Preparing for the real world: What I Learned This Week @ Encora Inc.
2020 ended. A sentence some of us are still trying to cope on. I believe I speak for myself and everyone around the world that this year was full of learnings. Some were pushed the hard way and some came around in a more soft manner, but in the end, we all learned a lot.
Instead of trying to show you what I learned this whole year, and relive a lot of moments, I would try instead tell you what really 2020 and its last week taught me.
What are my career choices?
As someone who just recently finished her university studies, some may say the whole world is waiting for me to grab in my hand. And maybe they are right, choices and opportunities are endless. What is difficult is choosing the right path for you, the tech community has so much to offer that we often get overwhelmed when picking a career.
This week, and really the whole year has been a fuzz about looking for the right fit. Do I have what they are looking for? Do I have impostor syndrome by looking through LinkedIn profiles?
And the truth is that I would never know if I don't apply for a certain job, or take a risky interview. I don't really have a name for the things I want to accomplish this year, 2021. For now, it would just be: taking risks.
What comes next and how am I preparing?
The next phase in the internship I am currently is: Making Your Personal Brand. And the name says it all, you know yourself better than anyone. You know your weakness and strengths. So how would I use them when phasing this next part of the internship and being part of the real world?
And the answer is simple: studying. Studying concepts you may have forgotten from university, things that you have always said “I would learn about that later”, curious facts, and maybe some trivia along the way.
Recently I acquired a Pluralsight membership, so I am making a lot of use out of it. The content there is just waiting for me to see it, and actually, it has helped a lot when dealing with some basic concepts in my target programming languages and computer science concepts. So never underestimate the fact of going back to the basics.
Life is inevitable, so stop trying to fight it
Interviews are coming. I know this sentence sounded like “Winter is coming”, but my point is that we cannot fight life. We just can live it. There is no point in me to be lying, yes, of course, I’m scared of being an adult and having grown-ups responsibilities. But I am actually very excited to see how this would turn up.
Confidence is important but also is learning. And learning from your mistakes I think is the best way to learn. I am looking forward to this next phase and year.
