HNG Is Just A Game, Play Along!
“Remember, HNG is a game. There is no prize. We don’t promise anything. If you want to play, play” — Mark Essien (CEO Hotels.ng)
HNG Internship; HNG is termed a game and you might be surprised by that and wonder “how is an internship a game?” Well, you have to adopt that mindset if you want to get to the very end of the internship.
HNG is a very demanding 10-stage internship, where nothing is promised except a free T-shirt. Task descriptions are a bit vague at the initial stages, and you’re given deadlines for tasks to deliver individually and as a team, failure to do this is elimination from the program and reward is promotion to the next stage.
This post is to provide you with a brief overview of the internship.
Registration
The internship is a yearly 8-week internship with 2022 being the 9th cohort. Registration for the Internship starts around late September and early October. If you’re interested, follow HNG Internships on Twitter to be informed once it starts. Anyone can register for the program, there are no prerequisites.
The purpose of the internship is to develop fundamental tech skills by building and working on projects. Hence, it is hands-on with tight deadlines. The Internship is designed this way to prepare you for work under pressure — similar to what you’ll face in a real job.
Thus, given its focus is on fundamental and generic tech skills, specialized tracks such as Data Science, Machine Learning, Game Development are not currently offered. The tracks available in the internship as at Cohort 9 are:
- Frontend Development
- Backend Development
- Mobile Development
- Product Design
- Product Management (Project Management)
- Sales and Marketing
- DevOps
You can sign up for more than one track. It is important to note there is no handholding in this internship. Tasks are assigned and you are to complete them. The notification and slack invite mails would give you a brief description of what to expect.
Welcome onboard
About 10,000 interns would be invited to the slack workspace, therefore expect chaos. Everyone is expected to join a group, but don’t fret if you don’t join one immediately. Just reach out to any of the mentors about it and also if you receive vague instructions too, but don’t expect an immediate response as they might be quite busy organizing the workspace.
Mentors are previous HNG Interns from past cohorts who were finalists. They join the current internship cohort to help mentor interns. The mentors are guides and are there to help, so utilize them. Meanwhile, you’re expected to work on your task independently, don’t expect any handholding.
On joining the slack workspace, you will see tasks for Stage 1. Completing this task for your track would get you promoted to the next stage.
By stage 4, team projects would have started being worked on. Most of the individual tasks would be based on the team project. Each team is cross-functional; comprising of developers, designers, managers and marketers.
Side projects would be given to teams, while working on their main team projects. This is to simulate instances in real life where you are working on more than one project under a tight schedule.
Each stage ends on the Sunday of that week. Though towards the later stages of the internship it becomes more fast-paced but given you have adapted to the pressure from Stage 1–5, you will adjust accordingly.
The task for each track and team will be unique, sometimes novel but they are achievable and require availability.
Finally-st
“How do I finish the internship?”
The truth is you can finish the internship at any stage. You can quit or be evicted at stage 1 or stage 8. But I guess the question would be “how do I become a finalist, or reach the final stage (Stage 10)?”
Answer: Deliver the task of each stage
The following tips would be essential in delivering tasks and getting to the final stage of the internship:
- HNG Internship is demanding but not hard. You’re put under a lot of pressure, so you have to be online 24/7. You’re always available.
- You’re always available means you’re willing to learn new things and a lot.
- HNG is just a game, it’s not do-or-die. It’s a learning experience, so take breaks or a day off when you feel the pressure is too much. But communicate with your team before doing so.
- Follow instructions. Complete your assigned tasks and quickly get reviewed. It might be you’ve not done the correct thing, so a review would reveal such.
- Start tasks as soon as they are given, because another demanding task is always in the offing and you’ll be asked to work on them simultaneously.
- Work with your team. Allow your teammates to help you and help them too. Doing this will make the program less stressful for all given that events outside and within HNG might make a teammate unavailable and you may have to take on more tasks.
- Ask for help from other teams, when it seems all else has failed. If you have genuine concerns, the mentors can also be of assistance.
- It’s normal to feel the pressure and want to quit at some point in the program. Don’t quit, just take a day off and assess your current situation. This helps a lot with the burnout
- Take it seriously, but not too seriously. Humor (Cruise) would be your greatest asset.
HNG Internship is demanding but not hard. Humor (Cruise) would be your greatest asset while working hard.
While getting to the final stage in the internship is a great feeling, the experience and process holds more value. Ensure you connect with people and take note of your personal wins (e.g. new knowledge, skill or work habit gained during the program). ‘Ability to work and remain calm under intense pressure’ is one of such wins for me.
The Reward
Congratulations on reaching the end. The reward for completing the internship as a finalist is addition to the HNG Network where you connect with finalists from all the previous HNG Internships and job opportunities are shared.
Most importantly you get a free T-shirt. Note that sometimes other good things happen (e.g. Laptop, Job offers)
Now with this insight into the program you are better prepared. Remember, HNG is just a game and make sure to have fun while learning in HNG if you eventually decide to participate. It’s going to be demanding, but remember it's not hard and don’t be too hard on yourself.
An excerpt from Mark Essien would be a perfect closing to this post
Please give this post a 50x clap if you gained insight or liked what you read. Also share it with someone whom you think will find it valuable. You can read about my HNG product management internship experience or connect with me.
