July 21, 2025

Next Talent 2 is Here and I'm Living Proof It Works

Banner for Atolye15’s Next Talent 2 with the headline “Next Talent 2 is Here and I'm Living Proof It Works” and a developer illustration.

It’s with great excitement that I get to share about something very special: Next Talent 2 is officially happening! Atolye15’s two-month development program, Next Talent, is back, and I couldn’t be happier, because this program is where my own journey began.

I joined the very first edition of Next Talent last year. After the application process, I was selected to join the two-month project phase, and now I’m a full-time developer at Atolye15. It’s been 9 months since I officially became part of the team, and this experience has completely changed how I see product development. 

So today, I’m not just here to share the good news, I also want to tell you a bit about my own experience with the program. Here’s what it looked like from the inside!

If you asked me what makes the Atolye15 Next Talent program different from all the other talent programs out there, I’d say this: from the very beginning, it’s clear this is not an internship. So don’t expect one.

You’re not here to do filler tasks or sit in the background. You’re not shadowing someone while they work or sitting through generic tutorials. From day one, you join a real project, with a real team, building something that’s actually going to launch. When that product goes live, you know your work is part of it, and that’s what makes this program truly different.

For me, things kicked off with a few team-wide meetings. Our mentors walked us through how Atolye15 approaches product development, what matters to them, how they collaborate, and how they solve problems. It was never about just giving us a quick overview. It was about setting the mindset early, making sure we were aligned before we jumped in.

On the technical side, we quickly learned the best practices to develop projects, all the tools, methods, and processes the team actually uses. But it wasn’t just theory, we applied everything immediately. We joined weekly meetings, participated in dailies and retros, led our own demos, and contributed code that went into production. It didn’t feel like a simulation. It felt like real work, because it was.

By the end of those two months, I was shocked by how much I'd picked up. My coding skills definitely got way better, but I also learned so much about the whole project process, even how to talk to clients effectively. It was a complete learning experience that went way beyond just writing code.

When the program ended, I was super excited when Atolye15 asked me to stay on full-time. It felt like a big win and showed me how much Atolye15 cares about growing talent. The team kept making sure I was settling in, arranging one-on-one calls conveying their own experiences, encouraging me to ask questions, and creating space for me to connect with everyone from all departments, even if we weren’t working on the same project.

Honestly, one of the best things about working at Atolye15 is how much they trust you. They're never afraid to give you real responsibility. And even when things get tough, there’s always someone you can turn to. Not just for technical help, but for real guidance. I’ve had some super smart mentors who’ve helped me grow in ways I couldn’t have imagined a year ago.

Now, as someone who started out in Next Talent and is still here, building, learning, and contributing every day, I can say with confidence that this program can absolutely lead to something long-term. 

If you're passionate about software development, and you're ready to work on something real with a team that sees your potential, Next Talent 2 could be the start of something big for you, just like it was for me.

Emirhan Pakyardım
Development

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