Spring Insights into Software Engineering Review

Each day would begin with a networking opportunity during the provided breakfast with other students on the program, the morning would either consist of talks or a team working activity (the other would be done early afternoon), before a networking lunch with students and employees. Afternoon sessions would consist of more talks and division oriented workshops before a final networking social in the late afternoon. There were breaks throughout the day, but the talks and workshops were sandwiched together in a way that was not disengaging. The core skill we built up would have been networking and the information we got from it was equivalent to the effort we put in to find out, all the employees were friendly and honest about what they do and what they feel towards their work. In contrast, the talks and speakers were very transparent in their expertise and covered everything you would need to know about their division without any further questions, there was always a Q&A, everything was explained clearly. I've learnt a lot about the culture of the company and every employee spoke in such a positive way about what they do and what opportunities they have in their workplace and their role, so it was insightful in that sense. However, the company is very big so it's understandable that I couldn't walk away with a clear knowledge of what technologies they use as different teams had different tools, this is the same for approaches and team styles. It makes it easy to tailor skills for a specific team, but difficult to prepare for the company in general.

Networking was the core of what I developed but not just limited to having good conversations, there were a lot of presentation and evoking engagement skills I was able to learn from the presenters and direct conversations with the presenters later on in the networking sessions. As we were repeatedly thrown into environments with new people and the only activity to talk you do get the opportunity to become a more confident speaker which was both passive and active during collaborations and group work. Team working was also encouraged through the workshops and events, speaking amongst ourselves was never discouraged and the time was given for us to learn more about each other. As a people from a wide variety of backgrounds and years were gathered, different work styles and leadership was present which was a good experience.

It didn't end, there were too many teams to get a complete knowledge of what the tech specific roles looked like, though we did get a good amount of variety from the speakers we have heard from, so it was very open in that sense. The employees themselves said it was difficult to keep track of what all could be done in the company which made it more interesting to learn about.

If I had not previous experience with this firm, it would not at all be what I associated to the name. The company was very open in its work and its very noticeable from the culture, the flexibility it offers its employees is present in the attitude the employees have towards their work. As if they know that if they explore their own interests in their work, its possible for it to grow and be rewarded. No one at the company felt like they would grow complacent if they didn't want to, as long as they put the effort in it felt like a place that would reward that effort in one way or another. From the tech side it was clear that the company focused a lot on giving back what they could, their code is becoming more open source and 'force for good', an initiative that is bound to the software engineering side of the company make it feel like a very positive environment to work with and align with what the company values are. There are both business resource groups and special interest groups that allow cross-firm networking, once again showing off freedom and flexibility.

I would do this all over again in a heart beat, it was a great balance of interesting, fun and thought-provoking, it felt both welcoming and challenging and I think that's exactly what you need from an insight as a student. Especially after Zoom events, the networking was hard to do and harder to keep up, but the clear understanding of that was present. I was expecting to be overwhelmed with the technical knowledge that I lack, but the taught concepts were really from first principles, so I never felt too excluded or out classed to be uncomfortable.

Yes

They value interest and motivation, so consider where you have the interest and motivation to match it. I started out on the finance path and thought the culture is very similar I did not have the ability to match the appreciation they had for their strands, so bringing myself over to tech where I had the appreciation was something I don't at all regret. The environment encourages learning a lot, flexibility is available throughout the work place, and they won't lock you into a role you hate doing, so figure out what you are interested in and come forward with the attitude of exploring that interest in this work place. If you can explain how this role or company can empower you and prove that you can learn or have learned the skills for it, then I can't imagine it going wrong at any stage of the application proccess.