This story is about how I’ve discovered a new level of multitasking on a journey that began last autumn as a working mom. Let’s see the ups and downs of my first year at Aliz.
On my first day with the Aliz team, I was extremely excited but hopelessly lost. Some years of a break from the workforce had left me a bit disoriented. I had been fighting my doubts that how a mom of two could integrate successfully with a team of data miners, java developers, and scrum masters at a dynamic IT company.
Half a year has passed and now I feel confident that I can handle the responsibilities of an office administrator at a Big Data company. I am able to deliver value to the day-to-day processes. I realized that I could even use my experience as a mother at work, as dealing with challenges is a familiar field. By applying soft skills and being a team player I could get to where I enjoy tackling various challenges in and out of my comfort zone.
From the very first day, I got the support I needed as a working mom from my colleagues. I am accepted for making mistakes (and learning from them), for asking questions, for not being 100% perfect all the time. We share knowledge and funny stories. New friendships have come to life.
My daily administration tasks consist of ensuring the seamless operation of the Budapest Office. Gradually I got accustomed to using software tools and project administration solutions, though at the beginning I found it slightly unusual. Nowadays I am comfortable with taking part in international meetings with our subsidiaries in Singapore and Germany, and watching colleagues taking time-off in the VR Room, relaxing. I’ve the opportunity to try myself out providing pre-sales support, keeping contact with suppliers and partners, coordinating office redesign projects, and doing a lot more tasks of various sizes and scope in connection with maintaining the smooth running of the office.
When you imagine IT companies based on TV series like Silicon Valley or the IT Crowd, there are differences to be discovered. I pictured IT companies in the penthouses of tall buildings with wall-to-wall windows showing folks walking around in jumpsuits not wearing shoes or socks.
The Aliz team, situated in a quiet little street in uptown Pest is, well, not an exact match for this. It is a people-oriented, friendly place. Colleagues feel rather normal (in a good sense) and with two feet on the ground when it comes to clothes, jokes, and office manners.
As a huge interior design enthusiast, one of the highlights of my tasks at Aliz so far was the office redesign project. We installed state-of-the-art moss-balls and cozy furniture. Also, we redesigned the café area to give it a fancy look and make people’s lives more comfortable. We keep our office green not only by recycling every piece of waste, but with a whole bunch of gorgeous plants everywhere.
Aliz is amazing when it comes to caring for their employees. Every Monday starts with healthy snacks and fruit to cheer up even those days that start out a bit more difficult. Office yoga and massage sessions are available for everyone on a regular basis. For those wishing to improve their language skills, on-site and online English and German teachers provide lessons.
To empower the Aliz team spirit, we celebrate every team member’s birthday with yummy cakes, taking everyone’s fancies and food intolerances into account. Extra-curricular events include Boardgame (and Fuckup Nights), Thursday pub evenings, and a lot more.
So how do I cope with all my family duties, office work, and occasional free time activities (of which I obviously need a lot more in my life)? At Aliz, I learned to create a good plan, review it on a daily basis, and modify it when needed. This occurs quite often as you might imagine. But I got used to it once I got the knack of it.
As Elsa from Frozen, you should also say goodbye to those extremely high standards and take yourself as you are, with all your imperfections. I learned that it is important to give myself credit for what I’m doing right instead of just worrying about what I could do better.
Colleagues smiling at me or the bright eyes of my children when I get home or pick them up at preschool encourage me to do my job well enough. The Aliz team welcomes working moms with open arms to join and develop together.
There’s always room for improvement, so let me share some of my favourite resources. These help me juggle work and family life on an artistic level:
