From intern to beyond-senior: Seniority roles at a digital agency

When entering the workforce, you are typically evaluated on experience and knowledge to determine your level of seniority. Here’s a brief overview of the seniority levels and what each means at Blank, a digital agency focused on building web and mobile solutions.

We hope this article helps you!

What is a seniority level?

Seniority level usually represents the level of responsibility and rank an employee holds in the workplace. It mostly depends on the company structure, size, and the industry. There are a few most common levels: entry-level or intern, junior, middle, and senior.?

So, let’s talk about the evaluation!

How is seniority level determined?

The seniority level is first conducted during the interview within the hiring process and it’s confirmed after the probationary period. While many people think it’s determined by or equal to years of experience in a specific profession or position, this is often not the case. However, time is a strong factor, and if you’re not making any progress, your company may be undervaluing you or you should consider a different approach, learning new skills, and improving your output.?

Knowledge is another big part of conducting your seniority level. It doesn’t matter if you have formal education, attend professional development classes, or get certifications, everything counts as long as you’re learning. More knowledge grants you more authority in the workforce.

Time and knowledge, combined with consistency and challenging yourself, make up experience, which is probably the most important factor when it comes to your level of seniority. After all, practice makes perfect!

What are the most common seniority roles?

Here’s an overview of the most common seniority roles and how we determine them at Blank when it comes to software developers. We have a cheat sheet that helps us with assessment so let’s break it down!

Intern

Intern is an entry-level position and it’s where most students with little to no experience start. Interns can receive positive and negative feedback and have a great desire to learn. As they are still learning about the company culture and software development, they work on smaller tasks within the project and aren’t responsible for the final success of the project.?

Junior?

The next step in your carer journey is becoming a junior. At our company, there are two levels with a few differences.?

Juniors absorb the knowledge of how the team works, how to act during meetings, how to use specific tools and what are the fundamental processes in the company. They are learning about software development best practices and have a high-level technical overview of the project. Moreover, they can complete their tasks based on defined instructions and ask for help when stuck or unable to complete the task in the agreed time frame. It’s also expected that they participate in company events and assigned tasks such as demos, presentations, and blog posts.

To level up, juniors shouldn’t be repeating the same code and process mistakes while following defined work processes. However, they should know how to define and propose solutions to assigned tasks, propose smaller project improvements, and complete the task within the assigned time frame. Level 2 Juniors have a deeper understanding of some of the project features, and help Interns get around and proactively participate in company events and tasks.

Middle

Middle software developers are expected to understand the best practices and when to use them, propose project improvements, and complete the tasks on their own. They have a deeper technical understanding of the whole project, communicate with the project stakeholders about specific tasks, and mentor other team members. Mids actively participate in the shaping of the company culture, such as bringing new ideas to the table.

Progressing to Middle Level 2 means developers can point out the problems that occur and come up with solutions, recognize the missing elements of the project or process, and warn others about them. In other words, they understand the bigger picture of the project and make decisions accordingly. They communicate with stakeholders about anything project-related and are responsible for the final success of the project. Their role in the company also changes as they help organize the events.?

Senior?

Finally, let’s talk about seniors who are the go-to person for any unsolvable technical problem. Level 1 seniors can manage a team, predict and prevent potential problems and obstacles, and are responsible for project timelines and deadlines. They lead company-wide initiatives.

So, what’s the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 Seniors? Level 2s can take a whole project and build it from the ground up, make decisions that affect the whole project, and decide who to hire. They lead a team and define the whole process within the team.

Beyond senior

Of course, there will always be someone who’s unlocked all levels and we call them Beyond Senior. They manage multiple teams and projects, help other teams achieve their goals and set up their processes, and improve processes on the company level. They have enough know-how to be able to close deals with clients and manage project budgets.

What does seniority mean for employees?

At the end of the day, all the levels we just talked about aren’t just fancy titles and what matters is the meaning of seniority roles for the employees. If your title changes from intern to junior, what else changes?

One of the most popular pieces of career advice is this one: “Every career has two choices: Learn or Earn. If you get nothing, then quit and move on. ” Naturally, as a person gains more experience and knowledge, they expect bigger compensation. Most companies have defined pay ranges for different seniority levels so before accepting an offer, you might do your research on monetary compensation.

To encourage long-term loyalty, many companies change benefits for their employees based on their levels. For example, some are effective only after the employee has passed the probation period.

Finally, with great power comes great responsibility. So, as you probably already know by the level descriptions, as developers progress they are trusted with more duties and become more responsible for the project outcome.?

Send us your application!

Did this article help you determine your seniority level? After self-assessment, we’re sure you feel a bit more ready to start looking at job opportunities and can recognize ones you should apply for.

Our company is still relatively small and we’re always learning and adjusting our processes to make a better work environment for our employees. Take a look at our careers page and say hi to us at [email protected]!?