Dean Kelly discusses the technical skills he learned during the Citi graduate programme and the value of agile working.
Having graduated from the National College of Ireland with a bachelor’s degree in computing, Dean Kelly now works as a technology analyst at Citi.
He started his career there as an intern for six months in 2020. During this time, he had the opportunity to see what the company culture was like.
“Everyone made me feel so welcome,” he told SiliconRepublic.com. “As a result of this, I chose the Citi graduate programme as I felt it was a fantastic place to enhance my skillset and build my network. I’ve been in the role just over a year and I’m really enjoying it.”
Kelly said he is now happy in the industry he’s working in. “I’ve been able to do a lot of functional testing so far, which is something that I’ve wanted to work on and improve for a while. It’s great that Citi offers various opportunities for its employees to build their skillset.”
‘I have gotten more accustomed to the agile working environment and, as a result, I feel more confident about working’
– DEAN KELLY
Can you describe a typical day in your role?
Given our hybrid working model, I am in the office three days per week and remote the other two. When I’m in the office I log in, check emails and respond to any messages on Microsoft Teams.
I attend our daily scrum where we discuss our work plans for the day and detail any problems we are facing.
I then work on my functional tests and update my Jira. Jira is an issue-tracking product that allows bug tracking, agile, project management and work management. I use it to record and track the completion status of any project work I am doing.
Sometimes I host a demonstration of my work to other team members. It’s a great opportunity for us all to learn from one another.
Have your responsibilities and workload changed as the programme progressed?
When I started the graduate programme last September, my workload and responsibilities increased and now remain constant.
Regarding the content of what I have been doing, I went from developing Selenium tests that were in series to ones that were parallel. Selenium tests are automated functional tests for browsers. It’s something I really enjoy working on!
How do you think this programme has made you more prepared for working life?
I have been able to develop my skills in Citi and gain new skills in Selenium and spec flow. I have gotten more accustomed to the agile working environment and, as a result, I feel more confident about working.
I’ve also enhanced my communication skills as working within a team we need to ensure we communicate effectively with one another.
Since joining Citi, I have taken on responsibilities and this has resulted in me being quite organised, so I can stay on top of my workload.
Would you recommend the graduate programme at Citi to others?
I would 100pc recommend it. It offers a lot to learn if you are willing to improve yourself and it eases you into the working life.
Not only this, but Citi offers a variety of opportunities for their employees outside of their day to day.
We can volunteer with organisations like Junior Achievement, participate in 5km walks or attend several sessions on motivation, mental health and sleep – to name a few!
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