My first year experience

Describe your First Year Experience in one or two words: Mentally sound

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

I started at Thoughtworks right after I graduated from college. I remembered being at Georgia Tech's career fair trying to sell myself to all these elitist coding companies. But then, Thoughtworks gave me an interview and I for the first time felt like my personality mattered more than my tech skills. It was very wholesome! After attending Thoughtworks University (TWU) and working on a few travel projects, I got tired and left Thoughtworks to pursue new opportunities. After a few years, I ended up quitting corporate work for a while to experience entrepreneurship and pursue a music career. During this time I faced many mental obstacles. When Thoughtworks reached out to me last year to re-join, I happily said yes because I missed being in a place where I was truly treated like a human being.

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?

I've always been proud and surprised at how well the People Support team works. No onboarding is better than Thoughtworks onboarding. To truly feel welcome with real empathy being shown was wonderful! Everyone was so helpful with answering questions, even if they were dumb and answered already on the Trello onboarding board. I felt trusted, supported, and excited to be back. 

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

My favorite part is definitely working with other Thoughtworkers. I'm self-defined as an ambivert, so working from home yet working with amazing people virtually is the perfect balance for me. Especially when learning something new or trying something I've never done before, I always get the support I need to pursue whatever it is. 

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

Breathe. Many of you will be coming from another situation where you felt underappreciated, burnt out, and scared. Coming to Thoughtworks will be like leaving an unhealthy relationship and joining a healthy one. There's a lot of uncertainty and surprise at the beginning when you're actually treated well. You will need to realize that this is how you SHOULD be treated and you're finally getting it at a place where empathy is real and not a marketing tactic. 

Anything else that you wanted to add?

Hit me up if you're into music and want to figure out how to jam virtually! I'm also down to research how to reduce audio lag over the internet in order to pave the path for developing software for virtual concerts/jams/practices!