One post tagged with "Developer Culture"

TL;DR A new developer's first month is not only about writing code quickly. Minisoft onboarding focuses on understanding products, people, and workflows, then building confidence through a first small deployment.

"What do developers actually do when they join a company?" As a student, that was one of the questions I was most curious about. Here is an honest look at the first month for a new developer at Minisoft - the good parts, the hard parts, and the lessons learned along the way.

Day One - Meeting People First​

On the first morning, new developers do not start with code. They start by meeting people.

Welcome Meeting​

The team lead and mentor take the new hire out for lunch. They talk casually about the company atmosphere, what the team does, and what projects are coming next. It is a time when not writing a single line of code is perfectly fine.

Device Setup​

In the afternoon, the laptop arrives. At Minisoft, new hires can choose between a MacBook and a high-spec Windows laptop. They can also request the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals they prefer.

Getting Accounts​

Email, messenger, groupware, GitHub, AWS, internal wiki - there are nearly ten accounts to receive. Because it gets confusing quickly, information management starts right away. This is also when new hires learn how to use a credential manager.

Week 1 - Getting Used to the Environment​

Development Environment Setup​

Minisoft runs an automated script for setting up the development environment. One make setup installs the tools needed for work. Still, something almost always goes wrong. When it does, the mentor is there for questions: "This part is not working. Could you help me check it?"

Reading the Codebase​

The first week is for reading code, not writing it. New developers start with documents, README files, and architecture diagrams, then gradually read the core modules. Anything unclear is written down and reviewed with the mentor during the daily 1-on-1.

Learning the Culture​

• Horizontal titles: People use respectful names rather than rank-based titles. Even new hires can speak up to executives.
• Flexible lunch: There is no fixed lunch time. People eat sometime between noon and 2 p.m., with whoever they want to join.
• Wednesday afternoon is learning time: Every Wednesday from 2 to 6 p.m. is reserved for learning instead of regular tasks. Books, lectures, and toy projects are all fine.

Week 2 - Starting with a Small PR​

First Commit, First PR​

The mentor gives a small task: "This function name is confusing, so please make it clearer," or "This part is missing a test. Could you write one?"

Even a one-line code change becomes a pull request. Then two or three teammates review it. At first, getting ten comments can feel intimidating, but that is where growth begins.

Code Review Culture​

Minisoft's review culture is firm but kind.

• Bad: "Why did you write it this way?"
• Good: "This part may be easier to read like this. Would you like me to walk through it?"

The principle is simple: feedback is about the code, not the person. New developers can also leave opinions on senior engineers' code.

Pair Programming​

For difficult work, the mentor and new developer look at the same screen together. One person types while the other thinks along. It reduces the time spent struggling alone and helps new developers learn how experienced engineers think.

Week 3 - The First Real Task​

Owning a Small Feature​

Around this point, a new developer takes ownership of one small feature from beginning to end: reading the requirement, designing, implementing, testing, and deploying it. The scope is small, but experiencing the whole flow is the key.

Where to Get Help When Stuck​

• Slack #ask-engineering - a channel where anyone can answer technical questions
• Internal wiki - past cases, guides, and troubleshooting notes
• AI chatbot - a RAG-based internal chatbot, introduced in a previous article
• Mentor 1-on-1 - 30 minutes every day, for any question

For a new hire, a culture where asking questions is not embarrassing is one of the biggest assets.

Week 4 - The First Deployment​

My Code in Production​

The small feature built in week three is finally deployed to production. It is nerve-racking at first. "What if I deploy something wrong and stop the service?"

That is why Minisoft uses progressive deployment.

1. Deploy to the development environment first, and test alone
2. Deploy to staging, and verify with the whole team
3. Expose it to only 1% of production users first, through a canary release
4. If there is no problem, expand gradually to 100%

If an issue appears, the system rolls back automatically to the previous version. That safety net lets even new developers deploy with less pressure.

Retrospective​

After deployment, the team holds a retrospective. Everyone writes honestly about what went well, what felt lacking, and what to try next. Because failures are treated as assets, people can be candid.

After One Month​

After one month, these changes become visible.

• The new hire is comfortable with about ten internal tools
• The structure of the team's codebase is easier to picture
• One small feature can be built from start to finish independently
• It becomes clearer who to ask about which topic
• The new hire has become familiar with many colleagues

There is still a mountain of things to learn. But the path for learning starts to appear.

What Minisoft Promises New Developers​

• You will not be left alone - mentors, 1-on-1s, and learning time
• Mistakes do not have to be frightening - progressive deployment and automatic rollback
• You can speak up - horizontal titles and open feedback
• You can keep growing - learning time, conference support, and book budgets

Technology changes quickly. That is why Minisoft looks not only for people who are already good today, but for people who can grow together.

Closing​

The first month for a new developer is hard. There is so much to learn, and it can feel difficult to keep up. Minisoft uses its environment, teammates, and culture to make that time manageable together. We always welcome people who want to grow with us.