The Stories of Our New Hires' First Days at Snowdog
When looking through companies, you might find yourself thinking: ‘I wonder what’s it like to work there’ 🤔. To your rescue are blog posts from seasoned employees in senior positions, talking about sophisticated stuff. At its best, it’s informative but fails at the relatability factor. At its worst, it feels like they’re patting you on the head as if you’re a little baby.
But hey, no one starts with six, seven, or eight years at a job — you always have to start at the beginning (duh!). The voices of tenured people, while valuable, rarely provide actual insight into getting started within a company.
Do you remember your first day at a job, and, to fast forward a bit, what it was like two weeks or a month in? The anxious excitement, new environment, and opportunities for growth. How did your new employer treat you? What challenged you? We think these questions are not asked enough. It leaves people who are interested in getting onboard with no real option to learn what’s it like to get a job in a company, apart from stalking the new hires and bombarding them with questions (which is kind of creepy, please don’t do that!).
This is why we’ve decided to make this blog entry. We’d like to give voice to SNOW.DOG’s newcomers who have just started working with us. We’ve asked them the same set of questions — here are their answers. You will retrace the first days at SNOW.DOG through the eyes of Hadi, our iOS Developer, Remi, a Project Manager, and Ola, a Front-End Developer.
Get on board with onboarding
Each new hire is paired with a more experienced teammate within their department. They make sure the transition to working with us is as smooth as possible. Remi says about the process:
Thanks to my buddy, the introduction and learning processes weren’t hard. The best thing I learned from my buddy is that there are no stupid questions, there are only unclear answers.
The onboarding is different at different departments, but the general principle is to get you up and running quickly and effectively. Or, as Ola states:
I was surprised at how well everything was planned out. The general onboarding was short and to the point. I could quickly move on to getting to know my team and technical onboarding. I left the office feeling satisfied with how much I achieved that day.
Hadi adds:
Artur helped me a lot with installing the needed tools and explained the convention of coding. After a couple of days, I felt like I’ve been working in Snowdog for decades.
It’s so important for us to make sure each new employee not only feels welcome at SNOW.DOG, but most importantly, is aware that this is the place for them to grow. That’s how we build dedicated and skilled teams.
Ola and Remi
What’s it like to work at SNOW.DOG
One of the major principles of SNOW.DOG is our attitude towards challenges. We believe that learning has to be done by means of work and that’s why, as a new hire, you can expect to be a part of real projects, pretty much as soon as you start. Onboarding is one thing, but we won’t be holding your hand. Instead, we will help you whenever you feel lost or just unsure. Ola recounts her experience:
I started working on projects at the end of my second week. It was very much about learning as I go.
Remi also says:
When I didn’t understand something, I could ask my buddy for clarification. Even if it was “why 2+2=4?”, my buddy was always calm and patient with me.
The buddy system and onboarding not only acclimate our new hires with SNOW.DOG’s culture. Most of all, they allow them to swiftly stand on their own and gain knowledge and experience by working on exciting projects.
Remi says:
It was after the first 1–2 weeks of introduction when I started working on real projects. The biggest challenge for me was to start managing Magento-based projects without knowing Magento at all. Thanks to the help of my buddy, I was able to overcome that very quickly.
Get treated like a professional that you are
We won’t hire you if we’re not convinced you have what it takes to do the job. That’s why, when you get the job, you will also receive our trust that you’ll actually get the job done. The story of Hadi illustrates that perfectly. He has been recruited, onboarded and works completely remotely from his native Lebanon.
He lists some benefits of his arrangement:
For starters, I can work from anywhere. I can also choose when to start working. Sometimes I start working at 6 A.M and sometimes I work at night.
At SNOW.DOG, we avoid micromanaging like a plague, and instead, we prefer to assist employees when needed, either by helping them out or by providing feedback. You can expect to have the freedom and ownership over your work. It comes with a responsibility, but so does every great power, doesn’t it? Ola says:
I appreciate the flexibility of working at Snowdog. The idea that you know best when and where to work to provide good results and feel happy is something I totally agree with.
Will mistakes happen with that approach? Of course! But we tend to not see them as career-breaking disasters, rather as opportunities for self-development and mutual feedback.
Ola and Remi
And finally… make friends!
Work doesn’t mean there’s no space for fun as well as genuine friendships. It also doesn’t just stop after the first two or three weeks of onboarding. Hadi’s buddy Artur is a perfect example of that:
I never think of Artur as a “boss”, we are more like friends. We talk all the time, especially about football. Unfortunately, he’s a Real Madrid supporter.
Friendships at SNOW.DOG goes beyond the buddy system. As Ola says:
It’s great to be surrounded by people who are welcoming, happy to help, eager to constantly broaden their knowledge, and provide a high quality of work.
There’s also plenty of opportunities to meet your fellow Snowdoggers at many parties and events we organize. Alternatively, you can just pop into the office kitchen to have some coffee — there’s always someone there for a little chat!
Interested in starting your adventure with us? Check out our job openings and #joinSnowdog! 💛
