Senior Engineer Lena Plaksina — a Summer of Tech alum, Super Mentor, bootcamp presenter, and all-around SoT champion — shares top tips and advice to help you start your Summer internship on the right foot!

With Meet and Greet out of the way and Summer fast approaching, it’s time for the other annual concern for those celebrating their new placement: What can I expect from my new role, and how can I put my best foot forward?

As a Summer of Tech alum (cohort of 2015) and as someone who has mentored and worked with new entrants in my job as a software engineer, I’m here to give you some tips and tricks to help you make the most of the next few months.

Day 1: Find out the basics, be prepared

This might be the first full-time role you’ve ever had; likely the first one in your chosen career. Before we get into tips on career progression, let’s talk about the practical side of the job. After all, if you’re new to it, it’s hard to know what to expect from the 9-to-5.

I find it easier to manage anxiety around big changes (like getting a new job!) if I feel prepared. So here are some questions for you to think about, that might help you prepare for your first workday:

• Is there anything you need to do before your first day? For example: signing forms, verifying contact details, taking a photo for an id card, etc. Getting small admin tasks out of the way early if possible can give you more time to connect with your new team on your first day and get an understanding of your new environment faster.

• What does your commute look like? Will you need to make any changes to your routine? You might need to plan a new bus or train route or wake up at a different time. Whatever the change, knowing about it ahead of time can help make the adjustment easier.

• Who are you meeting on your first day? When and where will you meet them?
  You will likely have a buddy or your People Lead meet you on your first day. But where? Will this be in the reception area? By your team’s desks? At the office coffee machine? Wherever the meeting place is, it’s good to make an arrangement ahead of time, so you’re not left wondering what to do on the day (or show up an hour before your buddy starts work).

• Related to the above, but slightly longer-term: What time does your team have stand-up (or other start-of-day meetings)? Most teams within the tech industry start their day with a group catch up, where they discuss plans for the day, ask for help, and delegate tasks. If your new team does this too, it’s good to know when the ceremony happens ahead of time; it's hard to give your team a good idea of your plans if you’re in a last–minute rush!

• What are you doing for lunch? Teams will often go out together when a new person joins, but it might not be on your first day. Perhaps you have teammates who usually work from home and need notice to come in, or maybe your large team needs to make a booking ahead of time with knowledge of your dietary requirements and preferences. Have a back up plan. If all else fails, this could be a great chance to discover great local eateries close to your new office!

• Finally, and arguably most importantly, “What can I share?” You’ll be excited about your new role, and the people around you will want to know how you’re getting on. But before telling your flatmates all about the cool project you’re working on, check in with your manager to see if there’s any confidential or commercially sensitive information that shouldn’t be shared outside of work. It’ll be a great peace of mind, and is a fantastic practice to start early on!

Thrive in your role

Now that we’ve got less potential for first day surprises, let’s talk about using your new role to get the best start for your career.

• Get and stay curious! Your studies will have given you a sampling of methodologies and tools you might need on the job, however every workplace has their own set of technologies, standards, and requirements. You will definitely hear new terminology and see a range of approaches to problem-solving — that’s what makes practical experience so valuable! That said, it’s easy to get in your head and feel self-conscious in a new job, especially when faced with a bunch of tech and processes you’ve never used before. I know it’s easier said than done, but I will say it still: Don’t worry about not knowing things. Instead, use every new unknown as an opportunity to learn. Your employer hired you as an intern or in a junior position because they want to invest in your career and help you grow. The people around you don’t expect you to have all the answers. In fact, they expect to be a resource for you to grow your skill set, so let them! Ask questions, take notes, and trawl through the work chat tools (eg Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc), finding channels focused on skills you want to learn. Nobody knows everything, so use everything at your disposal to find learning opportunities and seek personal and professional growth.

• Go out of your comfort zone. You might have a specialisation from your studies, or even just a set of tools you’re used to using on your school or personal projects. While it can feel great to quickly produce a result using tried and true methods, you’ll get the most from working with your new team if you make a conscious effort to stretch your abilities. Is there a ticket on the backlog that you have no idea how to approach? Great! Ask if you can pair with an experienced team member to give it a go. You’ll learn more and likely feel more fulfilment from tackling the weird and wonderful!

• Seek and practice accepting feedback. Whether it’s code or design reviews, one-on-ones with your manager, or a quick “How did I do?” huddle with your teammates after a sprint review, gathering feedback is invaluable whatever your career stage, and pays back in dividends. The hard part is that receiving feedback, especially constructive feedback, can be vulnerable and challenging. The good news is that, like any skill, it can be practised, and there’s no better time to start than in your first role, with everyone around you keen to support you and help you grow.

Work on your core skills

There’s more to growing in your career than taking on increasingly difficult technical challenges and learning new tools. At some point, you will have to transfer what’s in your mind to paper / slides / design docs and so on; in other words, organise and present your ideas to other people. Luckily, you can get started early with building this skill set well before you’re put in that position for the first time.

• Get to know your community. Whether it’s your fellow Summer of Tech interns, classmates, new co-workers, or even folk you’re briefly introduced to at meetups and conferences, making connections with other people in your field is always a great thing to do. You never know who might have just the right book or blog recommendation, whose teammate worked with the exciting new framework you’ve been wanting to try, or who spends their spare time working on Open Source projects and looking for collaborators. A small conversation can end up having a huge impact on the next thing you choose to explore in your career.

• Practise public speaking and presenting. Does your team present their work to the rest of the company in regular review sessions? See if you can pair with a presenter to understand how they prepare, and maybe even give it a go yourself! Your work might have lunchtime tech talks you can sign up for, or a local meetup might be looking for community members to demo what they’ve been working on recently. These are all opportunities to get in front of a friendly and forgiving audience and try out something most people dread — public speaking. You don’t have to aspire to be a conference presenter or developer evangelist; knowing how to structure your ideas to make them engaging and approachable for other people is an incredibly valuable skill you can use most days in most jobs.

• Learn about what the other people on your team do. Chances are your team will consist of folks with a variety of job titles. Some of the variation will be vertical (e.g. Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Engineers); understanding how these roles differ (and how different people with the same title approach their work) can give you an idea of what your own career progression might look like. It can help you set goals and identify growth opportunities. Naturally, this is incredibly valuable, especially for someone starting their career.
  Another type of role variation worth paying attention to, however, is lateral (e.g. Developers, Designers, Product Managers, Quality Assurance Technicians, People Leaders, and so on); roles that are not necessarily on the same career path, but all come together to build a great product. Embrace learning about the demands of your teammates’ jobs, especially if they are different from your own. This will help you build empathy with your immediate team, which is a reward in itself. A further benefit is that it will make you a better-rounded practitioner in your chosen field overall, because you will gain a deeper understanding of the shape of the work beyond your personal contribution and gain an awareness of the wider context your work exists in.

Be kind to yourself

Putting the tips above into practice can be hard for everyone. I’ve been in this career for over nine years now, and I’m still learning how I can do all these things better.
On tougher days, the negative self-talk can really have an impact. Try to remember that everyone is still learning, and our work is truly a team sport (otherwise we wouldn’t be organised in teams!). You don’t need to be an expert before giving new things a go and asking for help is good and expected. Take care of yourself, take breaks, and don’t forget to look back on how far you’ve come already.

If you find that you’re struggling with stress and adjusting to your new role, talk to someone: your manager, your team, your friends and close ones. You might have EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) available through work, or counselling or peer support available through your place of study. Whatever resources work for you, reach out early so the stress doesn’t take a toll on your wellbeing.

I hope these tips give you confidence going into this Summer internship season. Good luck!

* Disclaimer: The above tips are based on my personal experiences as a career switcher into tech, and a Summer of Tech alumnus and volunteer. They are not provided on behalf of or endorsed by my employer.