Noodle consuming student to caffeinated developer
How did I get here?
After finishing a Bachelor of Science majoring in Computer Science, and several months of job searching, I applied for an internship at Abletech.
I didn’t have any experience in Ruby or Rails, so I started learning as much as I could. I was invited for an interview with Santosh and Sam (awesome people who I would go on to work closely with).
One thing that struck me was how friendly they were. The interview felt more like a conversation as opposed to an interrogation. This stood out to me as my other interview experiences were not nearly as good.
I was invited for a pairing day. I met more Abletechers and gauged how the business functioned. I got an understanding of how people worked. Everyone was welcoming and treated me like part of the team. I was offered the role of intern.
I’ve been at Abletech for nearly six months now. My three month internship turned into a permanent position. I have learned so many new things, both technology and career-wise. I’ve had loads of opportunities.
My first week
Everyone at Abletech is super-friendly and quickly linked me into the team. My favourite thing about Abletech is the people that work here.
I didn’t drink coffee when I started
As a non-coffee drinker, I was quickly informed that this would change. I remember being told that on numerous occasions by team members, as they were finishing their third coffee of the day. But seriously if coffee is your thing, Abletech is the place to be. Since starting here I have learned of more ways to brew coffee than I can count, all of which are available in the kitchen.
Although I had no industry experience, and was straight out of uni, everyone in my team made an effort to listen to what I had to say. They took time to explain things to me so I could contribute right from the start.
Abletechers are approachable. I feel completely comfortable directing any question to the person closest to me at any time. If they don’t know the answer they can point me to someone who does. The flat structure means everyone is accessible and easy to talk to rather than being locked behind a physical or figurative door.
People are genuinely interested in each other, a great example of this I notice every time Carl walks into the office he goes and catches up with everyone and asks how they’re doing. Carl’s chair of the Abletech board.
There’s also been flexibility to work from home. That’s been great, especially when I’ve felt unwell. My lockdown experience was good too with excellent contact and care during Covid-19 level 4.
Personal interests
There are many shared hobbies at Abletech, and people are willing to try new things. To list a few:
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Mountain biking
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Rock climbing
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Coffee
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Craft beer
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Baking
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Dancing
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Acting
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Sky diving
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Kayaking
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Emacs and the much superior Vim 😉
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Probably anything else you can think of
Team culture
We have lots of opportunities to get to know people outside our immediate team. I’ve already been part of these events and the social calendar has many more coming:
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Friday afternoon drinks (craft beers/wine/non-alcoholic)
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Fortnightly tech talks
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Monthly team lunches
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Remote tech sessions and lunches (even during lockdown)
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Bastille Day (organised by Alex and Cass)
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Sushi making class (this was awesome!)
Abletech is very considerate about dietary requirements and always try and provide for everyone no matter who that might be (it is something that doesn’t go unnoticed).
The team culture at Abletech encourages continuous improvement and learning new things, but also a concern for the happiness and wellbeing of team members through fortnightly catchups and various other check-ins.
One of our resident food connoisseurs, Alexandre, organises lunch outings most Fridays. He even built a bot just for this, though I have noticed that Alex’s preferred venue (Rogue) seems to appear every week.
I recently presented to the board about my experience as an intern. I was able to give Abletech’s leadership team an insight into how the recruitment and on-boarding process was for me. As you can see, it’s been really positive. I couldn’t have asked for a better start in the industry.
