64. From Internship to Job Placement

Charlie Gleason, a designer and front end developer at Heroku, interviews Luis Alvarez. Luis is a data analyst intern at Heroku, and he got there through his involvement in Year Up. Year Up is akin to a bootcamp for young adults, divided into two phases. The first six months are a process of learning and development. Year Up pairs your interests with hands-on training in various subjects, such as data analytics, IT, and project management. There's consistent feedback from your classmates and you're constantly being evaluated on your progress. After this assessment, Year Up pairs students with companies. For example, students who excelled in data visualization courses will be matched to a company which requires that work.

Luis carries the discussion by listing out the aspects of Year Up which surprised him. He appreciated the amount of time which his mentors at Heroku allotted for him, and was able to make the commute from San Jose to San Francisco largely because Year Up provides a monthly stipend for all of its students. Learning to anticipate his colleagues' needs was also necessary, as Luis' primary role was collating and representing data as graphs for others to make use of. Through the process, Luis was able to solidify his communication skills.

In the end, Luis offers some advice for listeners who are keen to become future interns. He believes prospective Year Up students network should with as many people as they can, to ask for and suggest projects that coincide with their interests. Next, when it comes time to apply for jobs, he recommends an aggressive approach of applying to no less than three openings a day. As well, if you document the work you've been doing, you will find yourself with a portfolio which you can show to prospective employers.

Links from this episode

• Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring that young adults gain the skills, experiences, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through careers and higher education.