The Happiness Engineer trial is not easy, particularly if you’re already employed full-time or have other responsibilities to balance. The trial is intense, and there will almost certainly come a time when you’ll feel that it’s just too much.

It’s been more than two years since my trial, but I still vividly remember sitting in front of my computer giving myself a pep talk before I logged in every day. The good news is, I made it! And you can, too! 

Here are three ways you can make the most of your Happiness Engineer Trial!

1. The Mindset: Forget that you’re a trial!

The trial is an opportunity for the hiring team to see if you’ll be a good fit for Automattic and the Happiness Engineer role. The team evaluates your communication style, interactions with customers, technical and troubleshooting skills, and more.

The fact is that you’ll never be able to perform your best when you think and act like you are on trial. When supporting customers, you have to think quickly and act decisively. If you approach the interaction timidly, it will most likely take you longer to resolve the issue for the customer and will no doubt add additional stress if you second-guess yourself all the time. Remember that you are 100% doing the job of a Happiness Engineer. Dig in there and have fun with it!

2. Learn as much as you can from your buddy.

Your trial buddy is truly your buddy! Throughout the weeks of your trial, your buddy is going to be your best friend. Remember, they are a pro at this. Listen to their feedback, and more importantly, act on it immediately!

The learning curve during the trial is pretty steep, and to improve your skills throughout the weeks of the trial, you’ll need to soak up as much feedback as possible!

At the end of the day, go through all your interactions and make a list of a few chats/tickets that you found challenging so you can chat with your buddy about them. Ask questions like:

• “How could I have resolved this more efficiently?”
• “Did I interpret the customer’s problem correctly?”
• “What actions can I take to improve on this response in the future?”

At the end of the week, shortlist a few of your most challenging chats or tickets and nicely ask your buddy to review them during their spare time.

Identifying your weaknesses and blind spots is the best way to improve!

3. Learn as much as you can from full-time Happiness Engineers.

One of the things that surprised me during my trial was how truly helpful and supportive the full-time Happiness Engineers were. They truly wanted me and the other trials in my cohort to be successful!

So, make sure you absorb as much knowledge from them as you can! A few ways to do this:

• Be present in the community Happiness Engineer Slack channels – this is our primary form of communication and a great way to absorb information from other Happiness Engineers’ discussions.
• Ask questions! I cannot stress this enough. Full-time Happiness Engineers are happy to answer any questions you may have. And your trial lead will want to see you reaching out for help when it’s needed.
• Listen to and act on the feedback you receive. You will be given many opportunities to receive feedback from both your trial buddy and your trial lead. Act on it! We will be looking for improvement in specific areas throughout your trial. Acting on the feedback you’ve received is the easiest way to make improvements quickly!

There you have it! Three tips from a former trial Happiness Engineer to help you bring your very best to YOUR trial!

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Interested in becoming a Happiness Engineer at Automattic? Visit the Work with Us page to learn more about how you can express your interest!