During the second semester of my sophomore year, I felt a little lost. I had some computer science skills from class, but most students don’t typically land internships until their junior and senior years. This uncertainty led me to explore an internship abroad program facilitated by a company called Sage Corps. Through them, I was able to interview with a travel tech startup called Zumata in Singapore, and I ended up working there for eight weeks. During that time, I worked to update their software suite to better serve their customers’ needs through AI chatbot and API development. I was also able to observe the work of three other American interns on the business team who worked to improve Zumata’s marketing, including a website overhaul.
The nature of a startup forced me into situations that I wasn’t originally sure that I was prepared for. However, showing up to work daily with a positive attitude and an eagerness to learn meant that I was ready to face the challenges of the unknown. As I decide what I will do full-time after my graduation in May, I can’t help but look back to my time at Zumata to reflect on the ways that I grew as both a developer and a human being. What follows are the 4 best ways I recommend to everyone – whether you're in a technical role or not – to make the most of working at a tech startup.
1. Buy into the company's culture and support system
My first day at Zumata, I was invited to eat lunch with about twelve of my coworkers. I was grateful to accept the invitation and get to know them better, especially since I was about as far away from the US as I ever would be. Little did I know that lunch was a daily occurrence, and I would get to spend every day for eight weeks truly getting to know my coworkers while trying tons of amazing food. Even more, the company’s CEO took a few of us interns out to dinner one night! I can’t imagine that many big companies come even close to building these types of connections with their employees. Having these connections built, even if it was over food, meant that when I needed help or had an idea to share, I had no fear to approach any one of the people in our office (even the CEO)! Immersing yourself in the culture of a company is a great way to ensure you have friends in the office for when you may get stuck, which as a developer, can happen quite often.
2. Be prepared to learn a new skill every day
If you work at a startup, it’s possible that you may completely change the direction of development at the snap of a finger. Some may see that as a roadblock, but as a developer, it means that there’s always a new skill to add to your repertoire. Being exposed to tons of different software packages or frameworks shows other potential employers that you’re versatile and willing to learn, which is an invaluable trait. For example, I was able to learn Go, Node.js, Phoenix, Express, Jenkins, and more, all in the short course of eight weeks. Having a positive attitude about learning new things meant that I could keep up with all the exciting technology that Zumata used that kept them at the cutting-edge of their industry.
3. Take risks, say yes, and work at a fast pace
Inherent to learning new skills is a fast-paced work environment. In order to evolve as a developer, it is important to be able to say yes to a challenge or task while analyzing what it will take to complete it. Since technology is an ever-growing and changing industry, the people that constitute its workforce need to be equally changing. Saying yes to a task that you may not be confident about shows that you are willing to work hard for the good of the company. The pace at which startups move may be intimidating, but being a developer willing to match that pace allows both the developer and the company to find the most exciting and creative solutions to old and new kinds of problems.
4. Involve yourself in new and challenging projects
As I mentioned earlier, I shared my time at Zumata with a few other American interns who worked in business development. It may seem strange, but I tried to find as many ways as I had time to work with them and also help give input to the direction of their work. Contributing to areas within a company other than your assigned department shows that you understand the ways that all arms of the company work together towards a shared end goal. This is especially helpful if you're on the engineering team, as it's essential to understand how the rest of the team interacts with the product you're building. You'll also increase your communication skills and demonstrate added value aside from simply writing code.
Startups can sometimes have the connotation of being unorganized and chaotic. However, I hope these ideas show the possibilities to grow that being an open-minded developer or employee can introduce. If you're an outgoing, curious, and versatile team member, you can unlock the best version of yourself to bring to work every day and make the most of your time at a startup. As I converge towards a decision for my first full-time gig after college, I know that I’ll keep these things in mind so that no two days of work are the same.