Reflection is the key to growth
What I’ve learned as a Red Hat intern
6 lessons you can apply to any industry
Life never fails to sneak up on you. One minute, you’re on the playground contemplating how to make it across 27 monkey bars without falling into scorching lava. The next, you’re walking across the stage, grinning, before you shake your Chancellor’s hand and accept your diploma. I think this is something we all kind of know. At some point or another, we’ve all made an innocuous statement relating to the notion, “time flies.” Yet, unfortunately, we live in a society driven by the question, “what’s next?” often forgetting to stop and take in what is now. This is my attempt to do that, to stop and reflect on my present endeavors, specifically looking at what I have learned as an intern at Red Hat.
I remember the first time I watched Devil Wears Prada I was in awe. Yes, the clothes and handbags were obviously fabulous and, of course, it’s hard to beat an Anne Hathaway — Meryl Streep combo, but what l fell in love with was actually the idea of being an assistant. I know that may sound weird to some, but for me, there was something incredibly appealing about hectically running to get someone’s coffee or dry-cleaning just to show them your dedication. To me, it was the inevitable stepping stone you had to take in order to achieve a fulfilling career. I couldn’t wait to be the crazy assistant.
The crazy intern would suffice, too.
When I finally got the email offering me an internship position with Red Hat, I was ecstatic. Well… if I’m being completely transparent, I panicked. It’s a funny story actually:
I finished my final round of interviews for the position and felt extremely confident. The recruiter mentioned how I shouldn’t hear back until after the new year, so I congratulated my hard work by zipping my bookbag, shoving it neatly into a corner, and allowing myself to just enjoy celebrating Christmas.
Fast forward, it’s 11:28 PM on December 28th. I’m in the passenger seat heading back to Raleigh as I check to see if my Covid test results were in. Positive. I accidentally clicked back into my inbox and saw the words “Red Hat” stand out at the very bottom of the screen. I clicked into the email and read: “Congratulations! We are excited to offer you an internship position with the UX Content Design team this summer.The deadline to accept this position is 11:59 PM on December 28th.” The email was sent on the 15th (two days after I interviewed). So yes, I panicked. But then I ecstatically accepted and called everyone in my family. They probably thought I won the lottery. Which, in many ways, I did.
Starting as an intern in a highly reputable organization was overwhelming. I think we all suffer a little bit from imposter syndrome, and although I was eager to be the crazy intern, asking everyone what I could do to help and ensure I am remembered, I didn’t anticipate the lack of confidence I felt.
I remember sitting through my first intern workshop and thinking “Oh no, what in the world is Kubernetes.” It’s crazy that it feels like yesterday. But today, I am writing this as my final blog, during my final week as an intern. And although I can now confidently tell you that Kubernetes (in simple english) is just an orchestration tool used to manage containers (I also do understand what that means), the lessons I learned during my internship extend far beyond the scope of technical terms and definitions.
Lesson #1: If you think it, don’t be afraid to ask it.
I think one great perk of being an intern is that almost everyone you work with has been in your shoes. This also means there is a good chance they had the same questions you had, and sometimes even still do. But this goes for everyone in any industry, not just interns. You are where you are because you deserve to be there. You earned it, you are knowledgeable, you are valuable. You are learning. So ask questions, ask all the questions in the world, because all it will ever do is increase your knowledge pool. Isn’t that kind of the purpose of it all, anyways?
Lesson #2: You are never going to know everything, it’s okay.
This may seem obvious, yet I think it’s a concept a lot of us have a hard time accepting. Think about the last time you went into a Barnes and Noble. Now, just imagine how long it would take to read every single book offered. Every textbook on philosophy or space travel or wormholes, every biography from Socrates to Warren Buffet, every romance novel, Bible, folktale. How long do you think it would take to fully comprehend every word written? And that’s just one Barnes and Noble! It’s okay that you don’t know the ins and outs of every single product your company sells, it’s okay that you might not be an expert in Java Script or maybe don’t understand when to use a semicolon versus an actual colon. It’s all okay. The important thing is recognizing when you don’t know something and humbly taking the steps to learn. It’s much better to say, “That’s a great question but unfortunately, I don’t know the answer. Let me find out and I will get back to you!” then making something up or deflecting.
Lesson #3: You can use exclamation points, even in a professional environment.
My dad was one of those people who loved serious talks and dramatic sayings. One of my personal favorites: “You are never going to love what you do 100% of the time, even Pele didn’t feel like going to practice every day. If everyone consistently loved what they did, they wouldn’t call it work, they would call it fun. You must strive to find something you like, and then you have to put in the conscious effort to make each day a good day.”
This may sound silly but exclamation points, to me, are the easiest way to brighten someone’s day. To show a person you are excited about the news they are sharing or the work they have done. To show someone you are excited to begin a new project or figure out the answer to an unknown question. Exclamation points are like virtual smiles and smiles are contagious. So use them if you want to! Of course, you still need to be professional and appropriate, but don’t be afraid to add a little enthusiasm into your work conversations. You never know what sort of ambition you can spark by saying “Great presentation today! Can’t wait to hear what else you’ve been working on.”
Lesson # 4: Collaboration is key to innovation
You know what they say: “teamwork makes the dream work”. Well, whoever they are, is right. Working in an environment where collaboration and teamwork are a priority in every stage of the production process has been an eye-opening opportunity. Red Hat is a feedback-driven organization, we encourage each other to provide opinions and feedback because all it ever does is start conversations. The more conversations you have, the more ideas light up in your head. I can’t tell you the number of times I would pitch an idea and hear a comment that would spark an even greater one. So just, collaborate, it’s simple and also makes work more fun!
Lesson #5: We should strive for good UX everywhere we go
In its exact definition, user experience refers to how an individual interacts with and experiences a product or system. Specifically, it includes that individual’s perception of the product’s ease of use, efficiency, and overall utility. As a UX designer, you want to create seamless interactions for your users. You ensure microcopy is clear and friendly, the UI’s design is appealing and easy to navigate through. You essentially aim to anticipate user pain points and solve them before they can even occur. Shouldn’t we do this in every industry? Shouldn’t every business from coffee shops to investment banks want to make sure their audience is satisfied? Perhaps we need to begin implementing the UX mentality into our lives everywhere we go. Be friendly, be clear and concise, be purposeful, and help others whenever you can.
Lesson #6: Be unapologetically you
Time flies. No matter where you are in life you will look back and think to yourself “Wow, it feels like just yesterday when….” So why spend time overthinking and over-questioning yourself? Like I said before, there’s a reason why you are where you are. You earned it. So just continue to be you, and let the world take notice.
Working at Red Hat has been an incredible learning opportunity. I’m grateful for my expansion of technical knowledge, that I can now tell you what a node is and what docker files are. I’m grateful for every piece of advice I was given, every conversation, and every connection I made.
My final piece of advice for all of you is this:
Whether you are an intern, a director, or the chairman of your board, just stop for a second. Take a moment to reflect, on the lessons that you’ve learned, on the relationships you have made, on all of the seemingly minuscule moments that make up a much greater whole, that make us who we are. I encourage you to stop asking yourself what’s next, and just once, think about what is now.
Have a story of your own? Write with us! Our community thrives on diverse voices — let’s hear yours.
