My first year experience

I’d love to hear about your career journey. Can you talk about what led you here and your decision to join Thoughtworks?

I’m a developer at Thoughtworks. I previously worked for various companies in the financial services industry.

Throughout my career, I’ve experienced slow legacy systems and development practices that were far from ideal. I felt that it was incredibly difficult to change how things worked in those organizations. 

Thoughtworks is well known for their influence in software development, and I was a big fan of their ideas presented in their publications. So when the opportunity came up, I knew that I wanted to be part of an organization that valued people and technology.

Ok take me back to your first day at Thoughtworks. Your first week. Your first month. How has your onboarding and First Year Experience differed from previous onboarding at other companies?

The first thing I noticed was that the onboarding process was much longer than what I’ve experienced in other companies. I had the feeling that Thoughtworks really wanted to take the time to set me up for success by providing the necessary information I needed to navigate the organization.

It can be intimidating to join a new organization where you have to make new connections and learn new ways of working so I thought that the cohort model was helpful, which it’s something I’ve never experienced before. It was sort of a support group where I felt comfortable asking stupid questions because everyone in there was new. We would also share interesting findings in the group and we learned from each other, so I think that it sped up onboarding. 

Historically, in the other companies, I had a difficult time getting answers from Human Resources. However, in Thoughtworks, I feel like the First Year Experience and People Support teams really care about helping people in the best way possible in a timely manner. I have experienced this both within my first week and throughout my tenure here. I continue to see the same qualities of support that I observed during the onboarding process.

What has been your favorite part of your Thoughtworks career to date? Any milestones? “Ah-ha” moments? 

My favorite part about Thoughtworks is that I have control over my career and I can design it how I wanted it to be. I find it interesting how the organization encourages people to grow and learn by providing all sorts of training and incentives. I’ve also enjoyed working with the leaders so far because they have a coaching mentality and that has allowed me to grow tremendously.

I have had meaningful milestones in the short amount of time that I’ve been here. I’ve been able to pair with incredible Thoughtworkers to deliver high impact features to startup clients and have also grown into a leadership role where I have the opportunity to influence the technical design and lead a team of developers.

What advice would you give to someone who is starting their first day at Thoughtworks?

Don’t freak out on your time at the “Beach” or when you’re not staffed. Staffing will help you get assigned to a project. Use this time to develop new skills, and reach out to other Thoughtworkers to learn about their experience in the organization. It’s intimidating at first, but everyone I’ve talked to so far is incredibly open and friendly.

Anything else that you wanted to add?

Overall, I feel like Thoughtworks  has a very supportive environment. So don’t hesitate to ask for support whenever you need it.