Intern Story: Aidan Ouckama - Doordash & Datadog

How to Land Internships Without Networking: Aidan's Journey from DoorDash to Datadog

Not every internship comes through networking, and Aidan's story is proof of that. We sat down with him to talk about how he landed internships at DoorDash and Datadog—without the traditional legwork. Want to know how he did it? Keep reading to find out how you can follow in his footsteps.

About Aidan:

Aidan’s not just your average cs student—he’s making moves in the tech world. Currently, he’s at Datadog working as a software engineer. Before that, he spent the summer interning at DoorDash at their New York office.

But Aidan’s influence goes beyond the office. On TikTok, he’s racked up over 26k followers and 2.1 million views, sharing everything from coding tips to day-in-the-life vlogs. He’s also pretty active on LinkedIn, where he’s built a community of 13.5k followers.

Check out Aidan’s content on TikTok and LinkedIn to see what he’s up to!

DoorDash Internship

How did you first come across the DoorDash internship opportunity?
Believe it or not, DoorDash was a cold apply. A recruiter reached out to me on Ripplematch, which sped things up. I joined a Zoom event they sent me, and it looked like everyone who attended got a final interview. My process was definitely different from others that year.

Did you do any networking before applying to DoorDash?
Nope, no networking. Time was ticking, so I skipped the referral hunt. I stick to the “shotgun mentality”—if it’s working, why change it?

How did you tailor your resume and cover letter when applying?
Honestly, I didn’t tailor my resume specifically for DoorDash, but it was definitely geared toward software engineering. I didn’t even bother with a cover letter—I think they’re a waste of time. My focus was on making sure my projects were unique and that I could talk about them, like my social media project and something I built for a big Minecraft server.

What was the interview process like at DoorDash?
My process was fast-tracked: Apply → Zoom Call → Final (Technical) → Offer. Normally, there’s an Online Assessment (OA) involved. I got hit with a LeetCode medium and a hard question. I spent three months before summer grinding medium-level problems daily on stream. And no, I didn’t nail either question perfectly!

What did a typical day look like during your internship at DoorDash?
My project was new, so I spent a lot of time in meetings and on non-coding tasks. The breakdown was something like this: 1-2 weeks in Bootcamp, 3-5 weeks learning the codebase, 6-8 weeks on non-technical stuff, design docs, and approvals, and finally 9-12 weeks implementing and testing. Way less coding than I expected.

What was the most memorable project you worked on at DoorDash?
I only had one project, but I’m proud of it. It went into production and now saves on-call engineers about 4 hours of work every week. Automating a tedious task felt good, especially knowing it helps in the long run.

Was there anything that surprised you about the work culture or projects at DoorDash?
I was blown away by the size of the codebase—my team alone used over 30 services. It was overwhelming at first, but my mentor helped a lot. The work culture was heads-down and focused, which I liked because it let me dive deep and learn as much as I could.

Datadog Internship

Congrats on landing your new role at Datadog!
Thanks! The DoorDash and Datadog processes overlapped, so I didn’t have time to use DoorDash knowledge during Datadog interviews. But I’m pumped to apply what I learned this summer at Datadog. The only time DoorDash came up was when I used it to negotiate for a Fall start.

What was the application process like for Datadog?
Very similar to DoorDash. Datadog had an Online Assessment and a Phone interview. The OA was light—just two easy questions—but the phone interview threw me a curveball. It was my first one ever, so I wasn’t used to behavioral questions. Luckily, my social media experience made talking feel natural, and I made it to the final.

Did you network with anyone at Datadog before applying?
Nope, no networking here either. I was still pretty new to networking, so I got through on pure luck. But I’ve heard they have events like summits, so if you’re interested, those might be worth checking out.

Now that you’ve started at Datadog, do you know what you’ll be working on?
Yeah! I got matched with the Dataviz team, which works with React, TypeScript, and D3. I’ll be building dashboards all Fall, which is a nice change after all the backend work at DoorDash.

What are your goals for your time at Datadog?
I want to be more proactive in meetings and take on more of a leadership role. I was a bit timid at DoorDash and didn’t always take the initiative, so I’m aiming to change that here.

Interview Strategy and Approach

What’s your overall approach to interviews?
I try to balance showing my technical skills and personality. If I need a trump card, I bring up my TikTok—it always grabs attention and shows I’m passionate about CS beyond just coding. It’s helped me stand out in interviews.

Do you have any specific strategies or rituals that help you prepare for interviews?
I always warm up with LeetCode before technical interviews. It’s like stretching before a game—doing a few easy problems helps get me in the right mindset.

Content Creation on TikTok

Your TikTok has grown to over 20,700 followers! How did you get started, and what’s your process for generating ideas that both educate and entertain?
I started in freshman year with CS POVs, then moved on to documenting my internship applications and LeetCode practice in sophomore year. I make separate videos for entertainment and education so people can pick what they’re interested in.

For someone looking to get into tech content creation, what’s your top piece of advice?
Try out different content and see what sticks. I’ve experimented with gaming, software development, vlogging—you name it. I was lucky to find that CS content resonated with people. Consistency is key; it’s how you build and maintain an audience.

Do you see content creation becoming a bigger part of your career, or is it more of a hobby right now?
Right now, it’s more of a hobby. I’m lucky to have a good income outside of content creation, which lets me experiment without stressing about stats or money. But I love having an audience to try new ideas with!

Advice for Students

For students trying to land internships at companies like DoorDash or Datadog, what’s the one strategy you’d recommend?
Keep refining your resume. I was constantly updating mine, getting it reviewed, and never settling. That mindset will take you far.

Given the tough internship market, what general advice would you give to students trying to stand out?
In this market, only the most talented and unique candidates will get noticed. One way to stand out is by working on projects that reflect your personal interests. For example, if you’re into basketball, build a web app that predicts NBA game outcomes based on past data. It’s a cool way to showcase both your technical skills and your passion.

Continue reaching for the stars and remember, the best is yet to come.

Warm regards,

The Intern Insiders Team 🚀