In the field of digital products, we have a constantly growing, changing volume of knowledge and approaches, which, often, cannot be ensured by training in the process of regular training and the arrival of a ready-made specialist who just needs to be brought up to date on his responsibilities in a new position.

A feature of creating innovative products is the training of specialists virtually “from scratch”, to a greater extent not on the basis of fundamental knowledge, but on the basis of practical cases and on the basis of advanced experience with maximum involvement in a real product.

Basic principles and approaches:

Stage I – selection of candidates:

I invite someone to small projects or startups (often as part of personal networking), and someone takes the initiative himself.
In large companies, the selection of candidates takes place through programs organized by HR and, in this case, the final selection takes place from the list of candidates.

Stage II – selection of potential interns:

A test task before a personal meeting, which, as best as possible, will tell you about theoretical knowledge (hard skills).
A personal meeting or communication gives a clear understanding of personal qualities (soft skills) and an idea of ​​how suitable the candidate is and will be able to “fit” into the current processes, share and adopt the “spirit” of the team.
Improvisation from the candidate.

Stage III – development of “young” specialists:

Training: the formation of the educational process and the involvement of trainees in it.
Team building: assistance in adaptation and easy immersion in team processes, both working and informal.
Availability: Willingness to answer questions, devote sufficient time and be open to dialogue.
Sensitivity: Understanding the work mood and inner feelings of the trainee.

Stage IV – involvement of “new” colleagues:

Equality: trainees are full team members and there is no division.
Engagement: all tasks from real processes and their solution lead to a full-fledged product or the successful completion of a certain product stage.
Mindfulness: No routine or unnecessary tasks, especially those that do not relate to or affect real products in any way.
Informality: demonstration of the work of other teams and the opportunity to get acquainted with different approaches, holding meetups with other groups of specialists, often outside the working format.
Motivation: highlighting small tasks, the implementation of which will constantly show results and progress.

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