A Day in the Life: Divinewill

Welcome to our Day in the Life series, where we spotlight the people (and sometimes the AI) behind the work we do. In this edition, we're handing the mic to Divinewill, our AI software engineer intern from the University of Manchester. Here’s what a typical day looks like for one of our newest team members.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us what you're currently working on as our AI  intern?

My name is Divinewill, and I'm an AI software engineer here at Deploi. So, currently I'm working on an AI project that would help streamline decision making and background checking and frontline hiring. 

The main gist is that this would help automate parts of candidate screening and improve how we extract and highlight the insights that we get from complex data. 

We want to reduce the amount of time it takes to do background checks, because if a majority of this can be automated, then there will also be time to focus on more meaningful tasks in frontline hiring and background checking.

That sounds like a lot of work! What brought you to this internship, and what made you interested in AI and this company specifically?

Well, as someone from a software engineering background, I've always been interested in, you know, how AI can be integrated into existing software systems and impact it can make in a real world scenario.

 I'll say Deploi stood out to me because of its mission which involves using AI to solve real human challenges. And as someone who's been interested in that, I'll just say it was like hitting two birds with one stone, because I love the engineering aspect of things. 

I thought that was really fascinating because with uni projects or working with machine learning, you're not dealing with real data. You're not actually seeing that practical application of it. But working in a company with a mission to bring AI life. It just gives you that real life scenario and you see how helpful AI can be in the real world.

Well we’re glad to have you here! How would you explain your role to someone who doesn’t know much about AI or tech?

Okay, I'll say my job is to help build the behind the scenes that makes background checks faster, smarter, and more reliable. So imagine all the data that needs to be processed to make a hiring decision, and having a tech that kind of handles that safely, quickly with the help of AI.

You make it sound very cool. Next we have a couple of questions about your daily routine. What does a typical day look like for you?

So, I usually start my day with a mocha, which helps me ease into focus mode. And then at 9:30, we have our daily stand up where the team catches up on what everyone's working on for the sprint, making sure we're aligned and on track. 

After that, we kind of dive into our individual tasks for the day. So this could be anything from back end coding, researching some AI solutions, hopping into a few meetings if anyone needs one. So I'll say every day is a little different and that's one of the things that keeps it interesting because you don't know what you're going to do the next day. We could do some coding today. I'll do my research tomorrow. We're in meetings. We're reviewing. So it's just different every day but also very similar.

A mocha sounds like a great start to the day, do you have any other rituals or tools that help you stay focused during the day?

Nothing too particular, but I do have a few things that help. And like I said, starting the day with a mocha or hot chocolate is great. I also like to use this Microsoft to-do list  to break down my work into smaller chunks. This just helps me stay organised and not feel overwhelmed. I also play some chilled piano beats on my AirPods while I work, which helps me stay relaxed.

What's been the most surprising thing about working with AI in a real company setting?

I'll say it's how rewarding it is to work with real data and solve real problems. As I mentioned before, at uni you do a lot of machine learning tasks in isolation, it's mostly theoretical and you don't always see how it applies to the real world. 

Here you actually see how AI can be integrated into real systems and help real people and I think that connection between the technical work and the real life impact has really been eye opening for me. 

It kind of bridges that gap between learning and doing because sometimes you tend to see AI in a theoretical perspective but seeing it come to life, seeing how it can be applied or even noticing that some of the things that are helpful to us have some AI integrated into it, but we've never just really thought about it in that way. 

I think that has been really surprising and fascinating at the same time.

That’s a great point, Divine. What’s the most challenging part of the internship so far,  and how are you approaching it?

I'll say for me the biggest challenge has been dealing with imposter syndrome because there are times I feel like I don't know enough. Especially when you're surrounded by people who are incredibly experienced or very technically sharp.

In such a fast moving space like AI and tech, there's always more to learn so it's easy to start doubting yourself but I think what's helped me is shifting my mindset.

I've come to realise that it's not a sign that you're not good enough when you feel that way. It's actually a sign that you're growing and that you're pushing yourself, because no one ever reaches a point where they know everything. 

The key is just being open to learning, staying curious, and not being afraid to ask questions or make mistakes. And that is where the actual growth lies: in showing up, learning by doing, and staying engaged.

We all think you’re doing fantastic, but that was a brilliant answer! Let’s look ahead now, how do you see AI shaping the future of background checks and frontline hiring based on what you've seen here?

I can see AI transforming background checks by quickly gathering and analysing data, helping spot risks more accurately, and also reducing bias. 

In frontline hiring, it could kind of speed up the process matching candidates to roles, it could even assist with initial interviews. At the same time, it will also boost workplace productivity because when these routines are automated then the team is provided with insights that can help them work smarter or even make better decisions. So it's not about replacing people. It's about freeing people up to focus more on the meaningful parts of their job. So I think it will be a really lovely integration. It's just going to make a lot of things easier, faster, more reliable, and it's just something fun to work with as well.

Absolutely! Let’s wrap up so you can get back to your mocha. What’s one piece of advice you'd give to someone just starting in an AI role or internship?

I think I'm just going to say don't worry about knowing everything: the best thing you can do early on is just get comfortable with not having all the answers. Focus on asking good questions and really understanding the problem you're trying to solve, like the why behind what you're building. AI or tech in general changes very fast, so stay curious, be open to learning. Don't be afraid to jump in and figure things out as you go. That's how you grow.

That’s great advice. And finally, describe your day in three words!

Ok so they are: mocha; teamwork; and focused!