Niall has joined the Apptaura team on the Kickstart Scheme; this is his Kickstart Diary Month One entry!
Tell us a bit about yourself
Hello, my name is Niall and I enjoy fitness, music and nature. I spend most of my time either enjoying the weather, or hiding behind a screen.
Think of 5 words that characterises your experience with Apptaura over the last 4 weeks
Growth, organisation, focus and attention to detail!
Tell us about your long-term aspirations/career goals
I want to begin walking my long term career path, and I am excited to get my name out there and work on exciting projects in the future. I am currently unsure as to which section of the development process I would like to focus on, but I really enjoy working as a Quality Assurance tester.
What drew you to Apptaura?
After leaving college I was on universal credit, and found that the amount of places out there accepting new apprentices was very low. That was when I heard of the government Kickstart scheme, and luckily for me I knew of a company that I had done work experience for. All it took then was annoying the CEO until I got my foot in the door!
What do you hope/think the Kickstarter placement will do for you?
I hope to prove myself as a needed member of the team, and secure a more permanent position within the company. I am sure that regardless of my future within the company, I will learn enough from this experience to pursue a career in the industry.
What are your strengths?
One of my strengths lies in my ability to communicate effectively within a team, this is incredibly important for the customer support / relations that are essential to the position of QA tester. My ability to diagnose issues and explain complex problems efficiently also is very useful with the placement.
What are you looking forward to, in this role?
I am looking forward to working within an efficient team, and working hard to streamline the development process as much as I can. I am excited to work on more interesting projects, and further develop my personal skills.
What are your initial reactions to your first few days?
My first few days were quite intense at first, as I can sometimes struggle with organisation, however I am already feeling more confident in my ability to keep track of issues and update the team efficiently.
What have you been working on this month?
I have been working with the dev team, being introduced to the current projects that are in development, and I have been beginning to use the ticket support system.
Tell us something new you have learned this month
I have been learning how to efficiently manage the support system. While this was quite difficult for me at first, I can see myself improving in my ability to manage the system well.
Share something that you have found difficult or tricky over the last month:
Organisation has been difficult for me, as I am naturally forgetful, but I am getting better day by day.
How long until you got your first spam email?
Fortunately for me, I have yet to receive a piece of spam email! This is where I am now absolutely flooded with spam.
What did you buy with your first paycheck?
I bought a nice speaker and some new dumbbells, as I spend a lot of my recreational time listening to music and working out.
How does your experience of the office measure up to Hollywood portrayals of office life?
Well I have never worked in a real office before, but the experience of working from home has been amazing for me, I find that I concentrate much better in my own environment.
Finally, if you were an app, what app would you be, and why?
If I was an app, it would have to be twitter, absolutely full of useless noise, but if you dig deep enough you will be able to find a decent point.
Niall will be back next month with the next instalment of his Kickstart Scheme Diary. Stay tuned for our other Kickstart guru Chloe who’ll be posting up her Kickstart Diary Month Two entry in a couple of weeks.
You can read Chloe’s first Kickstart Scheme diary entry here.
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