Internship ends, job begins: How to start with my first task?
You have finished your intership project – the presentation went well, and the graduation ceremony is over. You got a job opportunity. That is great! But now what?
Meet the Team
That thought process ran through my mind after my summer 2023 internship.
In those two months, I learned a great deal as a beginner, primarily about teamwork (and Git, cannot forget about Git).
Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that these were basics every developer should possess. So, I confronted myself with a burning question: how would I fare with a real task?
Despite the completion of the internship project, I knew there was still much more to grasp.
The next step was to meet the team.
Wait, I don’t understand the task
I was fortunate to join my team during a transitional phase between projects, affording me extra time for learning. However, as everyone else was also navigating new territories, clarity wasn’t always readily available. This added to the confusion, especially for me as an intern.
Then, an opportunity presented itself: the team received a chance to take on some new challenges in form of tasks
Excitedly, I perused them, only to realize that I didn’t fully grasp any of them. I decided to tackle one that seemed enjoyable, especially since it came with a code example – a small victory!
However, as I delved into the code, it became apparent: I still lacked a full understanding of the task.
What next? Fortunately, our tasks were being tackled in small teams. “Hey Matija, do you have a minute…”
Indeed, working in a team is great.
Try, fail and repeat
Armed with some guidelines, I was set on my way.
As I was trying to understand the assignment, I got banter from colleague: ‘Relax, Matija will fix it.’
Rather than demoralizing me, those words fueled my determination to grasp the task myself. I realized that relying solely on others would only leave me stagnant
After all, it’s better to attempt and stumble than to never begin at all.
Don’t just let Matija fix it
In my trial-and-error phase, one thing became clear to me: not everyone fully understands tasks immediately, and that’s OK.
This holds true even if you have significantly more experience. As I searched for answers around the office, everyone I turned to was trying to gather as much information about it as possible, even from me.
So, my conclusion was as follows: relax, but don’t solely rely on Matija to fix it.
It’s okay to be confused, but try to comprehend your task as thoroughly as possible and take your time with it.
And, in the end, Matija did fix it. Working in a team is great.
