Carriers Team at AUCTANE – what does it do and what it needs to know?
Agnieszka joined the Impostors team over a year ago as Business Analyst. On our blog, she reveals what her work involves and what duties really belong to our developer courier teams.
Agnieszka, at AUCTANE we are developing a platform that connects sellers, buyers and couriers, and in order to do that, we have built appropriate teams. As a member of one of them – the carrier team, tell us what exactly is the work of your department? What does it involve?
The job of the Carriers teams is to create application codes for couriers. We have different people here with different tasks. As a business analyst, I am responsible for creating a design, i.e. a document on the basis of which another person, or more precisely a developer, writes the appropriate code. In short, courier teams are simply devoted to creating solutions for couriers.
Is such a team self-sufficient or do you cooperate with other departments in the company?
Most often we work with Requirements Analysts, because it is from them that I, as a business analyst, receive the document I work on. With the Customer Implementation department, because they take over tasks after configuration. These are the two departments with which we exchange the most information and with which we cooperate on a daily basis.
Also read: Analysts are on the front line. The story of Maciej
As a Business Analyst, you have a lot of responsibility because you have to prepare appropriate documentation that others use. What is the biggest challenge in this job?
The programming elements that appear are always the biggest challenge. This is something new for me, something that I am constantly learning and I can definitely classify it in the challenge category.
Colleagues help with technical matters or do you learn everything on your own?
I learn a lot by myself, but of course, my colleagues are very helpful. They answer every question and if I have doubts, they will always dispel them.
Let’s go back to the beginning for a moment. What experience did you come to AUCTANE with?
I have been working at AUCTANE since May last year. In fact, I changed my career path completely, because before I didn’t do the things I do now. Previously, I was responsible for accounting for EU projects, among others, so I was involved in projects in which developers worked, but I was responsible more for the administrative side. Now I have contact more with the “interior”, with the code, and I like that more.
It takes a lot of courage to retrain in the technical direction, congratulations to you for that. Tell me what the recruitment process was like. What stages did you go through?
I was invited to an interview, for which I prepared myself really hard. Generally, among friends, there are legends about how Agnieszka sat and prepared for the interview in AUCTANE (laughs). I did a really great piece of job and came to this interview so prepared that I think it was hard to surprise me. Even though I was still a “freshman”, and didn’t know much about IT, I tried to come to the interview fully prepared, with a lot of knowledge. I had some materials, and I knew what to expect from this interview. I think I made a positive impression because I was hired.
The next stage was a whole month of onboarding and training sessions, where we had a slightly larger group. There were a few of us when I was hiring. We all got acquainted with how the company operates, and what is really happening here. It required a lot of effort from me, a lot of dedication. I was trying hard not to stand out from people who have been in the IT industry longer. Did I manage to do so? We’ll see (laughs). I’ve been here for over a year, I think I’m quite good at what I do.
Also read: Solving problems at work and after hours. Hania’s story in AUCTANE
You say that you prepared for the interview perfectly. Does this help with stress management during a job interview?
Just because I was prepared doesn’t mean I wasn’t nervous in some way. Because substantive preparation is one thing. The vibe that accompanies you as a person and what you represent in the form of the atmosphere you create are also important. This is the second thing and it seems to me that my strength is openness to people and the fact that I make these contacts easily. So maybe it was such an added plus. And the fact that I was also able to do it in terms of knowledge certainly helped and led AUCTANE to give me a chance. Have I proven myself? That’s a question for the management (laughs).
They will surely give you the appropriate feedback. Coming back to your duties – do they match what you expected when you came to AUCTANE?
During onboarding, I knew that I didn’t know much yet and that I would have to learn a lot. It scared me a bit, but I thought to myself, “You can do it”. Especially since there were voices from everywhere saying “you will see, after a year it gets easier” (laughs). A year has passed and it is actually a bit easier, some processes are going better, but also during this year we have undergone rebranding, and we are constantly refining the processes, there are many changes within the organization related to this. So even though I feel more confident, the difference between what I felt then and what I feel now is not that great (laughs). I think it is a demanding job, you have to learn all the time to stay on top of things and understand what is going on.
