Callaghan Innovation have been funding high-tech New Zealand businesses working on innovative, technology-focused projects to give companies a boost for years.

Recent weeks saw the end of Vista’s summer internship with Callaghan Innovation’s interns, so we took some time to speak with our amazing interns about their experiences working at Vista, the projects they worked on, and how they might encourage and advise their fellow interns of the future!

Charlie Yang

How would you describe working at Vista in three words?

Challenging. Motivating. Fun.

What was the most exciting part of the project you worked on during your time at Vista?

It had to be engaging in the end-to-end development of a product. Learning about the practicalities of developing a piece of software was very interesting and taught me that it was much more than just hacking away at code. We were equipped with amazing mentors who were willing to drop everything and help us at a moment’s notice.

We were given great freedom; we were able to explore frameworks and languages that weren’t taught at University, which gave me the opportunity to learn what I would consider essential technologies in a modern software company, all whilst contributing to code that could potentially go into production.

Overall, my time at Vista has been very exciting and has enabled me to not only further my technical capabilities, but also help me grow as a person. The summer spent working at Vista has been one of my best summers, and working on the project has far exceeded my expectations!

What advice would you give others looking at applying for an internship?

You miss 100% of the shots you do not take, so just shoot it. Building the courage to apply for internships was very hard for me, but it’s important to keep working and trying to better yourself! Be ready to take on challenges and do not give up.

When you’re applying for an internship, do your research on the company that you’re applying for. Don’t expect to land a job at a company that you do not know anything about. Find out what they do, and potentially the technologies they use—if these line up with what you’re genuinely interested in then that’s even better.

In the end, it’s only a matter of how hard you are willing to try. If you keep giving it your all and being yourself, you will greater your chances at landing any internship.

Yuno Oh

What was the most exciting part of the project you worked on during your time at Vista?

The initial planning stage, when our team was defining exactly what we were going to build. This was when we had the most discussion, considered the most ideas, and made the most decisions. Realising our project could be a real thing used by real people was hugely motivating when working on it.

What advice would you give others looking at applying for an internship?

First; apply everywhere. Even if you think you’re unqualified, not ready, or inexperienced. People will still hire you as long as you show a willingness to learn.

Second; work on a personal project. Nothing speaks more clearly about your passion and dedication to your field of study than a project you’ve committed to.

And third; think about why you want the internship. Whether it’s to make a difference to people’s lives, or because you love to be creative, finding your source of motivation is going to make you want it more. (Plus it’s attractive to recruiters.)

Jafar Maash

What was the most exciting part of the project you worked on during your time at Vista?

The best thing was being able to witness and be a part of all the stages of a project’s development—from the ideation to initial brainstorms, to demoing. While other internships may have projects surrounding things that the greater public will probably never directly see or interact with, that wasn’t the case for what we were working on. It was really cool to be able to work on something, and later be able to explain it to a friend and have them actually understand it, as opposed to some obscure technical/businessy stuff.

Is there any advice you would give others looking at applying for an internship?

Reach out to careers advisors if you’re at Uni (can’t recommend this enough!), and/or friends & family—practise interview questions with them, review your CV, reflect on past interviews and learning experiences in general.

I’d often find myself on my own just creating an internal dialogue about random experiences at Uni that popped into my head, talking about what I learned from it and thinking about how I could explain that story in interviews concisely.

Take time to really reflect after interviews (always ask for feedback) and on important learning/growing experiences in general. Make a note of what went well, and what didn’t; self-awareness can take you a very long way. It’s important to confront your weaknesses and mistakes so that you can grow from them.

Jaimee Mclaughlan

How would you describe working at Vista in three words?

Inclusive, challenging, supportive.

What was the most exciting part of the project you worked on during your time at Vista?

I’ve never had the opportunity to work on backend development before, so I really enjoyed being able to do that.

Working on a project from start to finish was a great experience. Seeing an Idea grow from planning to development to complete is very exciting. I felt proud presenting our project and seeing how far we had come in only 13 weeks.

What advice would you give others looking at applying for an internship?

Remember to be confident in yourself. If you believe you are a good fit for the company and project confidence, the person hiring will believe it too.

Being able to work well in teams and communicate with others is extremely important and can carry you further than any amount of technical skills.

Don’t feel like you need to know all the answers to do well. A lot of the knowledge you need you will learn on the job.

If you’re interested in work at Vista, keep an eye on our careers page, and make sure to follow our life in the world of Vista on Instagram.