Our first Android Lead, José Nieto shares how to turn your RiteKit internship into a job offer engine

“You need to come with the idea, ‘what do you want to get back from it?’” ~ José

I interviewed a friend, a mentor, and one heck of a success story, José Nieto, in hopes of getting some advice on how to hit a RiteKit internship hard, not just to learn, but to ensure that you come out of it far more employable than when you started. José talks about working with the team, a few key people, big challenges and accomplishments during his time with us, and…José!

It’s quite common that people ask me about the experience. Before I finished the internship, I had three interviews in two weeks and I got an offer from all three of them. So obviously it made a big difference.

Also, when I speak about what we’ve done, I show the app, obviously people get quite impressed. I feel like it has really opened a lot of doors for me. ~ José

José continues to advise us on Android development, works closely with Joydeep, who José selected to follow after him and who remains our current Android Lead. He speaks frequently on the Udacity Nanodegrees and the doors they open while mentoring at hackathons and working first at IDscan Biometrics (London), and just recently joined the team at Nodes (London).

It’s really cool to work with a team that’s so committed, as you are. Here’s a company that really acknowledges when someone does a good job, when someone makes a difference. We have examples like Saad or Camila or Joydeep, who started in the company as interns and they become employees. ~ José

Here’s my interview with José:

The main questions I posed to José:

1. What was appealing enough about the RiteKit project that made you consider an unpaid internship position with us?
2. What can you say about the web and backend guys you worked with, Pavel and Michal?
3. Tell us about one or two really frustrating or difficult tasks you worked on and how overcoming obstacles helped you go further with Android development.
4. Saad continues to advise us on the project as a whole, while you do so for Android development, with Joydeep now leading Android development. Please tell us about working with Saad and Joydeep.
5. What did Saad and/or Michal do to ensure that you benefited from your experience with working with us?
6. Did we provide you with opportunities to advance in responsibilities and authority within the RiteKit organization?
7. How did the founders or those already on the team encourage and also enable you to develop your leadership strengths?
8. People thinking to do an internship with RiteKit want to know that if they do well with us, it will open doors. What can you say about being asked about your work with us in job interviews, speaking and mentoring opportunities, etc., and how your work with RiteKit probably helped?
9. Do you think your work on our current RiteTag Android app was an influential factor in getting offered your current job and does it continue to help with opportunities? If so, what makes you think so?
10. What advice would you have for someone who wants to start with us, get a huge amount of experience, and leave a lasting mark on RiteTag — something they can show prospective employers for years to come?
11. A lot of people intern with RiteKit, just a few make the team. Can you give advice to someone who is hoping for a job offer from us at the end of their internship? Tell them what they need to do.

Saul and Michal wanted me to extend their continued gratitude. Saul isn’t directly involved in our Android development, that’s mainly run by Michal and Joydeep, but he is well aware of the profound impact you made while you led Android, and how you continue to inspire our people to learn faster, take initiative and communicate better. From all of us, thank you for staying on as an advisor.

Saul tells me that losing José as our first head of Android development was painful, but understands that between our finances and where he was in life and career made it impossible for us to make a meaningful offer. We’re grateful that José advises us and continues to work with Joydeep, Michal and Saul.

I remember reading something that Saul wrote, saying like, we are kind of like a family. And it’s like hmm… okay, well, it’s maybe just… but I would say, it’s actually true. We created something together and relationships that I have not been able to or found in other companies. We work hard, we work together, and at the end of the day, you feel really close to the people you are working with, in spite of being do, so many miles away. ~ José

Looking for a career-making internship? We hope that you will learn more about the team, the internships, and what those who interned with RiteKit say about the career advancements they believe can be attributed to having helped in building our SaaS products.

To see what ten of our first interns have to say about the experience and how an internship at RiteKit opened doors for them, see this text post. (Back then we were just RiteTag.) If you’d like to hear what our interns from past years, in PR, web and mobile divisions have to say about the experience and how an internship at RiteTag opened doors — for scholarships and job offers, see the video in this post.

Are you ready to get solid experience on your resume and put your education to a real-world test?

We’re hiring! Experienced iOS, Android, Web Developers and PR/community/marketing people should apply through the RiteKit Angellist Jobs Page.