Journey from an Intern to Solutions Team Member: Part 1 of 3
The Initial Days
I joined Zyxware in February of 2012 as an Intern. I just graduated fresh out of college and was not at all aware of how corporate life functions. I remember hearing my cousins/seniors talk about clients, projects, on sites, etc. All this fascinated me deeply though I never really understood what it meant.
The internship was for 3 months during which rigorous training was given mainly focussing on Drupal and PHP. Once the training was over, I was accepted as a Software Engineer Trainee in the organization.
As an SE trainee, I was allocated to a team and the Team Lead (TL) assigned me tasks. For things I was not sure of, I was supposed to consult the TL and ask for his guidance. Finally, I had a working knowledge of the Project Management activities and the role of each designation in a team.
Getting Deep into Projects and Clients
As everyone else does, I also started focusing on improving myself. I listened to the team's discussions on issues/progress, noticed the communication with clients, and how projects were received by both the client and the organization. Along with completing the tasks I was assigned, I never hesitated in participating in various organizational activities. The encouragement I received from my colleagues was strong enough to build confidence in me which made me feel that I am a valuable employee of my company.
After a definite period of time, I was promoted as a Level 1 employee and a Team lead. A new project was assigned to me in which I was the only developer. The client was Japanese and I had to directly contact him for collecting requirements, clarifications and to provide updates. The project was new to Zyxware as it was to me. I had to do a lot of research and had to constantly consult my seniors. The project was planned for 3 months and it was successfully completed with the support of my seniors and proper acknowledgment from the client. Though I am still not sure why Zyxware assigned me this project in the first place, I am thankful they did. What I learned from this project is that, even if you are not an expert, with timely communication between colleagues and client, doing proper “preparation” ahead of development tasks/ implementation, can help you successfully complete a project.
The Australian Connection
The next project I was assigned was an Australian one. This client was new to us and was running a business related to horse racing in Australia and New Zealand. His requirement was a little complex. Along with selling race event tickets, he needed a complete custom package for his customers which included traveling from the airport, providing accommodation, visits to race clubs and events etc. Depending on the selection of the customer, the cost of each item was to be added up. This whole offering was to come under the "VIP Package" listing. So the first challenge we had to face was how to implement this technically which involved selling a group of products as a single product.
Continued in Journey from an Intern to Solutions Team Member: Part 2 of 3
