My Internship at ANZ - Vrikshikha Velan
We met with Vrikshikha Velan, who landed a summer internship at ANZ as a Data Developer in Auckland. She shares her internship journey with us, tips for working and communicating with the team remotely, and advice for our 2022 cohort.
What has been the highlight of the internship so far?
I have a good team culture with teammates who help each other out. It’s good to see practical things happen that you might not see at Uni. Uni isn’t practical enough, so looking at how things work in the real world is really nice.
Have you had any challenges or anything unexpected?
Getting access to logistical stuff in the company, but it’s been ok since team members are super nice. Most interns here have a workaround for anything - catching up after work hours and arranging things. Nothing big or unexpected (challenge wise), but rather small things that happen during anyone’s journey.
What is a valuable skill you’ve learned from your mentor?
How to multitask. My mentor is studying to get into another role and manages the team and myself. Even if he isn’t physically present, he ensures that someone is always there to help me.
What kind of support have you been getting from your team?
Heaps! I get to engage with the entire team, shadow them, see how they work differently. You get different knowledge levels in a team - I can still shadow even the most senior positions. I try to talk to people; it’s a very approachable kind of environment.
How did Summer of Tech help with the internship process?
I really liked it! I graduated at an odd time, and Summer of Tech worked in my favour as I balanced my programme role and made time for interviews and events. I decided to give it a shot; I was called in and talked to organisations all over NZ and learned more about them.
I had applied for some grad programmes, but I really liked how Summer of Tech planned it out compared to the admin of other companies. If I contacted the Summer of Tech team, they were reliable and responded super quickly. That’s a really good feeling!
What are some tips for remote internships?
Since your team can’t see you in person, they can’t always see what’s up with you. It’s good to always communicate with them. Be more available on comm channels; you could just say “good morning” to let them know you’re there each morning. Keep your comms channel open, even if you don’t have anything to say. Leave a greeting when you log on or off; those things really matter, and it helps you build a mutual bond.
Always text or ask if you have questions - being remote is quite challenging, so you might have more questions than in real life.
Go into video calls, share your screen (if allowed); this will help you out.
If some instructions might be unclear or confusing - ping a team member and ask for clarification. I did this, and my manager ran through it with me step-by step-virtually. It saves time - rather than spending hours trying to figure it out yourself.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give a student starting the Summer of Tech programme in 2022?
Summer of Tech is there to provide a platform to showcase yourself. They offer training programmes, bootcamps. Join those - and do your homework. It’s always better to be yourself - it’s a very friendly environment.
What’s next for you?
I hope to switch to a more permanent role at ANZ and gain more technical knowledge and experience. As an intern, you are always confused. In the end, we are just humans - we can’t just know everything.
My team really appreciates that no question is a bad question, and they don’t make you feel bad about asking questions.
That’s something I really like about my team.
Most teams at ANZ have this culture, being remote - everyone is always there to help you with any issues or queries you may have. You can always talk to someone.
The teams are really united at ANZ, a task that comes through the pipeline is considered everyone’s job, and we work together to find the best way to get the job done. I really appreciate that about the company.
