The 1 Thing I Wished I Knew When I Started As a Junior Dev

Imagine you're dating someone.

His name is Joe; you met on Twitter three months ago.

Now, you can't go a minute without talking.

The issue? He lives in another country, and you've never met him.

He can't afford the trip, so you decide to pay for him to come over because you want to see him so badly.

The first meeting is magical,  and you fall even more in love. You spend a month together and decide to get engaged. 

Every member of your family is against it, but still, you want to be with him. In desperation, your family agrees with one condition: you must sign a prenuptial agreement. If your husband leaves within 6 months or behaves poorly, the wedding dissolves, and he owes you money.

Would you secretly hope for Joe to fail or do everything to help him succeed and prove doubters wrong?

Like me, you'd choose the latter: you've invested so much—your heart, your reputation, hell, your money.

Similarly, a company that just hired you wants you to succeed so badly because of all the recruiting effort.

A company that hires you is invested in your success. In fact,

• They've "dated" you through recruiting talks, online interviews, etc.

• They flew you over to meet in person (i.e, onsite interviews)

Now, all they want is for you to succeed. They want you to pass the probation period and succeed after. They want to prove to themselves that they made the right decision.

So, stop being afraid of being found out.

Stop thinking, "I'm a fraud" or "My manager doesn't like me" (except if you have clear proof; in that case, try to change teams).

Always assume that the company wants you to succeed and act accordingly:

• Ask for help when you need it.

• Discuss issues and factors that may lead you to consider leaving with your higher-ups.

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