What are some ways for a junior/intern/newbie to provide value to a team ?

[McThuggets]

Hey all,

I'm a big noob trying to understand a bit more about the industry and the qualities you'd want to see in the new guy, these could be hard skills, soft skills, attitude, etc.

Thanks in advance for sharing

 

[Bencrisp]

Hey bud,

Go the extra mile with any task you are asked of. If there is some project or issue to get resolved, ask to participate that you can use it as a learning experience. Do some reading up before or during to get a better understanding and maybe you can contribute. Do not be afraid to ask questions if you are not quite sure. Be a team player and build friendships. Then you can ask for some coaching on how to get things done from the seasoned vets. This is all hoping that you have a good team to work with. Do extra training when you can to add more skills you can offer.

Good luck

 

[McThuggets]

Hey bud,

Go the extra mile with any task you are asked of. If there is some project or issue to get resolved, ask to participate that you can use it as a learning experience. Do some reading up before or during to get a better understanding and maybe you can contribute. Do not be afraid to ask questions if you are not quite sure. Be a team player and build friendships. Then you can ask for some coaching on how to get things done from the seasoned vets. This is all hoping that you have a good team to work with. Do extra training when you can to add more skills you can offer.

Good luck

Sound advice. I will definitely try to to do any task to the best of my ability, seeking help where I'm struggling

 

[Will_I_Am]

The experience you gain from learning and struggling through something yourself is invaluable. Good leadership and mentorship does help and is important, but nothing beats figuring something out yourself and learning in the process.

I worked for a small startup the first 3.5 years of my career. I wanted to start at a big dev house in one of their internships programs initially, but failed at a few places and settled at a startup willing to give me chance. For some time I thought I was missing out on all the devs starting at the fancy places with lots of training and leadership programs. I have since moved on to a dev house and I am so grateful for those first few years. They did not have the resources to help us very much and we were givens loads of responsibility and ownership from the get-go. I will trade nothing for the experience I acquired from that. I actually think that I have a leg-up on the devs starting at big companies as I now regularly see them stuck in a single way of thinking, not willing to take chances on something they haven't done, tried or learned. This is also dependent on the company and how they treat and teach the junior devs/interns. Some will have better methodologies than others, some may spoon feed, while others will throw you into the deep end.

Now I do see the worth in proper training, and I am not dismissing it at all. I am just sharing my experience. Also, if you find yourself stuck and you have tried everything you can, it is always good to ask for help. We should learn from each other and not waste company time for no reason.

Put in the effort, work hard, struggle and learn to fail. You'll be fine.

Good luck!

 

[McThuggets]

The experience you gain from learning and struggling through something yourself is invaluable. Good leadership and mentorship does help and is important, but nothing beats figuring something out yourself and learning in the process.

I worked for a small startup the first 3.5 years of my career. I wanted to start at a big dev house in one of their internships programs initially, but failed at a few places and settled at a startup willing to give me chance. For some time I thought I was missing out on all the devs starting at the fancy places with lots of training and leadership programs. I have since moved on to a dev house and I am so grateful for those first few years. They did not have the resources to help us very much and we were givens loads of responsibility and ownership from the get-go. I will trade nothing for the experience I acquired from that. I actually think that I have a leg-up on the devs starting at big companies as I now regularly see them stuck in a single way of thinking, not willing to take chances on something they haven't done, tried or learned. This is also dependent on the company and how they treat and teach the junior devs/interns. Some will have better methodologies than others, some may spoon feed, while others will throw you into the deep end.

Now I do see the worth in proper training, and I am not dismissing it at all. I am just sharing my experience. Also, if you find yourself stuck and you have tried everything you can, it is always good to ask for help. We should learn from each other and not waste company time for no reason.

Put in the effort, work hard, struggle and learn to fail. You'll be fine.

Good luck!

Thanks for the insight!

I wholeheartedly agree that

The experience you gain from learning and struggling through something yourself is invaluable.

There's something about the process of really sitting with a problem (without getting help too soon) that really stretches your understanding and helps solidify your learning like nothing else.

They did not have the resources to help us very much and we were givens loads of responsibility and ownership from the get-go. I will trade nothing for the experience I acquired from that.

Also, I think there's something to be said about how being giving a load of responsibility and ownership over some task will drive you to make sure it is done well.

Thanks for sharing, the second paragraph is very relevant as I have interviewed at 2 startups so far. I see that there is a lot of valuable skills to be gained from working in that environment

 

[ChazySA]

Initiative and Innovation are key for new joiners / interns etc. We often find that new people find new environments challenging.

You may feel like you're interfering with the normal process or can't get a point across when having engagements but this is some things that can give you a very good advantage over others in the workplace.

I often find that those who pick up their hand unwillingly are the ones who get remembered (Not in a piling work-load way but understanding the practice of having capacity to do something additional that can benefit your growth and learning).

I've noticed that being transparent and open all the time helps a lot as well. If you are struggling with a project then voice it proactively. Communicating often will give you a very extensive network over time. You'll get to learn how others approach things and go about their day-to-day and this can tailor your specific approach to find the best, and most comfortable, route to move forward.

On the innovation side a simple task of automating a tedious process can do wonders for you in the long term. Nowadays we are flooded with news about ChatGPT - Perhaps find a use case with it that can benefit both you and your team. Your name will stamped in the organization for doing something that is so simple yet so effective.

I can go on for a while on this but these are more soft skills to adopt which will definitely give you a decent advantage.

 

[McThuggets]

Initiative and Innovation are key for new joiners / interns etc. We often find that new people find new environments challenging.

You may feel like you're interfering with the normal process or can't get a point across when having engagements but this is some things that can give you a very good advantage over others in the workplace.

I often find that those who pick up their hand unwillingly are the ones who get remembered (Not in a piling work-load way but understanding the practice of having capacity to do something additional that can benefit your growth and learning).

I've noticed that being transparent and open all the time helps a lot as well. If you are struggling with a project then voice it proactively. Communicating often will give you a very extensive network over time. You'll get to learn how others approach things and go about their day-to-day and this can tailor your specific approach to find the best, and most comfortable, route to move forward.

On the innovation side a simple task of automating a tedious process can do wonders for you in the long term. Nowadays we are flooded with news about ChatGPT - Perhaps find a use case with it that can benefit both you and your team. Your name will stamped in the organization for doing something that is so simple yet so effective.

I can go on for a while on this but these are more soft skills to adopt which will definitely give you a decent advantage.

I'll definitely be on the lookout for extra tasks to take on that will stretch my skills (without biting of more than I can chew).

The same for finding ways to simplify/automate repetitive work.

I will keep all of this in mind. Thanks for the advice, man

 

[Billionairebum]

Don't rm -rf /* it is severly career limiting.
Before you say you don't know, show what you have tried and what your next ideas are. Research your next task before you start it so you are familiar with the basics and concepts, you don't need to know everything but it would be excellent if you do not need to be spoon fed. You are going to make a shit ton of mistakes, learn from them and learn to not repeat them.

 

[dalion619]

What are some ways for a junior/intern/newbie to provide value to a team?​

Only that team can answer that. @ChazySA has provided great insight. A changed team is a new team, responsibilities & roles change. Communication is the most important thing and by that, I mean each team member understands you.

Hey all,

I'm a big noob trying to understand a bit more about the industry and the qualities you'd want to see in the new guy, these could be hard skills, soft skills, attitude, etc.

Thanks in advance for sharing

Being pragmatic, empathic, reasonable and honest with yourself. You don't know what you don't know. as a grad I can't give you EverythingAboutWebDev.pdf because in 6 months you might find mobile dev a better path.
I don't want you doing the minimum to tick off a task as done that only works in Chrome when you can go do work, you're proud off giving ios/android users an experience they expect.
Neither would I expect something of you that I would not of myself/do. I was also the 'new guy' and I either learnt myself or someone taught me so if you cannot accomplish something its my responsibility.

Also, I think there's something to be said about how being giving a load of responsibility and ownership over some task will drive you to make sure it is done well.

Thanks for sharing, the second paragraph is very relevant as I have interviewed at 2 startups so far. I see that there is a lot of valuable skills to be gained from working in that environment

Each organisation is different, and interviews are a two-way street for you to learn the processes/leadership/management. Like start-ups expect things outside normal business hours, likewise some people prefer to work at night but should also be reasonable not to bother team members with issues when those members have put in their 8-5.

I always suggest those new to the industry start with work that's paid per hour. You learn to value your time, if you put in extra hours you're compensated for that, and you align tasks to the business value/ROI.
If you're learning/researching that's not billable hours, you also don't waste time on tasks that are pointless, if there's a problem and have to redo the work, the cost to business is the same as a more experienced resource also your earnings might be 'tax-free'.
There's no point wasting a day, automating a task that takes 10 mins done once a month. No business would sign off on that, if they did then someone in the team would have done it.

Taking ownership/responsibility over a task is expected but someone outside of the team/organisation shouldn't tell the junior they fucked up. It's my responsibility to make sure it's correct, so if it occurs then either they didn't follow the process and went to the junior directly or I fucked up and have to eat the shit.
Likewise, if I tell the junior there's nothing critical needed atm chillax, they can go play games etc or find something to do but something could come up, I don't care what they've committed themselves to as what I delegate is more important.
Ownership is a very important thing, someone could decide to re-write all the jQuery to vanilla JS but if not everyone in the team knows vanilla JS and it wasn't a team decision, they now own all the problems that arise from that even if they're on leave/holiday.

If you're left to your own devices with no oversight, you're effectively an intermediate developer playing on God mode, they might designate you a title based on experience/pay but when I hear "A junior took down production" I reply that's retarded.

 

[McThuggets]

I don't want you doing the minimum to tick off a task as done that only works in Chrome when you can go do work, you're proud off giving ios/android users an experience they expect.

100% agreed. I don't want to be that guy who's just there to do the bare minimum, get paid and leave.

There's no point wasting a day, automating a task that takes 10 mins done once a month. No business would sign off on that, if they did then someone in the team would have done it.

You're right, that definitely would be a waste. I think a better way of looking to provide innovative solutions, as per ChazyZA's advice, would be to look at how we do certain tasks and to ask the question "How can we be doing this better/faster/cheaper ?". At least, I think that's what he/she was getting at, not that we necessarily need to automate things.

I always suggest those new to the industry start with work that's paid per hour. You learn to value your time, if you put in extra hours you're compensated for that, and you align tasks to the business value/ROI.

That seems like sound advice. I am curious about how one would go about billing their hours though. For example, I might work on something and it may take me 3 hours to do. But, someone else (my employer/senior) may look at it and say it should've taken like one hour. Probably a case-by-case sort of issue, but how would one go about a situation like that ?

I reply that's retarded.

Lol 🤣

Btw, it sounds like you respect and take good care of your juniors. Much respect. I hope to end up somewhere with an employer holding similar values. Thanks so so much for the detailed response

 

[kryptonzp]

For juniors it's important to not ask repetitive questions but to make notes when a colleague guides you or helps you with something new. Example a senior shows you a fancy kubernetes kubectl command (note down on notepad ++ and save it) This shows that you learning and remembered what was explained to you. ( Team value provided because you not sucking up people's time as most juniors) Also try to work on a task yourself but know when you need help, don't wait too long. Ask questions but don't be full of yourself. Ask a question for understanding in meetings not for the sake of asking or showing that you are smart. I think one of the biggest mistakes a junior makes is trying too hard with innovation but not getting the basics done. Innovation is good when needed but honestly as a junior your role is too get the work given to you done and not take too long with it. Also teams appreciate when you can help out with support and prod issues. Look for a good mentor in the company I had one when I first started back in the day it really helped. Providing value for a team is not just providing value but fulfilling multiple areas of personal development which will in turn provide team value. So in the weekends or in your spare time upskill. Always be humble. Cheers dude !

 

[dalion619]

That seems like sound advice. I am curious about how one would go about billing their hours though. For example, I might work on something and it may take me 3 hours to do. But, someone else (my employer/senior) may look at it and say it should've taken like one hour. Probably a case-by-case sort of issue, but how would one go about a situation like that ?

You would have to justify it, but that number would be known upfront, realistically it's based on accepted cost/scope of work.
That hour is your guideline on learning how to approach a problem and what to focus on. If you're not done in that time, then your senior should have followed up.

 

[McThuggets]

For juniors it's important to not ask repetitive questions but to make notes when a colleague guides you or helps you with something new. Example a senior shows you a fancy kubernetes kubectl command (note down on notepad ++ and save it) This shows that you learning and remembered what was explained to you. ( Team value provided because you not sucking up people's time as most juniors) Also try to work on a task yourself but know when you need help, don't wait too long. Ask questions but don't be full of yourself. Ask a question for understanding in meetings not for the sake of asking or showing that you are smart. I think one of the biggest mistakes a junior makes is trying too hard with innovation but not getting the basics done. Innovation is good when needed but honestly as a junior your role is too get the work given to you done and not take too long with it. Also teams appreciate when you can help out with support and prod issues. Look for a good mentor in the company I had one when I first started back in the day it really helped. Providing value for a team is not just providing value but fulfilling multiple areas of personal development which will in turn provide team value. So in the weekends or in your spare time upskill. Always be humble. Cheers dude !

For sure, I could see how both of those things would get super annoying, super quickly.

And yes, the basics and getting my work done must be the first priority, innovation and all that afterwards.

I'd say I'm pretty humble. I would go so far as to say that I'm the most humble!

 

[aiccc]

Find a mentor, Ask someone that is interested in being a mentor.

Good devs are not aways good mentors.

Also being a gopher is a great way to learn. You will find yourself (by happenstance) in the action when things are unfolding

 

[Reegz]

Tl/dr the other comments.

• Pen and paper are your friends
• Note down tasks assigned to you
• Stay on top of your tasks
• Pen and paper are your friends
• Don't be afraid of the crap tasks
• Don't expect the "glamorous" tasks
• Do some research before you ask questions - show that you're making some effort
• When taught/shown something - make a point to note it down. Like, on paper. Remember it!
• Learn how to search the internet/forums for help and how to filter out what's relevant and what's not
• Stick your nose into dev conversations - but only to listen
• Make it a point to fully understand the tools used in the environment e.g.: master whatever IDE/IDE's are in use in the team
• Knowing keyboard shortcuts gives you 10 000 extra style points
• To get better at writing code, you have to keep writing code ;-)
• You can pick up quite a bit by having YouTube videos and podcasts running in the background
• Don't be afraid to ask questions
• Peer-programming with the right dev/mentor can be tons of fun
• Follow internal processes; even if they don't make sense (a lot of times processes are put in place because someone did something they shouldn't)

There's some caveats in those points but generally if you put in the effort, have some potential and aren't a complete knob you'll be fine. Most of the best devs I know are quite inward people, so it takes time for them to warm to you. If you show good skills and have a good character, that happens faster.

As in any job, respect for others and your environment will take you far.