What’s it like to intern at ACC?

The ACC team pictured with previous Summer of Tech interns

If you could describe your SoT experience at ACC with one word, what would it be and why?

Nathan: Rewarding – Within the first week, I was given the chance to work on something that had a positive impact on our customers. I was able to see how the work I was doing was benefiting our customers.

Tim: Supportive – The Digital Workspace team was incredibly supportive of innovation, and allowed the opportunities for self-improvement while learning new technologies. They trusted me while providing a safe space to apply what had been learned in a real-world scenario.

Fang: Achievement! From day one as an ACC SOT intern, I have been fully participating in the real-world project I’m working on (The acc.co.nz website development project). I am engaged in daily stand-ups and contribute to the sprint stories. It’s totally different from and more complicated than academic projects in university.

What is something you have learned, that you didn't expect to learn?

Nathan: Networking (the computer-to-computer kind!). Throughout university, I was only taught basic networking principles and did not do much networking in any of my university projects. However, throughout my internship, I was exposed to a lot of networking. We have to solve networking problems regularly; I have really enjoyed learning about it and have found it a very useful skill to have.

Tim: I began in the Testing capability, but am now in the Cloud Engineering Space. Between roles, I have learned so much! A couple of key areas I have touched on - Modern Device Management, Application Packaging, ZScaler Administration, Azure DevOps, Azure Virtual desktop provisioning to name a few!

Fang: Keep communicating with your teammates. I knew the importance of communication with your teammates, but just realised it’s way more important than I used to think previously. Communication is key to one’s success in his/her role in ACC, no matter if he/she is a BA, Dev or a tester.

What do you think SoT interns should know about working at ACC?

Nathan: From my experience, I have found that ACC is a safe space to learn, grow, and most importantly, fail. My teammates are all so knowledgeable and have been so supportive with me throughout my internship; it is a great feeling to know that you can give it your all and still have your team behind you in case you slip up. There is a great blameless culture here at ACC. I can say that I have learned so much by trying and by failing and ACC is a great place for this.

Tim: Learn how to use OneNote – you’ll be taking heaps of notes! Come with a great attitude and hunger to learn – your team will support you, and will learn a ton!

Fang: For me, I really like the diagram that indicates the previous SOT alumni who joined ACC as an intern and are still working at ACC, as well as the statistics. It’s definitely worth sharing with the coming candidates, who should also be keen to know what their future at ACC could be.

How would you describe a day in the life of an intern at ACC?

Nathan: I’d say that a day in the life of an ‘intern’ at ACC does not differ much from the people I work with. For me particularly, we would have a daily stand-up first thing in the morning where we talk about our work items, how we are tracking along, or any issues we are having. Then we would get stuck in to working on those work items until about midday, where we would then grab lunch. Occasionally we will have a team lunch where we vote on a place to go to for lunch and eat out together. I find our lunchtime conversations a great way to take a break from work and to learn more about your teammates. Then it’s usually back to work until the end of the work day. Of course, in amongst it all are coffee breaks, meetings, and other ceremonies like team days, team retrospectives, and post-work drinks. It’s a great time!

Tim: Always new challenges – you’ll be on the tools heaps. You’ll always be asking questions – which is a good thing!

Fang: For a working-at-the-office day, I usually start the day with a morning coffee with my teammates, and some small talk. Our daily work often begins with a morning stand-up. We also have an afternoon stand-up which is a good wrap-up of the work the team has done that day. At ACC we have the benefit of working from home. The work routine is more or less the same as working from the office, but people can wear whatever they like while working from home, even pajamas!

Has your internship at ACC surprised you in any way?

Nathan: I remember within my first week of starting at ACC, my team leader introduced me in an online meeting with over 100 people attending. I wasn’t expected to say anything but even so, I remember being so nervous. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming! We’ve all heard stories of internships where the ‘intern’ sits in a corner completing boring tasks that no one wants to do all day; my first week here was really an eye opener to what it is like working here at ACC. People around the office made an effort to approach me, say hi, introduce themselves, and learn more about me. The work that was assigned to me was interesting and meaningful. I surprised myself with how fast I was learning things due to the great work environment; I was always looking forward to coming back and doing it again the next day. Another thing that surprised me within my first month, the interns had a meeting with the CEO of ACC where we introduced ourselves and were able to ask questions and just chat!

Tim: Yes! I’m now part of a team I love, learning everyday about technologies that make a difference to ACC– the career opportunities and growth at ACC are awesome, no day in the office is a dull day!

Fang: A little bit of a surprise for me is that our daily work is so related to every New Zealander’s life. I've been really delighted to notice that what I have done and will do could help all New Zealanders, when they might have accidents, and more importantly, help them to prevent accidents and injuries. This is really an accomplishment for me!

Got you interested in an internship at ACC? Read on for more! 

Why is ACC different from all others?

ACC is unique – there are no other schemes like it anywhere else in the world. We help everyone in Aotearoa, whether they’re Kiwis, or visitors who get injured on our shores.  We’re the padding on the trampoline, the airbags in your car, or the bubble wrap over your Trade Me package. We might surprise you with the way we operate – we have the ability to move fast with more flexibility than you might expect, to better the lives of everyone living or visiting our unique little country. Through it all, we keep our customers at the heart of all we do. We measure our progress often, to make sure we are doing the right thing, at the right time and have one of the highest performing investment teams in New Zealand. All this helps to ensure our scheme can continue to cover anyone in Aotearoa who might trip over in their jandals – now, and well into the future.

What can ACC offer me?

·       We’re big on innovation 

·       An intern/graduate community

·       We’re focussed on developing our people (most Summer of Tech interns have stayed on with ACC)

·       A collaborative, friendly culture

·       We foster diversity and inclusion, with multiple employee networks available

·       We’re supporters and believers in the benefits of flexible working

·       Strong work satisfaction through an organisation dedicated to helping everyone in Aotearoa

ACC’s tech journey – where are we heading?

We’ve established more continuous ways of working at ACC; agile practices, tools and DevOps play a big part in the way we operate. We learn while we work, can pivot when we need to, and we empower our people with more autonomous decision making.  We’re focused on our multi-cloud environment and continuing our DevOps journey with an eye on automating as much as possible. We’re also working toward a future where we use our data more proactively to support decision making, helping to prevent injury, and anything else that may improve Aotearoa’s quality of life. We want to support our clients back to full health, faster and easier.

We’re a flexible working organisation, ensuring that we use all the technological tools at our disposal, including the M365 suite, Zscaler and Azure Virtual Desktop.

Want to know more?

Check out our roles on the Summer of Tech site and get in touch if any excite you. We'd love to chat about what we have to offer.