Embracing a new challenge, it’s always a challenge by itself. You’ll be in a completely new environment, meeting and working with new people, learning new processes and ways of doing things, and the initial discomfort and even resistance, I believe it’s all part of adaptation. I’ve changed from a start-up, with 3 developers to an international company, with hundreds of developers around the world, working on the same platform, and I must confess that I was really astonished and afraid at the same time, given the company size and complexity. Given this transition, do you have some insights on how to properly adjust to this new reality, and make the best out of it? 
1 Like
Listen, learn, be humble, and be a good sport. If you feel the urge to say, “[sticking out your chest] well, at my last place, we did it this way [dripping with attitude]”, keep it to yourself. You can make suggestions - but realize there may be reasons for doing things the way they do. Be patient and learn their system.
Take criticism well - there will be a lot of little things you screw up. Reasonable people will understand. What will annoy them is if you have an attitude about it.
There will be a lot of new tools/libraries you need to learn. Plan on spending some time working on them, reading at night. And if they are reasonable, they will not expect you to be productive for a few weeks anyway.
4 Likes
Thanks for taking the time and giving this awesome feedback Kevin, I really appreciate it I’ll definitely remember those tips and keep a positive attitude towards this new chapter of my life.
People will gladly put up with a lot of difficulties for someone with a good attitude.
1 Like
Whenever developers start a new job, regardless of the company size, my rule of thumb is to assume that you’ll feel confused and overwhelmed for about the first 100 days. There are always so many things that are different that’s it’s easy to feel unqualified and incapable. Trust that it’s a normal experience, and just keep swimming.
1 Like
Thank you so much @ArielLeslie! Actually, I’m feeling exactly that way, so your feedback has helped me a lot going with ease and decreasing expectations. I’m eager to feel more capable and independent, so I’ll definitely keep swimming
And become very well informed about the history of decisions and things.
Big companies are often slow and bureaucratic.
There will be a lot of stuff you’ll find annoying, because this is not how startups do it.
Things will take a lot more time. Some features take 1 week in a startup in 6 months in a big company.
A lot of different people will have hands in play.
Found a good read recently: Why Don't You Use ...
Have fun.
2 Likes
You’re absolutely right! I found myself frustrated sometimes when I’ve passed the last 2 days doing something small and testing a LOT. Also, the bureaucratic part is overwhelming, but overall I’m enjoying the experience, I’m having a lot of support from the team and informal groups like these, so I’m feeling blessed in the middle of this change. And as you said, the testing and bureaucracy are there to ensure quality, cause there’s a lot in line here for different people, so I embrace it in a very positive way.
Thank you so much for the feedback! 
1 Like
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
I’ve worked in both big corporations and startups as well ( as SDET though along with dev, PM, designers etc ) transitioning to full developer role since last few quarters
Here are some tips
- You may get bored working in big team as you’ll be assigned small part of project and may not have freedom to explore other part of projects
- Have regular 1:1 with your immediate supervisor
- Be proactive in regular meeting, try to ask good questions
- As you’re part of big team, getting noticed with good work is very important
- Observe how your supervisors work, in case you wish to be in their place in few years
- Join company wide cross teams to share knowledge with each other
In the end don’t get too much relaxed in big corporate; as workwise it’s quite relaxed / less pressure to deliver compared to small startup with limited budgets.
Cheers,
Vikram
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 182 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.