Adalab? What’s that?
written by Laura Gago Jiménez y Samanta Noblea.
I enter in a cafe in the center of Madrid and there they are, Samanta and Laura, two of the forty women who have started the front-end course taught by Adalab. I am more nervous than they are because I would like to enter the next Adalab cohort and I want to ask them some questions. We finished introducing ourselves and I start the interview.
1. How did you learn about Adalab?
Laura- I found out about Adalab from a friend of my family. She was in the third class and encouraged me to sign up, even though I had not decided yet. After looking for information about the course, I decided to fill out the application. I did not like my old job and I needed a big change in my life.
Samanta- I liked the idea to be part of such an organized initiative. They think of all the necessary things for a person to join a new working world. The technical knowledge, the development of soft skill, the publication of articles in specialized media, the participation in IT events to become familiar with the environment and the leaders in the area.
2. How did you decide to enroll in Adalab?
Samanta- In order to know more about Adalab’s proposal, I decided to register for an informative talk before registering. We were greeted by Inés, co-founder of Adalab, and she told us everything! From the history of the association and the reason she helped create it, to the objectives and methodology of the course. To explain the “after” we heard from two Adalabers of previous cohorts, which are already working as programmers, to which we could also ask all our questions.
I left the meeting very excited, and decided to sign myself up!
3. How was the selection process?
Both- Admission tests consist of different tests that arrive by mail in succession, as you completed them. The first tests are useful to learn something about programming and to make sure that you will be interested. You follow some interactive lessons about HTML and JS and answer some questions. The second part is an English multiple choice test. It does not matter that you do not know much, it’s to know your level and to be able to get a co-worker with a similar one. The last part is a psychological-technical test with questions about your personality and others in which you must choose the correct word, the missing sequence or the result of a mathematical question, between different options.
4. How was the third part, the interview?
Laura- Adalab lets you choose a date to interview. I arrived about 20 minutes before. I was very nervous. While waiting I kept wondering what the interview was going to be like. Rose, the woman in charge of the interviews, arrived. She asked me why I had decided to enter Adalab, and if I had worked, what had been my professional and academic career … It lasted about 40 minutes and when I left I felt exhausted, but happy. I had already finished all three parts and had done the best I knew how.
Thanks to the girls I had my first introduction to the world of Adalab. Now I’m determined to give myself an opportunity to change my life. I’m going to sign up for the next edition!
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