Ataccama: A Place to Bring Your Friends
Who doesn’t love a good recommendation? Whether for a new restaurant, film, or book, hearing ‘this is awesome’ from a friend makes it just that much more interesting. What about a job? In the last 6 months, 1/3 of Ataccama’s new hires have come through employee referrals. We’re proud of the fact that our colleagues believe in what we’re doing and get their friends to join in the #ChallengingFun. These 3 stories, from our Prague, Toronto, and London offices, share the adventures of 4 Ataccamers who persuaded their friends to come work with us.
Jiri and Albert
“I can only speak for the design community, but one thing I love here is the fact that as long as I prove that it makes the product better and brings value to the company, I can start working on anything.” — Albert Zikmund
Jiri Sekera is a Product Designer who has worked at Ataccama since January 2020. In November 2020, he convinced fellow Product Designer Albert Zikmund to join the Development team, sure he would be an exciting and welcome addition. And he was correct.
Albert and Jiri met through Cesko.Digital, a Czech community of developers, designers, and product people who help state and non-governmental organizations.
Jiri: I knew Albert and I were on the same page from the first moment we met — from our design approach, to our sense of humor, hobbies, and life values. I thought he would be a good fit because I’d seen his passion and proactive approach. He not only did a great job but surprised me with his way of thinking, modesty, commitment, and responsibility.
Albert is rare, he’s not just another ordinary designer. I’m glad we can work together — it’s energizing like if you drank a whole six pack of Redbull at once.
Albert: I’m not sure how Jiri told me about the job, I think he just sent me the link. The fact that he had been working for Ataccama was reason enough for me to want to learn more. I was open to new opportunities and Ataccama was one of the very few companies I could imagine working for. It was also much different to what I’d been used to.
I didn’t have any expectations before I started, but so far I’m happy with what I’ve been through. I can only speak for the design community, but one thing I love here is the fact that as long as I prove that it makes the product better and brings value to the company, I can start working on anything.
Jiri and I see each other quite often during design brainstorming sessions and community meetings. We give each other feedback on our design proposals and have deep, almost philosophical discussions about the ideal look of tabs and why accessibility should matter to everyone.
I’m really glad that I have Jiri in my life! He’s a great professional with good taste in music and he knows how to challenge me.
Sara and Vlad
“I really liked how they described the culture, and I thought, okay, this is something for me.” — Vladimir Matovic
Sara Jelaca is an Account Manager in our Toronto office. She’s worked at Ataccama for about two years, enjoying the office vibe, the opportunities for growth, and the travel perks (in normal times 😄). A casual mention to her friend Vladimir Matovic that the Toronto office was looking for another Account Manager brought him into his new role.
Sara: What I like about our team is that everyone is so easy-going. You bring your true self to work and we all somehow mesh together. There’s no widespread micromanaging, you know that if you need it, there are people to help you out. I really like the cultural differences as well and the flexibility with your role. Having the opportunity to learn new skills and expand your current job here is huge for me. I thought Vlad would also enjoy these aspects.
Vlad is very personable, he’s hard working, and I thought he would fit in well with our Ataccama community. I thought he would like what we sell, what we provide as a service. He loves everything data-related so when I mentioned this role to him, which was kind of in passing, and he was really interested. He had a couple of interviews with Afshin (CBDO & CEO of North America) and Drew (VP, Sales) and they liked him and saw in him what I did.
Vlad: I started in December 2020 and there’s a lot of knowledge you have to absorb that’s specific to the industry, but I’ve been having a lot of fun in terms of learning. It’s a very challenging role. Usually with account management roles, the product is simpler, but with Ataccama the capabilities are very vast so it can get complex. I really like learning and being challenged and it makes me happy noticing myself becoming more and more comfortable with these concepts.
I was pretty happy with my past role. I wasn’t looking to leave, but when Sara mentioned there was an opening, I realized it was a good opportunity to see where I’m at in terms of account management roles. I was actually sold by Drew and Afshin during the interviews. I really liked how they described the culture, and I thought, okay, this is something for me.
Our team is also on the younger front, a lot of the friends that I talk to, their co-workers and managers are older, they went through what we’re learning a long time ago so they don’t really connect the same way. However with Ataccama, for example, both of our managers, recently went through a similar process to what we’re doing and we have a chance to follow their paths and have great mentors.
Petr, Ruben, and Stephanie
“When you work on a difficult project, the things you remember are the people that you worked with. When I look back, I remember working alongside Petr and Ruben and what it had been like and how well they represented the company and made it attractive because of who they are.” — Stephanie Miller
Working alongside someone on a difficult project really gives you insight into how they work. That’s how our Managing Consultant, Petr Zacek, who’s been with us for 6 years, and Senior Consultant, Ruben, who’s been with us for nearly 12 years, met Stephanie Miller. When the project came to an end, Stephanie came on board at Ataccama as a Senior Consultant.
Petr: Because of the type of project we were working on, Stephanie really got to understand our product. And we noticed she was asking the right sorts of questions, not only about the product, but the project. We realized she had the same approach as us and the same thinking about work. She was introduced to the product in an unusual way, not like most people who join the company. And she got it. This shows the type of person Stephanie is.
Ruben: Petr and I saw she had the same kind of values as us, and was working really hard to succeed. We worked a lot of hours together and sometimes we would go out to dinner afterwards, and talk about life and such, so we became more like co-workers in this way.
Stephanie: There are several reasons I was interested in Ataccama, one was that my current project was ending and although it was tough I really wanted to continue that kind of work. Also, when you work on a difficult project, the things you remember are the people that you worked with. When I look back, I remember really enjoying working alongside Petr and Ruben and how well they represented the company. They made it attractive because of who they are. They are amazingly patient people! They represented the company really well, and were just great to work alongside.
It’s like meeting someone from a certain family. If the person is conscientious, kind, considerate, sociable, etc., you imagine the whole family is like that. So that’s the kind of picture I had in my head, of what Ataccama would be like, it would be this family of more people like them.
What also impressed me about Petr and Ruben, and made Ataccama an attractive place to join, was how long they have both worked here. It made me think that it must be a great place to work if they have both been committed to the company for all these years, almost since the beginning, and show no signs of exiting anytime soon.
Wondering how you can join a company employees love to refer their friends to? Check out our jobs portal!
Want to read more stories about our team? Read our blog!
