Working As A Programmer


Recommended Posts

I'd like to share with you all, the journey I have taken to intern with a Fortune 500 company this summer as a computer programmer. The experience has been quite enlightening, and I just completed my final presentation for the summer! I think this post should serve as a sort of broad overview, and I can go into more specifics for anyone who is curious.

The Interview / Application Process

My University thankfully has very good ties with several banks, insurance companies, etc. in the southeast United States and beyond. Companies like the one I worked for this summer are constantly recruiting from my University. For those who do not have such resources, I would recommend using job sites such as Indeed or Monster (Monster has a MonsterIndia site for those in India) to find a job. I do not know much about the visa process if you are from outside the US and want to get a job inside it, but I am sure google can help and if anyone really wants me to I'd be happy to see how my company approaches that task. :)

In any case, I found out that my company was hiring interns for the summer to work in the IT field. I applied on the company's website, and honestly, after not hearing back for a few weeks, I sort of assumed I had not been chosen. Then one day in February I got a call from an HR Rep who asked if I was still interested, how far along I was in school, what I was studying, etc. The HR representative was really friendly, and we had a great conversation about how I was doing in school. Then, he invited me to come to the company's operation center for an interview.

The company's operation center is 130 miles away from my home, about a two and a half hour journey. At this point, with no idea if I would get the job (and where I would live if I did), I drove up to Birmingham to interview. This was a few weeks later after my initial phone call with the HR rep. I arrived at the operation center, a little disoriented, worried, wondering what the process would be like. The building itself was HUGE, up in the hills (where I come from, everything is flat, so this was different for me), and surrounded by beautiful grass and gardens, etc. I walked in and just marveled at the size of the building.

After checking in with security and meeting some of the HR employees who I had already talked to on the phone, I was led back to the HR area where I met some fellow prospective interns. There, I learned a little more about what to expect throughout the day, a bit about the company's history and culture, etc. After briefly going over these things, my HR rep informed me that I could go ahead and enter the room where I would be all day. It was a small room with a basic wood table and a few chairs, some posters about the company on the walls. Nothing major.

After waiting for about ten minutes, my first of several interviewers arrived. They introduced themselves, told me what team they were from, what they were looking for, and asked me some questions. Every interview was different. I honestly had no idea what to expect every time someone new walked in. Sometimes there were multiple interviewers from a department, and sometimes it was just one person.

My easiest interview was from someone who worked in cyber security. She told me about the project I would be working on if I worked for her department. Afterwards, she asked if I had any questions for her. We talked briefly about HER impressive career, the process of reverse engineering exploits (not something my company has to do, thankfully), and a few other things of that nature. It was a very relaxed interview.

My most difficult interview came when three gentlemen walked in the room. One guy looked like he was in his fifties, one guy looked like he was in his mid to late thirties, and the last guy looked... Well, like he was about my age. These gentlemen introduced themselves and told me a little bit about who they were and what they did. They informed me that they work for a Java team. They proceeded to ask me all sorts of questions about what classes I enjoyed in school, what projects I have worked on, etc. At one point I was answering a question about object oriented programming's advantages over procedural languages, and after I mentioned polymorphism, they asked me to define it! I was pretty sure I knew the definition, but I was still super nervous.

Anyway, that team then showed me the specific project I would be working on, which had little to do with Java. They told me I would be working on front-end enhancements to a Web UI for an internal tool the company uses. Wow! This is exactly the kind of work that I would really enjoy doing, and it was the work I felt most confident about as far as what I knew already, etc. I had a lot to think on!

Later, my HR rep asked me which team I liked best. My answer would play a major role in picking which team I worked on. That was a tough question to answer. I knew that my training in mainframes is what had attracted HR to my resume, so I was tempted to say I would work on the mainframe team. The cybersecurity team was the one where I knew I would learn the most, especially given the impressive resume of the manager in charge of that department. However; that last, difficult interview I had was conducted by the team I thought I would have the most fun working under. I chose the Java team.

Following my interviews, my HR rep took another prospective intern and I on a tour of the facility. As I left, I found myself hoping I could work for the company. My HR rep told me to expect a call within a few weeks. I left feeling confident that I had done well during my interviews, and eagerly awaited the results of the day.

 

This post has gotten really long and I need to get back to work, so I guess I will update with Part 2 when I get home from work.

 

Next up: Part II - Pre-Job Jitters

Edited by Vladimir Putin
  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 months later...
  • 6 years later...
Quote

HI

Programming offers a dynamic combination of creativity, problem-solving, and ongoing learning. It's an industry where creativity is encouraged and each line of code influences the digital environment. 😐

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 5 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.