Interning at Spark

I got introduced to Spark through one of my college mates. One thing led to another and I got an internship offer. Spark is the largest telecom operator of NZ.

During my first few days I noticed too many Indians at Spark, specially in my team. Oh sorry, it is called chapter here. Spark follows the Agile way of working which essentially aims to replace traditional hierarchical team structure and control to cross functional and self-managing teams. Agile at Spark comprises of “Squads”, “Tribes” and “Chapters”. A squad is a cross-functional group of specialists who work together every day. They have all necessary skills, tools and authority to independently develop a usable product. Tribe is a group of related Squads, formed around a given product/business goal and responsible for the outcomes of a business segment or functional area. Chapter is a group of specialists in one area (e.g., I belonged to the Data and Automation chapter) responsible for building expertise, maintaining a common approach to similar tasks, and evaluating tribe members. In Agile, there is a strange and unexpected relationship between order and chaos. I struggle with Agile way of working and frequently get frustrated but it’s too early to judge.

The culture is good. Are treated with respect and equality. Diwali was celebrated with equal pomp as Christmas. Wine glasses are out on Thursday and Friday afternoons with board games. There is an IPL like cricket series, some of our chapter members play soccer once a week and you can do WFH twice a week. It feels nice perhaps also because the people are good. Anshuman, my boss, and Habib his peer, who run the chapter give lot of space and are open to ideas. Anshuman, perhaps a decade younger than me, and an ex EY, is sharp and has a great temperament. Does not get hyper as I used to. Is soft spoken unlike me. Loosely though, and not that one would recognise, he is nevertheless me.

Working as an intern is… well… let’s just say interesting. More is expected of interns with experience. The first project that I was involved with went well. The second one went well too. These are small successes, but I store them away, stacking them up as though they might one day cancel out the failures. Yet I have no intention of growing or competing with others. I want to do the work without standing out… just like glue which doesn’t stick inside of the bottle. But appreciation feels good. Being valued feels good. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get the balance right.