The Intern Diaries: Mobile App Developer Intern Marco

Our mobile application development team was given a boost of energy and skill when Marco joined SALTO KS 6 months ago for his internship. Marco joined to work alongside our Mobile App Developers, Roberto and Jakov. Needless to say, they became a force to be reckoned with and Marco went on to work on independent projects which the team had the opportunity to witness closely.

Fortunately, we caught up with Marco to reflect on his time at SALTO KS and his key takeaways (pun intended). Read on to find out more!

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hi! I’m Marco and I’ve been working as a Mobile Developer Intern for SALTO KS during the last 6 months. Although I’m from a small town in southern Italy, I got my degree in Software Engineering in Turin (North Italy), where I have studied for 5 years. After a wonderful experience in Stockholm for my thesis project, I have decided to move to Amsterdam to start my career as a Developer, and so far I’m loving the vibe of the city and I’m really happy with my decision.

How did you find SALTO KS? Why did you choose this company for your internship?

After my internship in Stockholm, I started applying anywhere in Europe and in particular, I was applying for internships since I felt like I wasn’t ready for an actual job yet. That’s how I found SALTO KS. During my daily check of job opportunities on LinkedIn, I noticed this interesting opportunity that was oriented to people who had recently completed their university studies. I read the company description and I instantly became really interested in the product. After a few minutes, I sent my application and patiently waited for a reply. Fortunately, it arrived!

What did you like most about your job? And what would you change about it?

These months at SALTO KS have been amazing. To be honest, there’s almost nothing that I would change about my experience here. Thanks to the help of Roberto and Jakov, after this internship I feel like I can now get my first professional job, but technical skills are not the only thing that KS has offered to me.

I had the opportunity to share this slice of my life with talented and friendly people, who I will for sure keep in touch with even when I’ll find a new job or will move eventually abroad.

How would you describe the company culture?

The company culture is definitely the best aspect of SALTO KS. Here you will find, as I was already mentioning, friendly and interactive people, who will make you part of this amazing team since the very first days at the office.

Another thing I really appreciated about the internship was the company's efforts to host creative and interactive events (the annual ski trip, dinners, Fridays with beers and games at the office) with the main aim of helping colleagues socialize during non-working hours. For a lot of us, who move here to the Netherlands mainly for job opportunities, having a great relationship with colleagues and becoming friends with them is something really important, especially during the first months. So thank you guys for that!

What was your best or worst day on the job?

The best day of my internship will always be the day of the team Christmas party. I remember that during the day I was really anxious because I was going to present during our Sprint Review meeting what I had been implementing during the first month of my internship. I was really happy when all the colleagues complimented me for my job, and it felt like I was doing something meaningful for the company. Besides, the dinner was amazing and it helped me to get to know more in detail some of my colleagues (although the next day did involve a bit of recovering from all the partying!)

What is the best part of being an Intern at SALTO KS?

I guess the best part of being an Intern at SALTO KS is that I actually felt like I wasn’t an Intern at all. Since the first days, Roberto assigned me tasks like I was part of the team. He gave me responsibilities and at first, I was a bit scared that I would have let him and the other guys in the team down. But even when I made some mistakes, he has always been available to help and never made me feel like I was inadequate for the team. Besides the technical aspects, the people of SALTO KS make it really easy for everybody to be part of the team, and that is really important and nice. Becoming a “Brick” is really easy and it is thanks to their great heart.

What do you believe the next step is in your profession, and how did SALTO KS help you get there?

This is, unfortunately, a tricky question for the difficult time everybody is experiencing at the moment. But in a hypothetical situation in which things were normal, I guess finding a job with my current skills wouldn’t be so difficult with respect to when I started my internship at SALTO KS. At the company, I had the opportunity to study and work with technologies that definitely helped me gain more experience and mastermind some skills I already had. I wouldn’t be so confident in myself if it wasn’t for this internship, and I hope that as soon as this situation gets better I will confirm to you that SALTO KS has helped me get my first job experience!

Marco, thank you for being such a committed member of our team and the life of every party (and after-party). We will see you at future KS ‘Borrels’ and in return, please do bring us some of your mom’s legendary homemade brownies!

To get in touch with Marco, contact him through LinkedIn.