“Feel free to ask any question,” we usually say that to newcomers when introducing the company, team, or project. Openness is one of the AMC Bridge values that help us be candid when speaking about various aspects. However, is that so easy for a newbie to voice any matter of interest?

We’ve asked our teammates, former trainees, to remind awkward questions raised while joining and undergoing the Campus program. After that, we’ve addressed those questions to team leaders. The answers are available below.

Interviewees:

Maksym Marchenko, Software Development Engineer, Team Leader of the Research Projects Department

In 2019, when being a third-year student, Maksym joined AMC Bridge as a C# software development engineer. Later he became a team leader on internal projects. “I started the same way and knew that feeling. Combining work and studies is not as easy as it may seem. That’s why I am sympathetic to students and always ready to give a helpful piece of advice,” says Maksym.

Serhii Kastierov, Software Development Engineer, Team Leader of the Research Projects Department

Serhii joined AMC Bridge as a JavaScript Full Stack software development engineer in 2017. He is convinced that before working on customer projects, developers should have strong hard skills, abilities to seek and find solutions, easily handle stress, and take responsibility for the product under development. Starting from 2018, Serhii helps AMC Bridge Trainees develop those skills.

Question 1. Will I work with a team leader or alone? Will I have a mentor?

ММ: When a Campus trainee, you’ll be supervised by a team leader.

What are the team leader’s responsibilities? A team leader will guide you on how to find answers to your questions on your own, provide basics about the technology, its specifics, architecture, and so on. Besides, a team leader will answer any task-related questions.

However, team leaders don’t participate in product development; thus, you shouldn’t expect daily meetings to clarify every code line. Instead, a team leader will perform a code review, verify the result of the entrusted task, and at this stage give feedback, explaining strong and weak points. The bottom line is that you will work alone until any challenges or questions appear. At that moment, the team leader will be there for you to help and advise.

SK: A team leader and you are on the same team. Given that any team requires coherent work activity management, we use Git, a version control system, to achieve that purpose. On the one hand, it is reliable storage of project code at every development stage. On the other hand, it is an effective tool for monitoring and control, which helps a team leader identify good code and avoid missing code parts that should be improved. To sum it up: you write code according to technical assignment requirements, and a team leader verifies its quality.

Question 2. Is it normal that I know nothing about the technology selected for the project?

ММ: It’s OK. At first, you will join internal projects. They entirely mirror the development process on a customer project and aim to provide the practical experience required for a customer project. For example, you may learn 3D programming, computer graphics, basics of web apps development, essentials of work with the Cloud Mesh editor, format conversion, and so on. Accordingly, you’ll have enough time to familiarize yourself with the technology from scratch. If any questions appear, you can always reach out to your team leader. So, don’t worry about the things you don’t know at the moment.

SK: Yes, it’s a common practice. IT industry is full of new tools and technologies. Without a doubt, you shouldn’t be ashamed of a lack of knowledge. What’s more important is your basic skills that are common for the industry; for example, construction of algorithms, logic, and, of course, your desire to discover new horizons.

Question 3. Which code changes can I do on my own? Which ones should I discuss with a team leader? What if I delete more than needed?

ММ: No matter what tasks you perform, you will always use Git. In other words, you will work in a separate Git branch, which allows a team leader to review all the changes you committed. Therefore, even if you remove more than needed, a team leader will notice it and restore the previous version. So, don’t be afraid to make changes. If still in doubt, ask your team leader.

SK: Prior to storing in a project database, any code changes are verified by a team leader as he/she is responsible for quality control. Thus, please coordinate the changes with your team leader.

As for removing extra, technically, it’s possible, but in practice, the infrastructure is organized in a way that prevents data loss. To put it simply, you won’t have enough permission to do that.

Question 4. Which questions can I ask a team leader? Which ones can’t I? How do I know if I ask too many questions?

ММ: Frankly speaking, I think you should ask your team leader about it. Openness is a great trait. I am sure every team leader will appreciate it and respond sincerely. Overall, you can ask any project-related questions. In case of any organizational issue, it’s better to readdress it to the responsible HR specialist as a team leader may simply not know the answer.

SK: Questions are a powerful tool for sharing the experience. So, don’t hesitate to use it. You are welcome to ask any technical or organizational questions. There are no awkward questions. An awkward question is the one that wasn’t asked.

Moreover, there is nothing embarrassing in asking for advice to solve a particular technical issue. Still, I’d recommend following the next guideline: before asking for help, make sure you’ve checked every possible solution. You may refer to official documentation, field-specific forums, and reliable sources displayed on the first pages of your search results. If you didn’t find a suitable option, inform your team leader, and he/she will gladly help you.

Question 5. How much time can I spend on tasks depending on their types? How do I know I spend too much time on task execution?

ММ: Well, to begin with, I’d like to say that you will report the time spent on a particular task. It helps a team leader and project manager monitor the project progress and the scope of work that is completed. A team leader is a person who provides time estimations. Later, when you obtain enough experience in performing similar tasks, the team leader may ask you to do it yourself.

Sometimes the estimated time is not enough to perform the task. If you spent more time than planned, explain it to your team leader, and probably he/she may increase the estimation.

KS: A well-performed task is the one that is done for less than 16 hours, that is, two working days. It’s a team leader’s responsibility to break down long-term tasks into subtasks.

The project development is planned according to the project schedule. It allows us to compare the current progress with the planned one and decide whether we stick to the schedule or delay project delivery. However, the working process makes its own adjustments even to the strictest plans. And there is nothing critical if you are behind schedule, especially if you undertake a training course.

Question 6. As a student, I work at the company according to a flexible schedule. Still, can I visit a university every time I need it? Will it change your attitude towards me?

ММ: Many of our teammates joined AMC Bridge when studying at the university. I am not an exception. I know for sure that attending a university within working hours won’t change the team leader’s attitude towards you. All you need to do is to keep your team leader updated. He/she should know that you will be absent from work during a certain period of time.

Note that if you need to attend an educational establishment very often, it may affect your performance. In this case, I’d suggest working part-time, for example, 6 hours a day instead of 8. You’ll have such an option as long as you work on internal projects.

SK: You have been selected for this job consciously, and your teammates understand the peculiarities of your working schedule and the reasons for it. Hence, if you are absent from work for a good cause, it won’t affect the way a team leader sees you. Nevertheless, it is essential to communicate. Please don’t forget to inform your team leader beforehand. Then, everything will be OK.

Question 7. I feel nervous about presenting my first demo. What do they expect from me?

ММ: Nervousness is a natural human emotion we can feel when doing something for the first time, especially if it is very important for us. Anyway, be sure that you are expected to do nothing too special. All you need is to repeat the same actions you did multiple times, that is, to go through the project workflow demonstrating its maximum capabilities. In my experience, everyone easily copes with it. That’s because you wrote code and perfectly know how everything functions. To be on the safe side, I’d recommend conducting a rehearsal of your demo presentation either alone or with a team leader.

SK: If you’ve reached this milestone—which is already an achievement—most likely, you have nothing to worry about. You did a great job! All that is left to do is to prove it. Demonstrate the project you did, outline the challenges you faced, and describe your completed tasks. Remember, this is not an exam. Nobody wants you to flunk it.

Question 8. How can I figure out that I completed a task successfully?

ММ: The result of your task will be available after a code review performed by a team leader. If any issues appear, the team leader will let you know. If no improvements are required, that’s a good sign that you’ve successfully done the entrusted task. All in all, you may consider it good feedback. Besides, a team leader can praise you for a creative but laconic solution.

SK: A team leader regularly gives feedback on your progress to you, your HR specialist, and a department director. Everything is open and transparent as much as possible. Therefore, if something is wrong, you’ll know about it. If there are no comments, everything goes well. Keep up the good work. And, of course, if you provided a non-standard, practical solution, without doubt, a team leader will appreciate it and give you good feedback.

Question 9. I badly handle criticism. Does everything go wrong if I receive negative feedback?

ММ: Of course, no! Negative and positive feedback is an essential part of the working process. You shouldn’t consider it as something extraordinary. My suggestion is to think of it as a valuable experience that helps identify the skills that should be improved to become a professional. In most cases, you will be given useful recommendations on what should be improved. If not, feel free to ask for advice.

SK: Feedback is one of the mechanisms that help a team leader coordinate a working process. Thus, negative feedback aims to identify the skills that should be upgraded instead of diminishing and criticizing them. So, please take it easy and consider feedback as a tool for your development. Do you react calmly when syntax errors are highlighted in your code? I am sure yes; you quickly accept them and continue typing. React the same way to any feedback.

Question 10. As I want to demonstrate good results, I wish to work overtime. Is it good?

ММ: Following the AMC bridge approach, you should perform the entrusted scope of work during your working hours; overtimes are possible only in emergency cases or when agreed upon with a project manager. However, in my opinion, it’s up to you. If you want to work more, it is your choice and decision. Once again, it may help you become a good specialist.

However, you should remember that life isn’t all about a career, so don’t forget to rest. Otherwise, you are at risk of burn-out. If so, working overtime may seem unbearable. Try to achieve a work-life balance.

SK: It depends. If you need more time to complete a task because you run over the intended time slot and have free time and a desire—why not. If you feel exhausted, discuss it with a team leader. Maybe it’s an excellent time to take a vacation.

Still have questions to team leaders of the Campus program? Publish them in the chat of our Telegram channel, and we’ll be glad to answer them.