Prompt: You’ve been a ThoughtWorker for X years and Y months. Think back on your first day on the job - where you were then and where you are today. What advice would you offer yourself? What do you wish you had known back then?
Rose Fan: Analyst, 3 years (June 2010)
Be prepared.
You’re new in the company, on the client site, in the workforce, and in the industry; accept that your lack of experience will inevitably put you at somewhat of a disadvantage, especially if you’re joining a team of analysts who have been there for years. However, what you lack in experience you can partially make up for through plain hard work. Do your research before meetings. Get to know your clients and customers before you meet them. Read up on system terminology and documentation. Get your projector set up before your meeting invitees show up. In short; do everything you can within your reasonable capacity to be as prepared as possible. Even if you don’t know the answer to everything, doing some homework will permit you to at least be able to follow the conversation and get ramped up all that much faster. Anyone can build up domain knowledge over time, but a hard-working analyst who demonstrates preparedness and who radiates confidence in the face of unknown or new territory brings value on day one.
Say yes. Or ask “can I get involved in that?"
At ThoughtWorks you will likely come across many opportunities. Some will be presented to you in an obvious manner (e.g. a recruiter asks if you can fill in for an interviewer); others not so obvious (e.g. you overhear water cooler chatter about an XD workshop happening next Friday at the SF office). In the case of the former - say yes! In the latter, ask to participate. Being proactive and willing to wear new hats are qualities that are valued very highly here at ThoughtWorks and will take you far. Worst case scenario would be that you don’t get to join in this round of fun - but your name will be remembered the next time an opportunity comes up.
Go to pub night.
...and roll-off parties, team dinners, movie nights, and other forms of get-togethers outside of work. ThoughtWorks wouldn’t be what it is without the relationships that we have with each other. The weird, funny, thought-provoking conversations we have after-hours are a perk of the job! Take the time to cultivate friendships and to get to know your team. Being friendly and personable will establish a deeper level of trust and respect at work too. You’re young and silly and likely in a foreign city - go out and have some fun, girl.
Linda Goldstein
I've been with ThoughtWorks for 2.5 years (since January 2011). I keep my code interview code in a private repository on github, in large part because it is very different from what I write nowadays. Very few entry-level developers know how to design for maintainability.
1. Don't allow yourself to split your attention towards technical side projects until everyone on your project thinks you're quite good at most stuff and an expert in at least one thing.
1b. Okay, but only one side project at a time.
2. Having a mentor who knows about these things is invaluable when it comes to learning people skills and politics.
2b. Soft skills are at least half your job, and having them makes both learning and teaching tech stuff go much more efficiently.
3. Maximum "Yeah, totally" is maximum win (most of the time.)
- "Are you coming to team lunch?" "Yeah, totally!"
- "How would you feel about going to Dallas to work on a Java project?" "Yeah, totally!"
- "Can you come to San Francisco for a workshop on Android?" "Yeah, totally!"
- "We need someone to do X huge task; can you take it?" "I'm kind of overloaded right now and I think I might explode. So probably not, sorry."
- "Can you help interview a candidate today?" "Yeah, totally!"
- "Can you look at this code?" "Yeah, totally!"
Apryl Gordy: Analyst/Dev- 1year, 1 month (Hire Date: June 6, 2012)
Breathe! It’s ok- It is perfectly fine not to know the answer to every question asked to you, the important thing is that you must not be comfortable with not knowing. Search for the answer or find someone who knows the answer. Always be learning and absorbing what comes to you in the form of information.
Ask all the questions- Be that 3 year old child that asks why for every single reason. Even if something seems to be right, question it. ThoughtWorks wouldn’t be the place it is if everyone went with every decision because “it is right” or “because that’s how it’s always been done” or “just is” Don’t ask because others say you should, but ask with the intent to understand the true meaning of why and don’t stop asking until you fully understand why.
Roll with the punches- often times with being in a part of a consultancy changes come at the tap of a keyboard. Don’t fight the change just go with it, it makes life so much easier.
Sit up straight in your chair!- You’ll thank me in your old age when your back doesn’t have a hump in it.
Saying ‘no’ is permissible- ThoughtWorks is a place of an abundance of opportunities and it can seem like you’re drinking from a firehose if you try to do EVERYTHING. Step back, analyze the opps and then decide which way to go. It is great to participate in many things as possible; during hours, after hours, fun stuff, technical stuff...and all things in between. But know when too much is too much and be comfortable and able to say ‘no’.
Do not be afraid, Be confident!- You may not know it now, and it may be scary, but trust that you can learn it. Fear is merely a perception, change your perception and you become fearless. You were hired to do something you know very little about, but trust that you can get to the place of being an expert on it one day. A journey cannot be started if you don’t take the first step. You can learn it, YOU GOT THIS! They know you can do it, you have to be more sure than them that you can too.
Be you, be bold, drive your journey- you will often find that suggestions will be made for you about what is best for you. Not everyone knows what truly is best for you, but you always should and do. Acknowledge that what is being said or expressed comes from a genuine place, but be bold enough to say that you disagree. Set your own goals and share them, but don’t let others create the path that you should go down in order to meet that goal. Hear what they have to say, alter your plans if their suggestions are better than what you came up with, but don’t let it change you or what you envision to be the next goal checkpoint.
Always remember to smile, laugh and HAVE FUN!!!!! - Somehow it brightens others day when you smile. And on the opposite side, if you don’t...some take you for being the angry black kid in the office :-) Having fun daily makes this thing more enjoyable. So grab as many nerf guns as possible, crack as much jokes as necessary and laugh at yourself when you make stupid mistakes. Laughter heals even the most stressful situations. Don’t think of this as going to work every day, just say you’re headed to the fun!
Abby Bangser - ~1.5 yrs
"If you know 4 musical notes, teach someone who knows 3."
This might sound cocky when you know so little, however it will keep your mind open to learn from every single person you speak to, so be ready to absorb. At the same time, the opportunities to learn extend beyond technical or consulting skills and into the realm of teaching and leading in ways you can't even imagine right now. The quickest way to learn something new is to offer to help so pay attention to new opportunities. Don't underestimate the power of getting to know your team outside of work and definitely don't underestimate the need to know when to slow down so that you never have to stop. Lastly? Have fun...there are a million opportunities so find the ones that make you happy because that will always yield better results!
