First days as a mentee in CGM Mentorship Program

In CGM, we believe that knowledge is the greatest asset that any individual owns. Individuals potential must be further developed with the guidance of those who have been on that path before and have the necessary tools to help others achieve it.

This is why we create different programs dedicated to individuals to grow.  

One of the many programs developed in CGM Software Romania is CGM Mentorship Program. We just launched this year edition, and we are so excited to share some insights with you. 

We thought the best person to tell you about the CGM Mentorship Program experience is the one who is directly involved as a mentee.

Today we present one of our mentees, Georgiana Andrieș, Frontend Developer, who will tell us about her experience in working with us.

"Before I start my story as a mentee, I want to share with you my very beginning here in CGM. Going back to 2019, when I was in my second year of university, I truly wanted to take part in an internship. Unfortunately, I felt I'm not ready for the challenge because I didn't trust myself. Finally, I gathered my courage and I applied to CGM's internship program on Frontend.

I was thrilled when I found out that I was selected.

My confidence gradually increased since I started the internship because I learned fast, thanks to our mentors. We received a lot of help and explanations in training. 

We were appreciated and helped to continuously grow. At the end of the internship, I sadly had to left CGM because I had to finish my studies, but I knew that I'll be back because I really liked this place.

Two years later, one of the trainers I had in the internship, George Augustin (Senior Frontend Developer), contacted me and encouraged me to apply to CGM Mentorship Program. I had an interview, and so here I am now.

My first days in CGM, this time as a mentee in the Mentorship Program, went exactly as I expected. The organizers got me through the learning program and explained every detail about the project integration. 

George, my mentor, and I configured my learning process, prepared me for what is about to come and presented the project that I will work on. He gave me time to go through the project's code, ask whatever I don't understand, and send me many learning materials and explanations. Another thing that I liked is that I was quickly integrated into the teams (George's team and the project team). I started to participate in the Agile meetings to understand the way they are working in CGM. 

I got a bit scared in the process, especially when I found out that the project I will work on is at the beginning, and I will be the only one on the frontend track.

My worries disappeared fast when all my colleagues ensured me that I could always ask for help, ideas, or anything I needed to do my tasks and understand the project. The technologies and approaches used on the project were up to date, and I learned and remembered many things that I thought I forgot. 

I realized that this will be the beginning of a beautiful collaboration.

Another cool thing that I was glad about is that even if we are in this pandemic context, and there are not so many people at the office as they were 2 years ago, I still met nice and friendly people everywhere eager to socialize and help one other. 

Should I tell you how cool is the vibe here?

I assume you've already grasped it when I told you that came back. Although, I would like to mention how much CGM means to me, especially the people. Here I discovered my passion and what I like to do: Frontend Development with Angular (which I learnt from scratch in the Internship Program at CGM).

Last but not least I would like to give a piece of advice from my experiences for those at the beginning of their career.

Trust yourself, be eager to learn and constantly gain knowledge from anywhere and anyone. Be curious and go with the flow because you can never know where the opportunity to start a new journey comes from. 

Apply to many learning programs like the ones I was involved in to discover which job fits you better. 

Another thing: choose a role where you can feel good with the people around you, where you will never take the lunch alone and where you can ask for help whenever you need it. It really matters to also feel good when you are not watching on a laptop's screen with the headset on."