Over the last few months, I’ve worked with several new engineers on the project. They have varying experiences; some are fresh out of university, others are new to the company, and for some, it’s yet another project. And they all share something in common, inexperience.

A new perspective

Whenever someone new joins my project, I get excited because, for those first few weeks and months, their inexperience means they see the project differently from everyone else. Hence, it’s essential to utilise this time as much as possible.

Someone new to the team:

  • Has no emotional connection to the people or the system
  • Brings experience from other projects and situations into the team
  • Can question the status quo
  • Finds the technical debt that we have all forgotten
  • Has new ideas


Once a person has gained experience working with the system, team and domain, this perspective weakens and eventually disappears as they amalgamate into the collective mindset of the project.

The most common fear

A new joiner’s most common fear is asking for help or questioning the current normal. You may think that the question or suggestion makes you look stupid, that you don’t belong, or your team won’t want you. That’s not the case.

Humans are naturally trusting of each other; they want to believe what you say and want you to succeed. Most of us don’t want you to fail, and selfishly, if you succeed, people around you are more likely to be successful.

When you approach someone for help, it may feel like a massive deal; you feel like you are taking up someones else’s time, and they may think less of you because you need some help. In reality, it is the opposite; your request for assistance is one of 10 in my inbox, and I want to get you unstuck as soon as you can. I have the opposite fear: I won’t be able to help you and won’t know the answer, but that’s ok, as it means both of us need to learn something.

In conclusion

Take advantage of your perspective as a new team member, question things, learn, and use your knowledge to improve the project. Your team members want you to succeed and will not judge your questions and suggestions, as they have their own worries and issues.

I’d also like to call out the Developer Tea podcast, which helped inspire this blog post and the software engineers who shared their concerns with me over the last few months.