One positive guy came, and I still remember his words: “If you start working here, you will have a belly like me.”
Summer holidays were getting closer and closer, and I knew that “doing nothing” isn’t for me. I’ve been there already – a year before, most of my friends found a job, and we could hang out only on weekends. Each week looked the same – I spent the weekends with them and wasted time for the rest of the week. Then, I had a thought. And a brilliant one – a professional internship would be a great way to gain some experience and earn some money! No more boredom!
That’s how my journey began. Though Gorrion was not the first company, I tried to get into an internship. During preparations, I was focused on programming practice, but I didn’t know what I should learn.
The first interview has shown me that the IT world is not so easy. It’s challenging and demanding, especially for beginners. I decided that I should revise the material and go deeper into the subject. As a result, I started to learn more and sent some additional CVs. I’ve taken part in several interviews, and then, Gorrion appeared on the horizon.
When it feels like home
I still remember this day, like it was a week ago. I’m slowly opening the door and entering the software house. I look straight ahead, and there is a rack with jackets – nothing extraordinary – and a lot of pairs of shoes underneath. As soon as I looked to the side, I saw that most of the employees were wearing slippers. My eyes lit up, and I decided that I will do everything to stay here. “A man goes through the door and instantly feels at home” – that’s what I thought. Then, somebody asked me to sit on the sofa and wait a moment. I wasn’t alone, though. One guy with a big smile on his face came up to me, and we started talking. To this day, I can recall his words: “If you start working here, you will have a belly like me.”
Later, it was my time to shine. During the recruitment interview, I’ve shown that I know some technologies and tried to make the recruiters like me. Soon after, I received an email with information about my success and an invitation for the first day – I could celebrate! After a few days, all my friends and family knew about the company I was going to work in. I also didn’t forget to mention that I’ll be doing this in my slippers (I was really excited about this, ok?).
Programming military service
On the first day, I packed all the necessary things – a laptop, food and of course, slippers (just in case). Unfortunately, I didn’t wear them because I noticed that the rest of the trainees wear casual shoes. However, I decided to ask my supervisor if I could wear them the next day. I got permission. And that’s how my journey with the most comfortable shoes started.
On our first day, we all got to know each other quickly. Next, our superiors greeted us in berets, and we were introduced to the rest of the team in helmets with Gorrion’s logo. It was a way to refer to the theme of that year’s internship “Programming military service”.
A moment later, we got to know the Scrum methodology, and started our projects. Our duties included building digital product along with attending weekly sprints, setting goals, tasks, etc. We were told that we’d immediately learn how to work with clients because our superiors were them. Plus, the last hour of the day was to look around the company and install the necessary software for work.
Over the following days, I had the opportunity to learn more about this software house, the team and integrate with trainees, supervisors, and other employees. I liked the atmosphere in the company more and more, and the tasks gave me satisfaction.
Every day we participated in 15-minute meetings when everyone spoke about the previous day’s work and plans for the current day. We also had the opportunity to ask questions about the problems bothering us.
The right choice
Summing up – I know that I came to the perfect place where I can develop my skills and at the same time spend time with a group of cheerful people. The coffee prepared in the office perfectly wakes me up, and I can always eat my favourite croissants from the bakery next to our building. And there’s definitely no room for boredom. After getting out of bed, all I have to do is get in the car and get to my second home-work. Work in which I can wear slippers. 🙂
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Artur writes about internships at Gorrion, which is how he started his adventure with us.
