Introduction

In this blog post, I’m going to share a few tips that can help you increase your chances of getting selected as an Outreachy intern and completing your internship successfully.

Open-source software is software whose source code (code used to build the software) is open and available for anyone to clone, modify or inspect. Open source promotes collaboration between engineers regardless of wherever they are located.

Outreachy is an open-source community that encourages people of diverse backgrounds to contribute to open-source projects. Outreachy offers a paid internship to aid applicants who are interested in learning about and contributing to open source.

Application Period

Outreachy organizes two internship cohorts in a year. The first one is usually around Dec-March and then May-August. There are 2 application stages which are: the Initial Application phase, the Contribution phase, and then the Final Application phase.

Initial Application

In this phase, you have to write some essays. Do not fret, it’s just a few questions for you to tell Outreachy about yourself, your background, and why you should be considered for the internship. You need to evaluate the questions and structure your response in a clear and understandable way. Tell your story accurately but in a much more convincing way. Share links and examples if you have to.

After this phase, Outreachy will decide what applicants qualify for the phase. If you do not qualify for this stage, it does not necessarily mean that your story is irrelevant or that you were not qualified for the internship so do not take this personally, instead, apply again in the next cohort. I applied 4 times before I got selected. In my first 2 trials, I didn’t get past the initial application phase and there are several possible reasons for this. Maybe there were too many applicants, maybe I didn’t convey my story clearly enough. Here are some tips to help

• Apply early (maybe in the first week, at least that’s what I did differently before I got in).
• Evaluate the essay questions carefully and think about your responses. Be clear and concise.
• Just be hopeful, I was too.
• If you don't get selected, don't give up, apply again!

Contribution Phase

If you made it past the initial application, congrats! This is where you have to put in some work. By this time, you will find a list of organizations and their projects. For each project, the required skillset is specified which makes it easy for you to narrow down to the projects that match your skill set.

In my case, I'm a frontend engineer, and I mostly use HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, React, and Sass. I'm also a UI designer so I narrowed my search to projects with these technologies and found PublicLab where I finally got accepted.

It is natural to feel overwhelmed by the codebase or project and you might even feel like you are not good enough to contribute to the project. The first rule is "It is important not to despair ^^", these were the exact words of a past intern I spoke to during my time. I want to use this opportunity to thank Jufajardini because I learned this from her.

Tips for this stage:

• Engage the community early enough and interact with other members
• Explore the project, what it is about, what works and what doesn't, and what could be better
• Most times there are first-timer issues to get you started, do ask in the community channel how you can get started. There's usually a contribution guide which will most likely be specified on the project's repo.
• Don't wait to make a big contribution. If you see a typo error or a button issue, go ahead and fix it right away.
• Tell yourself: "If there's only one intern needed for this role, it's got to be me!"
• Stay consistent, and help other community members if you can.
• Be open to learning. I didn't know much about JQuery, but I did make contributions using it.

Final Application

At this stage, you have to draft a proposal on how you can improve the project. Here's a link to my proposal. Here you have to clearly state the problem you see and what you're going to do to resolve it. Keep refining it as much as possible and be open to suggestions. Also bear in mind the set goals for the project so that you are in line with the organization's needs. In my case, I later had to include unit testing which was a critical issue for PublicLab at the time. After drafting your proposal, submit it for review and you can ask your mentors for feedback on your proposal.

The Internship

If you got selected, congratulations! You're rocking it. Every organization varies in the way the internship will be run so it is good to reach out to your mentors as soon as possible and ask them about the steps you can take to begin the internship. Here are some tips to help you in this stage:

• Put in the work, give it your full attention.
• Be open to learning, I learned to use Jest, puppeteer, jsdom, jQuery, Nodejs, Github actions, and many other tools/technologies which I haven't used before. I also strengthened my git skills.
• Ask questions whenever in doubt. I always ask questions, too many questions as long I need clarifications to help me get the job done.
• Engage the community still, the community is still much functional even at this stage and beyond.
• Don't drown in your issues when you are stuck, reach out for help from your mentors. Ask questions on Twitter, ask your friends for help, and use StackOverflow. Do whatever it takes to solve your problems so you can move on.

FAQs

Is the Outreachy internship only available for programmers?

• No, designers, technical writers, and some other related roles are available.

Do I have to be very good at programming to apply?

• All levels of programming are welcome to apply.

Does Outreachy requires my portfolio or do I have to be a student?

• No, you don't need a portfolio to apply and also, and both students and non-students are welcome to apply.

What is the duration of the internship?

• Outreachy runs 2 cohorts per year and they both span 3months each.

Do I get paid?

• Yes, you get a very handsome stipend! But please note that your mentors have to give a positive feedback on your progress before you can get paid.
  So please put in the work!

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Thank you for reading and I wish you good luck! You can reach out to me on Twitter @narudesigns if you have any questions or need some assistance and I'd do my best to assist. You can read more about Outreachy here