Editor's note: Big thanks to former intern, Gabrielle Soussan, for providing today's post on what she learned during her time with LookThink and how future interns can make the most of their experience. Looking for an internship? We're always looking for new talent to join our team and take an active part with our work. See how to apply below!
1. Use the resources the team gives you.
My first day as a development intern at LookThink, the team sent me links to websites and logins to online courses to help me become better prepared for the work I would be doing. These resources were extremely valuable to me especially when starting my first project. Throughout my nine weeks at LookThink, the team brought me different books to read and gave numerous recommendations of future books I should read as a web developer covering a variety of topics such as best practices for CSS and web design. I religiously used the resources given and recommended to me; they made a huge impact on my growth as a developer.
2. Ask questions.
After my first few weeks, I found the balance of when and what kind of questions to ask and when to try and figure out the solutions myself. Given the nature of the LookThink offices, I had developers and designers all around me. When working on a project with a deadline, it is okay to ask questions to get the product moving along more quickly instead of spending unnecessary time on the internet. The team at LookThink is always more than happy to help, but they also always have very full plates as well. It is always good to try and figure out your questions yourself, but when getting stuck there are extremely talented people surrounding you willing to help.
3. Listen to conversations around you
Working in the midst of all the developers and designers holds a lot of value. While they are always around to help and answer any questions, it is also valuable to listen to the conversations between them. From hearing the conversations going on around me, I learned so much from other peoples questions and explanations about certain best practices and tricks, and also so much about the business when the project managers came over to relay information about current projects.
4. Put yourself out there
There is a never ending cycle of work to be done at LookThink. As an intern there are times when you do not have something directly to work on, however, there is always work that can be done. Asking the team if there is anything you can help with is super helpful for both the team and for you. Getting to work on a wide range of projects including fixing bugs, QA testing, photoshopping, and updating existing websites all as side projects allowed me to grow and expand my skills as a developer as well as get to experience all the facets of the company.
5. Get to know the team
The LookThink team is filled with talented, fun, and interesting individuals. Going to work is much more enjoyable when you are surrounded by these people who you can joke and have fun with. Being immersed with the team and getting to know everyone around me is the top highlight from my summer at LookThink!
Editor's Note, Part Two: If you're looking for an internship (summer or otherwise!), learn more about our internship program here.