You’re finally out of the job search labyrinth, only for you to be faced with a more daunting one… Starting your first job in tech. This can get overwhelming quickly with imposter syndrome rearing its ugly head, anxiety building up and probably several crying sessions. Don’t feel bad about it, we’ve all been there. Here are a few things to expect in your first month as a software engineer with tips on how to navigate them.
Onboarding
Depending on the company, this could range from one day to a couple of months. This is when you get introduced to your team and the tools used in the company. You’d also get to set up your email, Slack/Teams, Github and several other tools.
Tip: Try to establish comradery with your teammates, they would be VERY beneficial to you.
Ginormous codebase
If you’re not the first software engineer to be hired, expect a ginormous, gut-wrenching and almost intimidating codebase. I’m not trying to scare you here, I’m just informing you about what to expect. Sometimes, this codebase might be written in a language you don’t even know but you’re expected to make contributions to the codebase. *cries silently.
Tip: Be kind to yourself. No one expects you to know everything in the first month, that’s impossible. Also, take out time to learn as much as possible. If your company offers training, that’s awesome! Take advantage of it.
Unfamiliarity
When you start your new job, you might discover new programming languages or frameworks you didn’t know existed. So many things would be alien to you. Don’t fall into the pressure of comparing yourself to colleagues who’ve been there before you. Imposter syndrome is sure to show up, but encourage yourself in the fact that you made it through several interviews to get the job. There is definitely something special about you.
Tip: Ask a ton of questions. Everyone expects you to be unfamiliar with a lot of things, so they’ll try to help you out where they can. Whenever there’s a meeting, take notes or record. Documented information from meetings would come in really handy.
The first month is usually the hardest, trust me it gets better from here! Soon enough, you’d be helping out other new hires. 🙂