Thumbtack-ling a Remote Internship
By Shi Han Qin
My internship at Thumbtack was truly serendipitous — the result of an unexpected turn of events turned out to be one of the most fulfilling and meaningful experiences of my life thus far!
It all started at Ellehacks, an all-female hackathon in the beginning of 2020 — I was eagerly shuffling through the sponsor fair when I stumbled upon an energetic trio at a booth representing their company, Setter. Fast-forward to the end of that same year, and I found myself accepting their offer to join as a software engineering intern. My decision was based on the favourable impression the team left on me a full year prior.
Just as I was feeling satisfied and settled with my work arrangement, I learned about Thumbtack’s acquisition of Setter. As a Canadian, I’d never heard of Thumbtack and didn’t know what to make of this sudden news, but I soon learned that this was the second turn of luck in my internship experience!
Thumbtack 101
The first two days at Thumbtack consisted of attending a synchronous new hire orientation program known as TT101. It consisted of a series of engaging presentations by leaders across key functions, along with icebreaker activities that helped us get acquainted with the rest of the new hire cohort.
This opportunity to have meaningful interactions with so many people felt warm and welcoming, especially since it was during a new experience for many of us: remote onboarding. Moreover, the uncertainties regarding the acquisition quickly melted away as I learned about Thumbtack’s foundational goals and core values. I felt empowered and motivated to work towards the company’s mission to help everyone do life’s work with joy and purpose, and I could tangibly see how my role would contribute to the larger picture. By the end of orientation I was aligned, comfortable, and eager to get to work!
Settling In and Standing Out
I had only completed one software internship prior to Thumbtack, and the rest of my skills were developed from hackathons and personal projects.Everything was a bit daunting at first; there were so many codebases to review, product flows to conceptualise, and people to work with. I started off by working on a few small tickets to familiarize myself with everything, and I found that as long as I approached challenges diligently, with a growth mindset, I was always able to figure it all out.
Furthermore, the team of engineers I was working with were always immensely supportive. They always made the time to jump into spontaneous pairing sessions to unblock and set me up for success. I was never made to feel like an intern — my voice was always listened to, and even my most basic questions were answered with kind, encouraging responses. I was able to gain a sense of confidence and empowerment from the get-go, and that enabled me to push myself to engage and learn more down the line.
Finding Opportunities in Unexpected Places
Since Setter was so newly acquired, many of the product features and roadmaps were not yet finalized, and teams were still being integrated into Thumbtack. During this time, transparency and communication were crucial in ensuring that I was still working on something of impact. Even though my position was that of a software engineer, I was given the opportunity to join several product, design, and research meetings. As a student in the middle of completing my computer science and business undergraduate, this allowed me to learn from the different stakeholders I was working with, and it positioned me to be adaptable and resilient amidst the product integration.
A major highlight that came out of this moment of change was the opportunity to provide feedback and insight to steer the product direction. This instilled in me a strong sense of commitment and purpose, and it made sure I always knew how to “lead with why” for a certain feature or code change I was implementing.
One of the main things that needed to be developed was how to integrate Setter’s Virtual Home Checkup (VHC) into Thumbtack’s existing product. I worked on the first bridge between the two applications — the Thumbtack Virtual Home Checkup (TTVHC) landing page. The goal was to expose existing Thumbtack users to an entry point to VHCs, so we implemented multiple variations of the page to target different value propositions; this helped us learn more about our users, and gave us ground to iterate and improve on the most effective and not-so-effective features.
It has felt so fulfilling to see my contributions in a tangible product, especially given its exposure to so many real-life users.
Discovering a New Passion
As I continue to figure out my professional interests and discover what I’m passionate about, I look for variety and breadth in the work I do in an internship. I was mainly focused on web development for the first 2–3 months, but was also given an opportunity to jump into working on a native feature for Thumbtack’s iOS app. Although this meant collaborating with a new team of people, learning a completely new programming language, and setting up a new codebase again, I was excited to tackle this challenge. I did my due diligence by diving deep into learning the foundational paradigms and design patterns of mobile development, and documented my learnings on an internal Notion doc for anyone to use. This set me up well for when I started building out a few small features and completing tickets.
Through continuous self-discovery and exploration, I developed a passion for front-end mobile development. I loved the instant, tangible gratification you can receive from your work, and also the close affinity to the UI and UX elements of the product. I was also able to find more ownership through this experience as we were building out something from the ground up. Looking back, I can’t believe I was hesitant to try out iOS development at first; it was my manager who looked out for me and gave me the utmost support and trust to take on the new work. Otherwise, I would’ve never discovered my passion in this area of tech!
Branching Out in a Remote-First Internship
I was initially concerned about the work from home experience but fortunately, I discovered that there were multiple channels of communication at Thumbtack, whether it be through Slack channels, touchpoint meetings, company wide events, or team socials. Everyone was very easy-going and down to earth, but at the same time always driven and passionate when it came to work. Being in such an environment optimized my learning and enjoyment, and kept me motivated every single day.
Though it took more effort to meet people outside of the team I work directly with, I sometimes came across people I’d want to learn more about after reading a blog post they wrote, or after watching a presentation they spoke at. I would contact them, propose a coffee chat (everyone is always very eager to have one!) and get to know them better through these one on one meetings. By putting in the effort to connect with a wide variety of people, I was able to connect on a more personal level and get a glimpse of what their work was like. Through coffee chats with industry professionals from all different disciplines, I was able to gain a wider perspective of what I may be looking for in a career and step outside of my tech bubble mindset!
A Big Thumbtack Thank You
My time at Thumbtack was genuinely so much more than anything I could have ever imagined or asked for. Knowledge and skills-wise, I absorbed and grew so much from all the resources and mentors around me. I had the chance to try out so many technologies on a meaningful scale, and was able to collaborate with cross-functional teams to holistically understand the moving parts of a successful business.
Perhaps more importantly though, I experienced immense growth and personal development. Thumbtack’s people and culture were always so positive and empowering, and that contagious energy instilled a great sense of confidence in me. It eased my imposter syndrome and encouraged me to push myself beyond my comfort zone. Instead of feeling intimidated (like I would’ve felt in the past), I became motivated to take on work in areas I was unfamiliar with. By taking these larger risks, I worked harder, grew deeper, and came out with incredibly valuable experiences. These 4 months truly changed my perspective on so many things; for that, I am forever thankful.
Successful internship? Thumbtack-led!
