Trial period length
Jr. Software developers have the longest trial period when compared to all other roles at ApexSQL
Many of the guys who start at this entry level position have no
previous work experience or at least no experience in software development jobs,
and have a limited hard skills set
Improving hard skills and earning experience is only possible through actual work by developing products and taking part in ideally every step of the product new version life cycle covering the concept, analysis, roadmap, design, development, testing, release, and agile support
ApexSQL is made of guys who are dedicated and see themselves in the
IT battle trenches for years to come by sharing both success and failure
with the rest of the company
How long it will be until you complete the trial period it'll mostly depend directly of you, and of your team, but specifically trial period for Jr. devs with no previous experience is usually 9-12 months and depends on your growth curve, team achievements, and individual results
Specific requirements
0) To even start talking about successful end-of-trial it is mandatory for all our devs to read in full and to share on the subject of The Inmates Are Running the Asylum book.
This step is also a prerequisite for any software design and usability improvement discussions / tasks
1) The first step of each performance review is that the team (a product team consists of both devs and Support engineers) must have a good standing and good results at least for the past 3 months.
This comes down to successful ownership of team products by:
a) Having good team transparency: no surprises for stakeholders; share proactively - raise suggestions vs. asking questions or providing one-sided decisions
b) Don't expect to be told what to do and don't allow to be asked what you're doing - if someone asks for an update then it is already too late
c) Ideally have a few product releases under your belt - not all teams have this but it is a good achievement to have if applicable
d) Uninterrupted new content flow - this part is owned by team SEs but if they get stuck it will come down to devs in the team to help out even though we'd like to avoid this as devs should focus on development work
2) The second step of the perf review is to have good individual results that speak for you and to actually own some team goals.
One option is to became a go-to guy in the team for a specific area, to directly contribute to your team through learning and sharing about a specific area, subcontract management, QA and test automation, development/implementation of a specific engine or technology, or something else.
This doesn't mean to isolate other team members from an area of code or to work alone in isolation
as that should never happen, but instead take ownership of a goal within
the team and with the help and collaboration from the team you complete it from start to finish
And most importantly share regularly about your team and individual achievements and progress - don't expect someone will be spying on you or monitoring your every step; no one will notice if you don't share for yourself
Also don't hide behind other team members - there's no such thing as a team lead in ApexSQL or a team PR
Owning a goal means you won't wait on everything to be reviewed by everyone else in the team and to reach a "consensus" - help is welcome and collaboration is good, but you should never wait on anything or anyone and should take full responsibility for the goals you own
3) The third step is values review from peers, mentors, colleagues, stakeholders - just read our Working Naked values statement and let me know if you have any questions
4) The final match-80%-of-job-level-requirements step is not required for a successful end of trial for devs as certifying for Software developer Level 1 requires even more battlefield experience and hard skills which can be ideally achieved in the next 6-12 months at most
Benefits
Upon successful end-of-trial performance review Jr. Software developers remain Jr. devs (Level 0) but gain paid vacation time proportionally for the given year, and are paid during the month for the ongoing month (vs. at the end of month)
Later on when you finally certify for a Software developer Level 1 it comes with commensurate increase in salary, and depending on the current company policy also covered local contractor monthly taxes and insurances
On the right track
Ask yourself:
A) Is my team proactive enough, do we get many questions from stakeholders or we're able to anticipate questions by regular sharing of our status, plans, and recommendations
B) Are we sprinting regularly in the team, learning from our failed sprints, and doing everything we can in order to succeed each of the team sprints
C) Am I contributing in my team by sharing responsibilities with my colleagues without skipping out
D) Am I there for my team members when the going gets tough
E) Am I sharing regularly with the stakeholders for both my team and myself, or am I expecting that others in the team will be sharing for me
F) Are we (devs) helping our team SEs with customer support and with content. How is my team SE doing right now
G) How much did our team and I contribute to the company when compared to other Jr. Software developer teams / individual devs
H) Am I repeating mistakes or am I learning each day so that my next day is always better than the previous one
What next
Reach out to HR and/or Facilitators whenever you have any doubts or when you lack feedback
Otherwise we'll keep an eye out and touch base when we consider you ready for a potentially positive first performance review
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