Do you know how many people are expected to be employed in 2024? 3.5 billion. In today’s blog article, we speak with three of them – that’s 0.00000086% of the global workforce. But you know what? At Bamboo Group, we truly believe that employee-wise, we have hit a jackpot, and the people who work at our company are the most talented and agreeable out there.
In our older blogs, we already spoke with some of them. You got to hear about the opportunities for growth that we offer, our pleasant and collaborative work environment, what motivates Bamboo Group’s people, how we try to keep the startup mindset inside the company, and how we empower team growth. We also offered an inside look into our projects and processes and shared funny stories.
This time, we decided to ask other employees about their professional experiences and their fondest memories of working at Bamboo Group. Today we speak to:
- Ekaterina Yanchishina, UX/UI Designer, Graphic & Motion Artist at Bamboo Group.
- Kseniya Oskerko, Marketing Specialist at Znaj.
- Mikhail Volkau, Backend Developer at Bamboo Agile.
Let’s see what they have to say!
What do you do at Bamboo Group?
Kseniya starts by sharing her experience. She is a marketing specialist at Znaj, a Bamboo Group platform of e-services for education. According to Kseniya, at different stages of her career, her responsibilities varied.
Kseniya: “I worked with the company’s brand, optimized the website, was part of the mobile app development team, and managed clients’ projects and ad integrations.”
Kseniya says that the most engaging projects she worked on always involved partnerships. One such project was a school competition organized with Viber and GeekBrains, attracting over 200 entries and 50,000 votes. Znaj also regularly creates popular school-themed sticker packs for Viber.
Ekaterina says that 90% of her time she works with the marketing team.
Ekaterina: “If you go to Bamboo Agile’s or Bamboo Apps’ website, you can see my illustrations and graphics on landing pages and inside blog articles.”
She finds the most rewarding tasks to be creating personalized gifts for her colleagues. Ekaterina enjoys the element of surprise and the opportunity to be creative. For 2023 New Year’s gifts, she hand-painted and then digitized illustrations that reflected the unique atmosphere of Bamboo Group’s office, using these as a symbol of the company culture.
Mikhail, one of Bamboo Agile’s talented backend developers, is less eloquent about his job but you can definitely feel how important it is – and we wholeheartedly agree.
Mikhail: “I create backends for our clients using Node.js.”
He then describes a recent project that involved the development of a notification service as the most challenging and rewarding assignment. Mikhail emphasizes the importance of perseverance and patience when facing particularly difficult challenges. His advice on how to handle demanding tasks is to break them into smaller, more manageable subtasks.
How do you feel about your job at Bamboo Group? Is it challenging, rewarding, and a good fit?
This question makes us feel a bit self-conscious and even nervous. At Bamboo Group, we always want to make sure our team doesn’t get bored and always has something to learn and look forward to. But what if our employees see it differently?
Kseniya goes first here as well. She tells us that she’s been with Bamboo Group for more than five years now – and that’s quite some time! Kseniya adds that during these five years, she had a chance to work with colleagues from different units, cover a large number of tasks, and even try different roles, from copywriter to product manager.
This is when we get a bit worried. Could this be too much for one person?
But Kseniya says she likes this. She proceeds by explaining that when one chooses to work for a smaller company or a startup, they should understand that their assignments can go beyond your job description. For her, it’s a pro since she has a hard time working on repetitive tasks like one usually does in enterprises.
Overall, Kseniya describes her Bamboo Group experience as positive only. She loves working with like-minded people with the same values as her.
Kseniya: “Bamboo Group gives me space for creativity. Here, I can grow professionally and develop new skills.”
So, what are these new skills? Working at Bamboo Group, Kseniya has learned a variety of new digital tools. This primarily involves analytics and advertising platforms. She has also become proficient in using Viber for community management and gained experience in blog administration. Moreover, Kseniya’s team heavily relies on Google’s suite of tools for collaboration, which she has partially learned from scratch.
Ekaterina has been with Bamboo Group for almost four years. She is a bit dumbstruck by this number. “Time does fly!”, she says. Our design guru highlights the positive aspects of working here, namely being able to experiment, try something new, and apply her skills to challenging assignments. Despite her extensive experience in design, these aspects work as excellent motivators to discover new competencies and resources.
Ekaterina: “The company considers each team member as an asset. You simply cannot help but level up in such an environment. This is what we believe in.”
Ekaterina has mastered motion design while working at Bamboo Apps. According to her, this skill has become essential for creating engaging user interfaces and identifying design issues that are not apparent in static designs.
For Mikhail, working at Bamboo Group is a very special experience – it’s his first job! He recalls his fourth year at university when he started his career with us as a developer. Mikhail says he lacked experience but had so much enthusiasm for the profession and his framework of choice, Node.js.
Mikhail started building up his expertise by working on Bamboo Group’s internal assignments. Since then, he has participated in multiple clients’ projects, and according to him, liked his tasks and technology stack. Two standout projects were building an enterprise-sized HR platform and an innovative voting app. The former introduced Mikhail to Nest.js for backend development, while the latter exposed him to Kafka and Redis technologies.
Mikhail: “Bamboo Group helped me grow into a seasoned backend professional in just three years.”
What do you like most about working at Bamboo Group?
Is there a secret ingredient that makes working at Bamboo Group enjoyable? Let’s ask our three guest stars further and find out.
Ekaterina’s favorite aspect is being proud of what she does at the company.
Ekaterina: “What I appreciate most are the opportunities to learn and grow in areas I never imagined. It’s incredibly rewarding to look back and realize I’ve accomplished so much.”
Mikhail is yet again concise and persuasive.
Mikhail: “Engaging projects and nice colleagues.”
For this question, Kseniya doesn’t hesitate.
Kseniya: “People, projects, and a positive attitude to any situation.”
If you could go back to your first day at work and give yourself advice, what would it be?
We’ve all had those ‘if only I knew then what I know now’ moments. Imagine having a chance to go back to day one. What would our employees say?
Mikhail: “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and ask stupid questions.”
Ekaterina: “Don’t worry. You’ll handle everything, and you’ll also make wonderful friends here.”
Kseniya: “Don’t hesitate, this is where you belong. Don’t be afraid of anything, suggest even the most daring ideas and be sure that the team will always support you.”
What are your wishes for Bamboo Group?
At Bamboo Group, we think that hearing what our staff has to say is essential to our success and continuous development. Their opinions and ideas help us plan for the future and make sure that our workplace is still creative and dynamic.
So we ask Kseniya, Ekaterina, and Mikhail about their wishes for us.
Kseniya: “Global market orientation of projects, development of new business segments, team expansion, and the opening of a Warsaw office.”
The last one is something that we hear quite often. Maybe one day?
Mikhail also wishes for new exciting projects for us – and professional development for himself.
Ekaterina: “I wish Bamboo Group continued success with future projects and even greater growth opportunities. Our team is fully committed to making this a reality.”
Finally, what is your favorite work memory?
And just like that, our interview is coming to an end. Let’s end it on an emotional note.
Kseniya eagerly shares her memory of the first working day of 2020. She and her team spent it in pajamas.
Kseniya: “The absence of tea was noticeable that day, as all boilers were exclusively filled with mulled wine.”
Now, THIS is something to remember.
Mikhail’s best memory doesn’t include wine but also revolves around the team spirit.
Mikhail: “My coworker and I were focused on getting more done on this one project. We sat right next to each other and worked on the same thing at the same time. It was like we were totally in sync, working together as a team. I’ll never forget it.”
Ekaterina speaks fondly about our corporate parties. They are unforgettable for sure!
Ekaterina: “My favorite work memories are from our company parties. It’s always great to hang out with coworkers, especially during holidays. Sharing good food and good wishes with everyone just feels right.”
Conclusion
Bamboo Group is all about creating a workplace where people enjoy what they do and grow in their careers. The stories from Kseniya, Ekaterina, and Mikhail show how our team values creativity and teamwork, as well as professional development.
Whether it’s tackling diverse tasks, enjoying team spirit, or having fun at company events, our employees find their work here rewarding and engaging. And that’s what matters the most to us. We’re dedicated to keeping this positive vibe. Bamboo Group’s employees are at the heart of our success, and we look forward to achieving more great things with them.
