I learned a ton from Pinterest's software engineering internship program, designed to help aspiring software engineers get started in the field. I met a lot of amazing people, mainly extremely talented software engineers. Here are a few lessons that I learned from them.
📌 5 Lessons About Job Interviews in Tech 📌
- You don't have to do the full interview perfectly. Show your best and honest self.
- If you don't know, say you don't know then eliminate what is not the answer.
- The interview process is more human rather than logistical. Be humble and coachable.
- You and your interviewer are a team. Be the best teammate and take the lead.
- People are generally nice, you just have to make the first move to make a new connection.
📌 5 Lessons About Being a Software Engineer 📌
- Take the time to thank your mentors with a kind message.
- Take challenges head-on, do not avoid them.
- Being an adaptable problem solver rather than book smart is one of the greatest technical skills.
- Stop worrying about whether or not you came from a great school or had a great major. An excellent engineer can come from any background.
Pinterest will always have a special place in my heart because, for the first time, someone believed in my skills and potential to be a software engineer. Thank you, Pinterest!
📌 What I Love About Pinterest's Culture 📌
- People are very accepting of people from different backgrounds
- Everyone is super smart and talented WOW
📌My Favourite Part of the Program📌
The weekly mentor pods! I love how we got to code together and improve our skills in the coding interview. My mentor was awesome! He is very gifted with explaining technical concepts and talking about what being a software engineer is like.
