kinds of support, like production assistance or dealing with a technical issue you will be keeping Spotify’s creators going. You’ll also be working on developing new business opportunities for Spotify and helping new creators get started.
Content production is in charge of creating the content that all the users consume. Production roles will have you working closely with talent and their teams to develop the brand and show. Producers are in charge of everything from ad copy recordings, script markups, and managing studio sessions.
Customer Service Experience - This division maintains the experience for both Spotify’s customers and their creators. Any issues being experienced will be sent through the team to be cataloged and fixed. For creators, the Content team works with the partner directly. For customers, the role of Customer Service Experience becomes much more like traditional customer service, or an IT help desk job, except with modern entertainment technologies.
What’s It Really Like Working at Spotify?
The Good
Working at Spotify provides you with the opportunity to take on real projects faster than at most companies, with even summer interns working on the UX (User Experience). This opportunity will allow you to prove yourself early on and you will only find more chances to expand your skills. Another plus is that the management and executive teams are both understanding while keeping the company product-focused.
The Bad
While Spotify is an extremely interesting workplace with an engineering-focused culture, it still has some setbacks. One of the largest issues is that they have two main offices that they need to divide work across. One is in Stockholm, the other is in NYC. Typically this doesn’t cause issues until you need to coordinate on a project or deadline. Sweden and the United States have extremely different work cultures and processes which can cause miscommunications and work to be slowed down.
The Unique
Spotify has one of the most open and engaging office cultures in the tech space. One of the best examples of this are the events they host for their interns during their summer program, such as Q&A’s with executives and even seeing artists live. Beyond the fun, you’ll be working on an app that is an integral part of people’s daily lives. The opportunity to work alongside new tech and interesting minds is one of Spotify’s most unique benefits.
Ready to apply to Spotify?
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