My First Week at ArcTouch
First things first
Hi, my name is Vanessa, and I was hired recently as Junior Software Engineer at ArcTouch. I’m 27 years old and have 2 years of experience with web development. I know I still have a lot to learn and am excited to be here.
Let’s get down to business!
Before getting into my onboarding week, I want to tell you about the hiring process. It was so much more relaxed and different from the other processes that I’ve participated in, and believe me, I have participated in many so far. I met wonderful people along the way - who are now colleagues and friends.
A friend suggested I apply to ArcTouch (he was also participating, and just like me, he works here now, so we’re colleagues… again 😀). I was at a small company where I intended to improve my technical skills for a while, and then try for a company like ArcTouch, but I thought, “Let me give it a shot.”
I spoke with Lucas during the first phase of the process. I think it went pretty well and at the end we scheduled the next interview — a technical test.
I need to tell you something about me and technical tests - we don’t like each other very much. They make me anxious and I haven’t had good experiences before. ArcTouch made the technical test pretty good actually.
I entered the Zoom meeting and was in the waiting room for about 5 minutes until Rafael let me in. He and André (my current technical manager) were laughing a lot, as they had forgotten that there was a waiting room at these meetings. Immediately I felt calmer, and it only got better from there.
We had a very relaxed conversation. I shared a little about myself and my experiences. For the test I was able to ask questions and ask for help, including searching on my own ( ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶k̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶c̶k̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶f̶l̶o̶w̶) if I didn’t know something. I received the news that I had passed the technical test, now it was the last phase. I had never made it past the second phase, so you can imagine.
The third phase was all about English. ArcTouch’s clients are global companies and almost entirely based in the United States, so having a solid understanding of English is essential. For this phase, I prepared a lot.
- I created a script in English about my career (and practiced reading it);
- I asked my English-speaking friends to talk to me and correct me when necessary;
- I listened to a podcast in English (I like Mythology by Parcast);
- I only watched TV shows in English with English subtitles.
I practiced my listening, speaking, and reading and felt ready.
When the day of the final interview arrived, I was more nervous but I was wearing my favorite shirt and my lucky socks (if you’re wondering, yes I was wearing those same socks on the day of the technical test). Maria and David made me feel at ease; I even forgot that I was in a selection process. As for my script? I didn’t even use it, and answered the questions they asked me calmly.
What can I say about the process? It was fun. Everyone involved was wonderful, and at no time did I feel pressured. And I got the job!
Let’s go to the onboarding week!
September 6, 2021. At 8 am I was already awake, anxious about the Welcome Meeting at 9:30 am (I never had a Welcome Meeting before). The meeting was conducted by dearest Simone and Beatriz, and besides me there were three other ArcTouch newbies starting that day, Gustavo, Igor, and Pedro.
On my first day, I spent most of the time setting up my laptop and creating the accounts for the services that we use at ArcTouch. In the early afternoon, I had a meeting with my peer buddy Letícia. Everyone who starts at ArcTouch gets a peer buddy to help them when they start - I think this is amazing!
Letícia does a lot of awesome things, like speaking, teaching, participating in technical interviews and some other cool stuff. She explained to me some things about the company and how it works.
Tuesday was a holiday, so my second day of work was a day off.
On Wednesday I created my newbie presentation, which covers things like my background, hobbies, and favorite things. Everyone who joins creates these and shares them on the main company Slack channel.
On Thursday the newbies had a meeting with Cainã. We talked about the career journey opportunities at ArcTouch, and we did some cool exercises. It will be interesting to revisit this in a few months.
On Friday I finished watching some required training courses, and in the afternoon I had my first 1:1 with André. We talked a little about project stuff and other things, and I asked him to give me something to do while I wait. So now I am writing and learning about progressive Javascript and VUEjs
The end of the beginning
Well, that’s my first week here at ArcTouch. It’s a great place for everyone - no matter where you are in your journey. See our career opportunities and come join us! Maybe I’ll be your peer buddy soon.
