Chris is a Junior Software Developer at Media24 in Cape Town. He shares his experience of landing a position in the graduate program at one of SA’s biggest media companies.

Chris is a Junior Software Developer at Media24 in Cape Town. He shares his experience of landing a position in the graduate program at one of SA’s biggest media companies.

After studying Software Development at the University of Johannesburg, Chris tells us he started working for the South African Police Service. He soon found he was frustrated with his job, as he was put into an IT support role, but his passion is development.

“I was looking for jobs everywhere,” he told us, “and I found the Media24 internship program advertisement on Careers24. I applied immediately, and got an interview invite soon after. After many interviews, I was told I would be joining Careers24, of all places!”

He tells how he had to wait several months for the position to begin, which “taught me patience and discipline, because I was so excited to start.”

Now Chris spends his days debugging code, fixing bugs, writing back-end and front-end code using various languages, including C#, Java Script, jQuery, SQL for data storage and HTML. It’s not all hard work, Chris says. “We play pool and table tennis and enjoy lunch together. The team is fun, and I enjoy working with my colleagues. I also learn something new every day, which sounds a bit clichéd, but it’s true.”  

Chris stresses the importance of self-development: “I do online courses, and am involved in sprint planning, breaking down tasks and allocating the workload and learning and practicing new languages. This way I am learning and staying ahead of the curve as I work.”

The Media24 Graduate Program plans a full 12 months of work and learning for interns in different business units.  The program outlines the monthly objectives consisting of workshops, coaching conversations with the Academy, and the opportunity to engage with other grads from different business units and to work with them in workshops. Chris adds that interns are provided with mentor to work with too.

“I feel like I’ve been given the opportunity to play and have fun with the work, to learn from mistakes in a safe environment, knowing that if something goes wrong the team has my back. This also helps me learn to take responsibility, develop a good work ethic, and learn to work in a team” he says.    

Chris advises someone trying to get into a similar graduate program to be honest about their skills and abilities. “You must also be able to sell yourself and motivate why you are the best candidate for the job. Research what the business wants, know what they do and what they want and align yourself with their goals so you can show you are the right candidate” he says.

If, like Chris, you would like to share your pride in your career, send a mail to editor@careers24.com, telling us about yourself and your awesome job, and we’ll be in touch.