The post below was written by Gisu Kim. Gisu was an iOS Developer intern at FreshWorks Studio from August to December 2018.
Greetings! My name is Gisu, and I am a new iOS developer at FreshWorks Studio. This is my first job in the IT industry and software field. I have only been here a few months, but so far the experience has been more exciting and educational than I could have imagined it would be. For this post, I am going to give a summary of my experience so far, and highlight what you could expect to learn and accomplish as a new iOS developer at FreshWorks Studio.
After graduation I immediately started looking for a job, and because I was a junior, I found it very difficult to find a job that would take a chance on me. Eventually I found FreshWorks, and I began my journey as a software developer. I have already been through a couple of projects since August 2018, and my first app, BC Government Directory, was just published on the app store. I did not think it was possible before FreshWorks Studio.
At FreshWorks, I have been given so many opportunities to learn, get to work in an amazingly supportive environment, and have structured goals to work towards.
The Learning
At FreshWorks Studio, my role is not limited to just iOS developer, but also involves learning design, backend, web front, and Android skills. I have had the opportunity to learn a lot in design patterns, unit test, Swift, and Xcode. This insight allows me to structure code, based on different design patterns, like MVVM and CLEAN architectures, which enables me to organize code by patterns principles. For me, unit testing has been perhaps the biggest knowledge gap from coming straight out of college. Testing is sometimes more important than application code itself, and I did not have the chance to learn this from school. Having said that, I am not able to write test cases in my code, but I have learned how to consider test cases while I design a codebase and write some test cases. I expect to learn much more as I work on other projects.
The Environment
Everyone at FreshWorks Studio is friendly, accommodating, and professional. They are willing to help, even with their own busy schedules. Their passion for work motivates and inspires me. Senior managers make great effort to promote friendliness, which anyone can appreciate. Being a new developer can be challenging, and the smallest mistake could take hours to fix, but FreshWorks Studio handles this with warm consideration.
Everyone here cares about each other. The supportive work environment helps develop friendship. We work closely and share many professional perspectives to solve problems. Moreover, our CEO, COO or any other management seniors are not very different from employees. This is because our CEO’s leadership and vision is “we want leaders and not bosses”. This encourages communication with the executives. They are actually more than happy to hear from you, and share their thoughts as well.
Teamwork is what I was most enthusiastic to write about. We basically work as a unit depending on the project, including Android, iOS, backend, frontend, designer, and project manager. We all work closely through daily stand-up meetings, sprint plannings, and other parts of the agile development cycle. The meetings essentially make sure everyone in the team is on the same page, and can quickly adapt to changes. Sharing ideas is a critical in order to perform better, and also critical to create a product with better customer satisfaction. Different professional viewpoints give different perspectives on production and software solutions. It helps us see the big picture of a project and is a huge benefit to efficiency and planning.
Everyday, I learn new ways to improve. Coworkers are always open to questions, and their passion and energy motivates me. This is the true power of FreshWorks Studio.
The Goals
FreshWorks has recently implemented OKRs. We use Humi for goal setting, a software to make daily or weekly plans, presented with numbers and graphs for easy management. The idea is to visualize goals for easier tracking.
A goal can be whatever you want, which allows you the freedom to explore different areas, and find creative ways to contribute to the organization’s company goals. To me, the freedom of goal setting makes it motivating. To keep up with goals, I must cross check with a mentor and discuss about difficulty or useful resource to keep me in progress.
Conclusion
Just months after start, I already feel miles advanced in experience. I can see that not just myself, but everyone at FreshWorks is growing in this supportive environment, and I am excited to see how the company and I grow in the next few months.
Want to join the FreshWorks team?
