My company is opening the Launchpad program for junior developers or developers at an early stage of their career as well as business minded talents. I myself started at Smartly.io by joining the Launchpad program. For today, I would like to share my own experience and some insight from an insider. I will go through the main points:
- Have you heard about Smartly.io?
- What to expect when joining Launchpad program?
- Is the program for you if you have a few years experience already?
- Why is Launchpad a great start for your career as a developer?
- A bried explaination about the open roles both for technical and business background
Smartly is a diverse company with great working culture
Smartly.io was founded in Finland in 2013, specialized in digital ads management, creative automation, and performance analysis. Our office is located in Postitalo right in front of the central railway station. We have offices in 17 cities with 400+ Smartlies. English is the main working language. I was surprised that there are 60+ nationalities among us. Since I started, the whole company is in remote mode. Even though I have not met other teams in person, I still feel like working in a cozy startup when people all know each other. If I like to talk with someone, I can send a message for a quick call. Or sometimes, a colleague based half the globe away sent me a PM to share a compliment. I can develop close relationships with other teammates even if there are hundreds of us.
Launchpad program is a serious investment of companies for young talents
The Launchpad offers a full time fixed term contract for 3–6 months. The main idea is after that it turns to permanent full time contract or part time in case you like to get back to your study for example. When I joined the program, I got a Macbook Pro, iPhone11, a headphone, and other necessary tools for work. How cool is that! Yeah, it is not everything you would expect from your work but at least you know that the company invests in you. Practically, this is a paid position, beside salary you get all other perk benefits such as lunch, sprort & culture like other employee.
So for the main thing…let’s talk about the work. There is time for onboarding when you learn about company products and the working process. At Smartly we have our own product. The main task of an engineer is to build new features or maintain the current running ones. You are assigned to a team, and can start with real task from day one.
What I like about Smartly, firstly I get impressed by the working process. I would say there is no deadline for a task or any limitation. You can pick a task you feel interested in and start working on it. If you get stuck, other senior developers are always willing to help. But if you like to figure out yourself, you still can take your time to play around.
Secondly, I love the people. In Smartly, we embrace a culture of humbleness and trust. You are encouraged to share your thoughts and be honest. All feedback is taken into account. You give others feedback and you receive feedback.
Besides, Smartly also embraces a culture of asking questions. There is no know-it-all person or stupid questions. No one is ever too busy to answer your questions, which is why I was very impressed during my first days. In return, I had my “headache” when others kept asking “Do you have any questions?” — which is to me the hardest question to answer. By telling this, I think I already gave you a hint for an interview: prepare your questions :D.
Launchpad program is also a job opportunity for experienced developers
In my case I was a junior developer when I joined. Some other launchpad joiners, they had already a few years of experience. With better skills, they can get on board quicker. At Smartly, you have freedom to choose your tasks, involve in planning, or take a bigger role. There is no limitation when you are a launchpad joiner or on a fixed term contract. To me, I take it as an interesting challenge: you have all the rights like anybody else so that you are expected to be like others. It was a great encouragement to shape myself over the work. After months of working, if you feel like this is a right place for you and at that point when you can prove to your team that you have the skills, you will be offered a permanent contract. Some cases it comes faster than others. I think it depends on your skill level. To sum up, the launchpad is aimed at junior developers, but if you already have experience, this is still a great job opportunity.
Smartly is a great start for junior developers
In Smartly, it was my very first time working on a real application. There are three reasons why I think Smartly is a great start for your career.
Firstly, you have an opportunity to test yourself in the real battle. I think at some point in your learning process, I would encourage you to start applying for jobs. Doing personal projects and learning courses are beneficial, but still solving real problems is a good way to learn. I understand that you might feel you still need to learn more and more. The application in a company is far more complicated than your assignments. Take some risk. It is hard, yes it is. When you work with hundreds of components in React, figuring out which is what can take you hours or even days. However, you will gradually get familiar with the code base or start to understand deeply the concepts that you learnt before. I still recall the test I had when applied for HIVE Helsinki. When it started, there was no instruction at all. The clock kept ticking. You had to figure out what needs to be done. The way the test was designed reflects exactly how programming is: you figure out the pattern. The more you play with code, the better you understand it.
Secondly, Smartly is a great learning environment. #maximizelearning is part of the Smartly culture. You are encouraged to learn new things. As I mentioned before, being surrounded by other senior developers is a great starting. You get all the help when you need it. At first you do small little tasks, then you take bigger tasks. You can ask for help anytime. But at the same time you are encouraged to figure out by yourself. Sometimes, you are even being challenged when you ask something. For example, before receiving the answer, you have to justify your rationale and thinking process first. It’s kinda cool in my opinion. One thing I would mention is that you are also expected to write code in a proper way, for example: how you form a description on your Github PR, how you name a variable, how to write a function which is clear to others. I think at the beginning of your career, it is something you can impress your recruiter with. If you do an assignment for your job application, pay attention to following best coding practice.
There are open positions for developers as well for business minded talents
Software Developer
As I mentioned above, in Smartly we have our own product. There are new features we are building all the time. The main tech is Typescripts, React.js, and Node.js in the back-end. There are a lot more techs but don’t worry, there are other experts in the fields who can help you with. To work with Front-end, Javascripts and React.js are two most important technologies. Typescripts is an extension of Javascripts. You can go through the document and understand how it works when you start working with types. Beside React.js, there is also Redux for state management. But still, you can figure out when working on a real project. No need to be scared of those if you first hear of those.
Launchpad 2021- Apply before 15.02.2022
https://www.smartly.io/careers/launchpad
I hope with the sharing, you understand more about the Launchpad program: what it is about, what you can expect when joining, and which positions are available for you. If you have any question, feel free to contact me through my LinkedIn. Cheers!
See you next time!
Please note that all information is from my personal point of view. Checking the company website for official information.
Comments
Post a Comment