A Finalist’s Guide To ‘Surviving’ The HNG Internship
HNG Internship 5.0 with hotels.ng and supported by Verifi ended about two weeks ago, and one of the facts released was that of the 3500+ people who started the internship, only 85 ended up being finalists; 85?! That’s about 2.5% of the total number of people that started the internship! Luckily, yours truly was one of the 85, so if you’re planning to join the next flock of interns, you’re going to want to read my few tips to be part of that 2.5%:
Be Available
As the sub-team lead cum project manager for my project’s backend sub-team, the first question I ask any member before assigning the person a task is simple: “Are you available?”
I can’t stress this enough! Availability is key in rising through the stages. The early stages of the internship are usually the most noisy (and rowdy), thus it’s possible for important information to get lost in the traffic of messages coming in, hence it’s key that you’re always online (I recommend checking your phone every thirty minutes). Another benefit of being available is that your presence is much more felt. You can’t be dropped out in the early stages if people know you and can attest to the fact that you have always been around, so do your bit to make your presence known. Request for tasks to be given to you, show nice implementations of your code and work actively
Settle it in your mind that you can’t ‘motivate your way’ through the internship
Here’s what I mean: It’s possible that you’re very much available, and you’re always there to motivate your team and to get things going, but you’re not actually getting your hands dirty. You could even be the project lead and you’re coordinating stuffs and you flow well with your team; having that mindset may get you through the early stages, but trust me, if all you do is talk the talk and you can’t walk the walk, you will be discovered and kicked out in no time. Thus you have to settle it in your mind that you’re here to work, and you must ensure you play your role as a member of the team. If you have a calling to be a motivator though, you could always check for courses on that, I’m sure Udemy has a lot of them (laughs)
A common mistake many people make is to assume that the internship is some sort of tutorial academy where you are taught the rudiments of programming from scratch
Have a basic knowledge of Git and Github
A common mistake many people make is to assume that the internship is some sort of tutorial academy where you are taught the rudiments of programming from scratch; well, let me be the first to burst your bubble and tell you that your assumption is plain out wrong! The fact that it is an internship implies that you are expected to learn on the go, work with others and improve your skills, experience real life experiences and be made to handle all sorts of pressures; and that’s where version control comes in. Throughout the internship, you will be working in teams, it is thus essential that you have a proper knowledge of version control systems, especially Git and Github, for the purpose of fostering collaboration. You can start learning here. Lastly:
Make friends with the FE guy
This is a misleading title, but it still correctly conveys my message. “Make the most use of the networks you have at your disposal” would have been a more appropriate description. The internship is an avenue to make friends form lasting alliances, meet different groups of people who can stir up your passion. Follow your teammates on twitter, get to know them better. The internship is not for creating enemies but for fostering strong relationships. When I joined the internship, one thing that really helped get through as a sub-team lead was a small group I created that included about six of the core people in my team, we would discuss there, share thoughts, rub minds together and come up with best solutions for tackling some issues we had. Unsurprisingly, about four out of the seven of us made it through the internship!
By the way, FE means Frontend (I’m a backend guy, so you can tell why making friends with the stubborn know-it-all frontend guy would be an issue).
Okay! You have come to the end of my TED talk. Wanna check out my team project? Click here.
Just remember, keep your focus and keep your passion; oh, and yeah: HNG Internship is a game, anything can happen.
