Launching a career in a new field can be challenging. Reiz's Business Analyst Tautvilė Jurgelevičienė made her path easier by choosing an internship! In this article, we delve into the nuances of Tautvilė's requalification, internship and journey to a full-time position.
Tautvilė's journey in IT started with a Quality Assurance (QA) course at Vilnius Coding School. Coming from management, it was her first steps into the tech community. As Vilnius Coding School is a partner of Reiz, Tautvilė received an internship offer from Reiz's CEO Valdas Šimas shortly after graduating from the course. Reiz welcomed Tautvilė into her first position as a QA Specialist, introducing her to her team and the main principles of IT work. She participated in all of the team's Scrum meetings and started to get ready for the ISTQB exam, which, once she passed, greatly enhanced her professional qualifications in software testing.
„At first, I faced various challenges, as many things were unknown to me. What gave me courage and confidence to move forward was my mentor,“ – shares Tautvilė. As Reiz cultivates an internal mentorship program for both newcomers and oldtimers, Tautvilė was connected with mentor Evenika, who helped her transition into QA smoothly. „Since we were working on related projects at the time, Evenika's experience and advice greatly contributed to my growth. It was also enjoyable to chat about topics beyond just professional matters,“ – adds Tautvilė.
During the internship, most of Tautvilė's time was dedicated to studying for the ISTQB exam and getting to know the intricacies of QA Specialist's work. Her transition to a full-time position was natural, as her skills and interest in QA grew increasingly evident. After receiving knowledge transfer from her fellow colleague, Tautvilė delved into the daily responsibilities of a QA specialist – completing assignments,communicating with the project's BA, preparing test cases, testing, presenting test results, and so on. But Tautvilė's growth did not stop there. With encouragement from Reiz to study cases and best practices, use compensated learning opportunities, and grow her career horizontally, she moved on to a new role and became a Business Analyst.
When asked about the biggest challenges she faced during the intership, Tautvilė once again emphasizes the fact, that she was new to the IT world. "However, my own enthusiasm, desire to establish myself and understand the new field, as well as the support and feedback from my team, helped me quickly gain confidence in my abilities," she shares. Tautvilė's colleagues played a major role in her growth, assuring her that it is normal not to understand all the nuances of the product you are working with at first. „Ease into it step by step, and eventually, the overall picture and knowledge will come together.“ – tells Tautvilė. Seeing how a supportive environment helps newcomers to settle and grow became the most valuable lesson in her experience from an intern to a full-time talent. When asked for advice to anyone thinking about an internship, whether it's after requalifying or just starting their career path, Tautvilė shares:
Interested in an internship at Reiz? Keep an eye out for upcoming intern positions in Autumn, here:
