Review of Kakao's 6-Week Onboarding for New Front-End Developers: Mission-Based Learning Including Instagram and Netflix Cloning

A successful candidate from Kakao's 2023 blind recruitment for new developers shared their experience with the FE technical onboarding process. This program lasts 6 weeks after joining and is designed to allow step-by-step learning from basics to practical work.

Learning Structure and Features

The onboarding features four characteristics: step-by-step learning, mission-centric, communication-oriented, and linked to current work. Every morning, technical topics such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, and test code are learned through real-time lectures and applied to individual mission implementations. Notably, current employees from the departments where new hires will be placed participate as code reviewers, allowing new hires to experience actual code styles and review culture in advance.

Key Mission Projects

New developers deepened their technical expertise through the following projects:

• Instagram Cloning: Implementing basic features like dark mode toggle, scrolling, and layout responsiveness, along with code quality management
• Note App: Module-based programming and build optimization by applying ES Modules, Webpack, Babel, and Sass
• GitHub Finder: Applying OOJS (Prototypes, Classes), the MVVM pattern, and learning asynchronous control (Promise, async/await)
• Netflix Cloning: Developing React components, utilizing HOCs and Custom Hooks, handling HTTP transactions, and optimizing rendering

Collaboration and Communication Activities

Beyond technical learning, various communication activities were included, such as pair sessions, group peer sessions, code reviews, mini seminars, and study seminars. Collaboration skills were developed through pair programming, and study seminars featured discussions on free topics like Django and React Error Boundaries. These processes contributed not only to acquiring simple technical skills but also to improving communication with colleagues and adaptability to current work.