My Redfin Internship Experience: Yilei Zhang
What’s it like to intern at Redfin? We asked Yilei some questions about her 12 weeks as a Redfintern this summer.
How did you end up at Redfin?
Redfin came to the UCLA campus to recruit. Its recruitment process was faster than any other company’s. It was the first company to give me an on-site. When I came for the on-site, I noticed the welcoming environment for diversity and the encouraging atmosphere for technical challenges. I believed that I would grow at Redfin with great support from the team, so I accepted the offer.
What’s a fun fact about yourself?
I used to have a lot of silkworms, and I made a round silk fan with their silk.
What’s your dream home?
My dream home is a place near the water with hot summers in a city. It doesn’t matter whether it’s near a lake or the ocean. I grew up on a subtropical island with a huge lake in the middle of it. I would like to live in a city where the geography is similar to my hometown.
What three words would you use to describe your experience at Redfin?
Upward, vibrant, supportive.
Describe a typical day as an intern at Redfin.
I bike to work every day at around 9 a.m., eat breakfast and go to our team’s daily stand-up, where we talk about what we accomplished yesterday and what we’re going to do today. It’s a great way to keep people on track, and also to make sure everyone has work to do. We have a daily theme (mopey Monday, dreamy Tuesday, wacky Wednesday, thoughtful Thursday and grateful Friday). It was a great way for the team to get to know each other better.
After that, I start my work. Occasionally I talk to Jenna, my mentor, about any problems I run into. Jenna typically points me in some directions to look further. On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Commerce people sit together for lunch. I continue coding after lunch until 6 p.m. On Wednesdays, there are ultimate frisbee games that I attend. On Fridays, we have happy hours starting at 4 p.m., where we play music and code while sipping on beer.
What project are you most proud of working on at Redfin?
My first project was to display a warning about duplicate accounts when tour coordinators schedule tours on the support queue page. I was the dev for this feature, while my fellow intern Rak was the PM for it.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve experienced as a Redfin intern?
Getting to know the codebase has been the most challenging part. I’m used to building an entire project on my own. It’s interesting to have to build on top of Redfin’s massive codebase, making sure not to break anything else while my feature is realized.
What is your favorite Redfin perk?
My favorite perk is the height-adjustable desks.
What has been your favorite intern event this summer?
Whitewater rafting!
Have you ever been an intern before? If so, how was interning at Redfin different from your previous experience?
I have been an intern at a much smaller company before. I was one of three interns. There wasn’t really an intern program. I felt that I was supported by some developers at my last internship, but not so much by the company. This is different at Redfin. Not only are my mentor, manager and team supportive, but the company is supportive as well.
Not only are my mentor, manager and team supportive, but the company is supportive as well.
My projects last summer were all independent projects that I started from scratch, whereas the projects that I’m working on at Redfin add code to the codebase. They require a deeper understanding of the existing code. I learn good coding practices this way. Redfin also has a lot of company events and speeches. They are great opportunities for me to learn how a company orients itself and grows rapidly but steadily.
