The Reborrn experience: the talk-of-the-town internship opportunity
I am starting this with a disclaimer: describing my experience in Reborrn would be an experiment for me and it will include poetry, luminaries, feelings, pop culture references and Easter eggs — namely, my favourite tools when I am writing from a personal perspective. This is probably an unorthodox content for a platform like this, but in the end, form follows function. Warning: there will be a lot of conscious parallelisms to a romance here.
Prologue
Well, generally, I am not saying that you cannot dive into a new work environment in your 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 100’s. I am just saying that it is harder to get inspired, to get truly excited with a job, especially when you have tasted, in my humble opinion, the ultimate professional joy: the creation of your own business, successfully or not, like I did. Everyone knows that being the boss of yourself is this magic nirvana stage you aim to reach, after years of battles with copy machines, coffee making, all-nighters at the office, disappointments, bad colleagues and self-doubt. It sounds arrogant to exclude excitement from any new job so easily, that’s why there is this brilliant moment in life when you change and your perceptions evolve.
The processes
My experience with these guys in Reborrn started when I first read an article regarding a triggering internship opportunity, discussing-it-over-drinks-with-friends triggering. There were words that you could relate with, a text with a clear work philosophy. The whole process of recruitment was an unprecedented experience for me because it came as a surprise that a company was looking for a personality rather than a specialist.
The real surprise though, was my induction to a brand new world of work management. Asana, agile, slack, miro, tools and processes that save you time and soul-draining communications, but the most important thing, they keep your inner Monica Geller happy. You cannot recall how you worked before.
My favourite part of this experience is the freedom you are given to suggest the impossible and the discussion after, that tends to turn it into “I’m possible”. The orders are clear: bring it on! Being part of different projects from different roles, it’s a newcomer’s daydream.
Their favourite part of this experience should be how they inspire you to care.
The people
It would be unacceptable not to comment on the people working here. I will not avoid to use the well-worn word “mosaic”, with every positive tone I could add on it. These people enhance the definition of teamwork everyday.
When I first arrived, they organized for me short chit-chats with everyone. It was the moment I realized the importance of a carefully chosen team, the dynamics of a diverse and passionate group of people sharing the same values and the same open space offices.
The team is so cool that you feel like being part of a Woody Allen movie, at the times of “Manhattan” and “Annie Hall”. Discussion issues vary among new practices, feminism, books, social change, creative ideas, gastronomy, technology. Intelligence, open-mindness and the audacity to explore uncharted waters are so attractive personality characteristics!
My colleagues are excellent in what they do but the one thing I appreciate the most is that they are pretty ready to admit that they don’t know everything, that someone else could be better on something. Please, never take this trait for granted.
Frankly, it is so precious working within this mentality.
Borrowing the words of Truman, the most valuable thing I learned so far in Reborrn, is that “it is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit’’.
The culture
Shakespeare uses in “Henry V”, the term “the happy few”. Excluding from this idea all its elitist or superiority extensions, as proposed by Stendhal, it could be my all-included, chosen term to describe the company’s culture. I see them as a bunch of people who fight, and most of the times win against an enormously larger and more powerful force. This force takes many different forms: more experienced firms, time, people’s perceptions, digital illiteracy, etc.
If I wanted to share a more personal insight with you, I would say that Reborrn’s culture is summed up in what is said or happens in our rooftop, during work breaks, parties and barbeques. Yes, they do those stuff.
Surrendering in this confessional vibe, this is a detail that they don’t know and I feel I need to share: I knew it was a match when I stole a glance at their library during the group interviews for the job. When you see weird titles including the words creativity, animation, Blade Runner, it’s a yes. When their first gift for your onboarding is a book, then it’s an “I do”.
In any case, to conclude with this, it takes courage to promise a 58 hour exclusive commitment to a client’s problem, to work on the optimization of public services in Greece, to openly talk about your earnings, to create from scratch, to trust new people in your team. “Do I dare Disturb the universe?” Dearest Mr. T.S. Eliot, you described as accurately as poetically Reborrn’s vision in my blurry mind.
The most sentimental conclusion
In 2019, I had an interview with Costas Mantziaris and Giorgos Vareloglou, the founders of Reborrn, as a person that decided to chase a new challenge. So, you might think I was lucky but I wasn’t. I simply went the extra mile with all my heart beats alerted and made the most out of their trust.
Filling in this application was the most spontaneous I have been. Ever. The outcome was epic. Long story short, trust your gut feelings and talented, inspiring individuals.
