Nevertheless, taking that first step in your career when you’re straight out of uni can be pretty daunting - we’ve all been there before!
So, I reached out to a few people from around the business and asked for some words of advice for new grads who are navigating the first year of their careers.
A key theme that stood out was, you guessed it: be curious. Learn as much as you can. And there was plenty more strong advice shared.
You’ll have to keep reading to find out...
First up, I spoke to Peter Berry, a Lead Developer, who shared his top three tips:
“Nurture your curiosity. Investigate how things behave, how they are put together. Don’t be satisfied until you’ve come to an understanding or a solution for a problem.”
And of course, tap into your resources! Our grads all have a mentor as part of the program.
“Work with your mentor to find the right path through all your new experiences.”, Peter shared. “Ask them questions, feel free to speak your mind, even stream-of-consciousness. Your mentor is there to guide you and be non-judgmental.
And lastly, find what makes you excited and, if you can, stick with it in your first year. Pursuing an interest will allow you to develop a deep understanding of concepts and principles with a high degree of enjoyment.”
Alison Rosewarne, Executive Manager, Architecture, shared plenty of nuggets of wisdom with me:
“My number one tip is to ask questions. A lot of questions. Not only do we expect this of everyone at REA but it’s also a great way to fast-track your learning. Always be prepared to spend a lot of time feeling ‘stuck’. Debugging problems with your code, your laptop, your production systems … this will consume a massive amount of time! You’ll always get through or around it somehow, but it can feel challenging at times.”
As expected, the learning experience came through strongly in Alison’s advice.
“Remember to always invest time in learning your everyday tools well. Keyboard shortcuts, how to use GIT, navigating and scripting the command line, touch typing … these will all save you so much time in the long run.
Focus on concepts and principles rather than just breadth of tech. This knowledge will ultimately make understanding and learning new things easier. A coach or mentor can help guide you here.”
I also spoke to some of our recent graduates at REA, who shared some tips based off their own individual experiences with the program.
Bharg Sharma, who is now a Senior Developer – Data, encouraged new grads to “act like a kid at a candy store. It might sound strange, but you’ll want to try a bit of everything. So, go get your lolly bag and add some assorted lollies to it, because the grad program is a great opportunity to try new things and step out of your comfort zone.”
And it wouldn’t be a true grad experience without tapping into your curiosity, right?
“Be sure to channel your inner question master”, Bharg shared. “Ask questions whenever you don’t understand something, or when you want to learn more about it. Make your unknowns, known!”
Megan Evans, Data Scientist, stressed the importance of pacing yourself. “Give yourself time to breathe, it's easy as a new starter to burn out by wanting to try & learn everything. Pace yourself, you've got plenty of time to explore & learn everything you want without going a million miles an hour. And remember the basics: rest, eat well, get fresh air, and so on.
Keep a weekly journal of all the things you've learned & the people you've met. Your fellow and past grads have a common and shared experience. This is a great network and wealth of experience that you can tap into. Use it! The learning never stops but you’ll amaze yourself how much you’ll pick up in the first 6 months.”
Lastly, Developer Hugh Rayner had one strong piece of advice that really stood out! “Avoid self-deprecation, even if it's intended as a joke. It's easy to default to self-deprecating jokes as a way of dealing with being a newbie/out of your depth/uncomfortable but that negative opinion will stick with you, and it will stick with others too. Have confidence in your abilities.”
Thank you to everyone for sharing their insights and advice. They are incredibly valuable.
I wish our 2023 Graduate Program applicants the very best of luck. See you next year!