October 20, 2021

Leap of Faith with Gregory: Is it worth leaving a famous brand for a South-American company?

Leaving a comfortable, stable project, for a company from South America, was curious, and adventurous. No one I knew or "acquaintances' of acquaintances" had ever walked that far.

Gregory Jesman, Conexio Group

We are going to tell our next story about Gregory, ex-EPAM, and now Conexio Group.

Why did he decide to take such an extraordinary step?

Why, out of dozens of recruiter referrals, did he proceed with a Make it in Ukraine recruiter exactly?

💡 Before we start:

You might be familiar with the feeling when you're bored with your job and vacations aren't helping. When you feel you've done all the exciting and challenging stuff at work and can do more. But you don't see the opportunity at the moment.
It may be a good time to look at the market offerings. Yes, it's not a good idea to rush into anything right off the bat. But at the very least, it doesn't hurt to get started and do a little research just to stay up to date. And for that, you need good connections.
👉 So write to us, let's get acquainted. Of course, it's not binding networking. But hopefully as enjoyable for you as it is for us.

Now let's get back to the point.

Episode #1. The Pilot

Gregory decided to make a career move because he didn't want to be tied to a specific location or office. He also felt he needed to get out of his "comfort zone" and get a jump-start on his new challenges.

He was living in Belarus and did not have any plans to move to Ukraine or another country. However, he heard that the Ukrainian IT market is one of the most dynamic and interesting in the modern world. So, Gregory set up his LinkedIn profile to receive offers from Ukrainian and Belarusian recruiters. Moreover, he was only looking at remote jobs.

It was more of a "lucky shot," and Gregory didn't really believe at first that it would get any further than an interview. The plan was to practice on interviews as much as possible to be in the best battle shape when it was time for the "real" (i.e. face-to-face) job interview.

Episode #2. Shoveling out piles of annoying LinkedIn messages

Even in spite of LinkedIn's customization, Gregory's talent has not remained unnoticed. He received dozens of messages in a few days. But he responded to just a few, including Make it in Ukraine's message. 😎

What was it about our message that attracted Gregory's attention?

  • Our message contained only essential information about the job, with no silly questions or meaningless preambles.
  • Our recruiter wrote to Gregory only after she was absolutely sure that his Tech Skills and his interests matched what we were supposed to offer to him.
  • We offered him a job from an Uruguayan company with an interesting stack (AEM). It was an unexpected company's location for Gregory, so he was intrigued to answer us. The open role was in stark contrast to the usual cheesy vacancies with the boring corporate mindset and strict rules for developers that are usually offered by most recruiters.
  • Gregory also liked the opportunity to remove his language barrier and train his interviewing skills.

Episode #3: Conquering South American Paradise

Gregory coordinated with our recruiter to discuss the details the next day.

Before contacting Gregory, we checked again our code, which we always follow clearly. Here's a summary of it:

  • NOT WASTE candidate’s time.
  • SALARY EXPECTATION - NOT a TABOO subject - We made sure the employer's budget can cover the desired remuneration.
  • Company Management Style - Assuring that employer's approach is fitted with what the candidate not only expected but needed, as well.
  • Team compatibility - We made sure that the candidate will be comfortable spending his time with the future teammates.

What the recruiting process was like for Gregory:

We found the job opening that Gregory would be interested in, and we have spoken to Conexio beforehand and clarified what the interview process will look like. We all know that many companies fancied themselves as the new Google and arranged tortures for a candidate in the range of 7-10 stages.

Fortunately, Conexio management proved to be modern, smart and intelligent. And although they had one more stage (psychological testing), it was nothing to worry about (see below).

Here are these stages:

  1. ↪  Intro Call
  1. Technical call
  1. Call with a client

Conexio has its own clients special for these interview cases. It was unusual and made Gregory more interested to go further.

  1. Psychological Test

The psychological call was a set of questions to see the cultural fit. We were afraid of candidates being angry at their time-wasting, but it proved to not be a problem at all. It almost took no time and it also refreshed the whole recruiting process.

  1. ↪ Offer

The company recognized that Gregory was really talented, great with technology and ingenuity.
Our candidate also found answers to what he was looking for: the company was not only a breath of fresh air, in means of management, but was also a challenge for his career. Match made in Ukraine.

So when Gregory was given that job offer the next day, he accepted it immediately. That's because he had already made his own internal decision before the end of the last interview.

Communication between Gregory and Make it in Ukraine: how it was going

It's fair to give the floor to Gregory himself:

"MiU’s team constantly encouraged me and gave me feedback on the interviews that had taken place, they always wrote me in a timely manner"

This accuracy and precision surprised him because usually candidates tell us that they either have to wait a long time or ping the recruiters by themselves.

For our team, timely feedback is a matter of honor.

So we made it to the contract signing without delay. Gregory was surprised even more when our team guided him on how to start with his entrepreneurial paperwork, as it’s not something that it’s usually offered.

Epilogue: How is Gregory doing now?

The position he took is "native" to him, so he doesn't have any professional difficulties.

Self-improvement

While the job is something within the known realms, speaking in English at all times is still something Gregory is getting accustomed to, but he’s more than up for the challenge. 

Being a Citizen of the World

Now, Gregory can work from anywhere in the world. For the whole summer, he moved with his family to the sea and worked "from the coast". Next, he plans to go and work in another country for a year or so. As Gregory says himself, he has begun to feel like a Citizen of the World.

Quick Final Debriefing

👉 Why did Gregory choose this job and this company?

  • Extraordinary project
  • Unexpectedly high salary
  • Full compliance with technological skills
  • Consistency of management style and team atmosphere
  • Opportunity to live and travel freely

👉 Why did Gregory choose "Make it in Ukraine"?

  • We wrote to him clearly and right to the point.
  • We managed to surprise him.
  • We helped him get a big salary.
  • We kept him up to date on the process
  • We helped him move through the process faster and avoid wasting his time
  • Our recruiter helped Gregory with additional guidance 
  • Our candidates are treated like VIPs (no kidding, each of them)
  • We are proud when Ukrainian talented IT pros win the best jobs.

Result for Gregory, In a nutshell:

As a result, our candidate got a Senior AEM Developer position at a South American tech-savvy company with a salary he didn't even expect.

To wrap up today's story, let's give Gregory the word this time as well:

"For me, changing jobs was a dare, a challenge, 'getting out of my comfort zone'. And I'm glad I made it. Well, what more could you want?"

Bottom line

This story, as well as our others, show that you can get the job of your dreams. Moreover, you have a wide range of options. All you have to do is three simple things:

  1. Decide if you want to start something new in your life or job.
  2. If yes, think about what field you want to develop in?
  3. Contact us. Here are our recruiters and their contact information:

Diana 

Email: dianao@makeitinua.com 

Telegram

Kate

Email: kate@makeitinua.com

Telegram

It’s really that easy

Every week we receive requests from two or more of our long-time friendly candidates requesting us to find them a couple of interesting jobs with attractive salaries.

And you know what? For more than half of these requests, we introduce the candidate and the company the very next day.

💎 Just drop us your CV and expectations, and we’ll show you the best roles that match your profile. Let's stay in touch!

Thanks for signing up
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

How can you scale up your business with us?

Our services

Reading list

Make it in Ukraine' explained in 60 sec

What else would you like to know?

Rated 4,6
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Do you have enough information to go ahead?
Who do you need on your team to build your project? How much will it cost? Get an instant estimate by answering 3 quick questions using our calculator.
Powered by Verifalia email verification