The Ampersand Graduate Developer Programme has been running for over 10 years now, and we’re proud to say that most of our Senior Developers have grown from this programme. 

This year we’re running both a frontend and backend route, and we’ve welcomed 3 new graduates into Ampersand. To ensure that our new starters get adequate training and the support they need, they are paired up with various mentors throughout their training. 

We got chatting to the mentors about what they hope the graduates get out of having a mentor and what they enjoy most about working closely with a graduate developer. It was also great to hear from the graduates about what they are hoping to learn from their mentor throughout this time! 

Mentors 

The purpose of having our mentors on this year’s program is to provide valuable, structured, and engaging training. With our hybrid working policy, it is important that our juniors feel equally part of the team with the support they need. 

One of our Senior Frontend Developers, Lyndsey, who has been at Ampersand for over 3 years, occasionally helps to mentor the mid-level developers. Lyndsey is a great developer to look up to and she said “I’d love for them to know they can get the help they require, either during or after the grad program. Also I hope we can teach them improved problem-solving skills; it’s a fine art!”. 

Dan is one of our Senior Backend Developers who has been helping out with our Graduate Programmes for a few years, from the recruitment process through to mentoring. He hopes the graduates will feel comfortable and get “Initial support, someone to ask questions of as they work their way through the onboarding tasks and challenges.” He also hopes to, “alleviate some stress, as Magento can be a challenge at times”. 

“Confidence. That for me is key”. ~ Kieran, Senior Backend Developer

Hasan, who also started on the Graduate Programme 3 years ago and is on a fantastic progression path, is starting mentoring for the first time and he shared his advice, stating, “Learn the domain fast, understand the effectiveness of teamwork and never be afraid or stressed about asking questions. This programme will give them the confidence they need to tackle most of the difficulties they face in their first job.”

Working closely with a Graduate Developer

One of our objectives for the Graduate Programme is to provide opportunities for more members of the dev team to take on mentorship responsibilities and progress their careers at Ampersand by working with and mentoring new juniors. With that being said, we wanted to ask the mentors what they enjoy most about working closely with the Graduate Developers. 

“Getting to know them and their eagerness to learn” ~ Dan, Senior Backend Developer 

Although Liam didn’t come through the traditional route of the programme, as a Senior Developer he enjoys “Seeing the progress as it’s a rewarding experience to see the benefits of the support and advice you provide”. 

Even as a Senior Developer or in Luke’s case, the Technical Lead, there is always room for learning and in this job you are picking up new knowledge each day. He said “The questions, every year – someone comes out with some questions which challenge me and make me take a step back and think”. 

“Take it step by step, try not to jump in too deep too early, learn the basic principles first and then everything else just falls into place”. ~ Sonny, Senior Frontend Developer

Apply for our 2022 Graduate Scheme

Are you interested in our Graduate Developer Programme? Applications are open now, head to the careers page here to apply.