It’s an old trope that people go to the big cities for great opportunities...especially in Ukraine. But we are proof that the stereotypes aren’t always right!
Only 250,000 people, small cozy streets and a medieval castle...Welcome to Lutsk! This is not Kyiv with its millions of busy bees, and this is not Lviv with its deserved reputation of Ukraine’s IT capital. But Lutsk has an indisputable advantage over these other cities: it houses the head office of InternetDevels Drupal development company & Drudesk website support service.
The stories of our employees who came here from other cities and regions are awesome, and well worth a read! Also, keep an eye out for each employee’s nickname :)
Iuliia, project manager, Cherkasy
"Hello beautiful, you look absolutely fabulous..." This inscription on the mirror in our office kitchen seemed to be created specially for our charming Iuliia. It was one of the things that stuck to her memory on the first visits - as well as the nice board with "family birthdays", the big office, the corporate culture and the people’s friendliness.
Iuliia came here from Cherkasy, having seen an advert from InternetDevels about HTML classes. She googled the company, reviewed the website and understood that it was a serious one. Although she didn’t expect it, Iuliia got an invitation to a job interview. Quick off the mark and outgoing, she easily decided to change cities.
Working with customers, Iuliia began to significantly improve her English, better understand her customers' needs and how to motivate developers. Iuliia, keep up your drive! :)
Vitalik “Vitos”, QA tester, Kyiv
"I came here for the experience. There’s a lot to learn here, so I am happy about my decision," says Vitaliy. Born in the city Irpin near Kyiv, Vitaliy had lived in Ukraine’s capital for 5 years, but he left all of Kyiv’s opportunities to work for us!
After seeing the job ad on the Internet and having a successful interview, Vitaliy decided to move to Lutsk. The job of a QA tester, according to him, is a good entry into the IT world.
"You are able to do anything — where there’s a will, there’s a way.” It’s not surprising to hear this from someone like Vitaliy, who loves traveling, hiking, rafting, skiing, extreme sports, and is even planning a parachute jump. Vitaliy, please jump carefully, because we really need you in the office...the project release awaits! :)
Dima “Swordone”, project manager, Zaporizhia
It took us 3 minutes (yes, just 3!) to notice and grab this Zaporozhian Cossack :) InternetDevels contacted Dima 3 minutes after he sent his CV. And Dima remembers it well! The next day, he had a job interview, and was shocked — in a good way — with the office atmosphere.
Why do we call him "Cossack"? Dima came to us just from Zaporizhia, the birthplace of Ukrainian Cossacks, across the whole of Ukraine. He started working in IT back in 2010, for various companies and as a freelancer. Still, he believes that he has never worked for a better company than InternetDevels.
Although Zaporizhia is three times larger than Lutsk, Dima says the level of progress is the same because Lutsk is closer to Europe. Swordone, always stay our favorite Cossack! :)
Alla, Drupal developer, Dnipropetrovsk
The web developer with beautiful curls came from the faraway Dnepropetrovsk, where she had lived for 12 years. It all began when she decided to change her life and move to the ancient Lviv.
That’s where we found her and invited to us. Lutsk met her with a very gloomy weather when she came to our office for a training period. But the inner atmosphere of the office proved much more important! Our easy, funny, interesting communication, tennis games, work with English-speaking customers, conferences abroad and many other things made a very good impression on Alla, so she is happy to stay!
How does it feel to be a female developer in a traditional "male" profession? "The main thing is for you to really like what you do. Then all the conventions become unimportant," says Alla. There is no discrimination, but no preferences here either. Alla, thanks for beautiful code! :)
Olia “Layla”, project manager, Rivne region
Her nickname sounds like an Arab princess from her favorite Eric Clapton song - "Layla." But this modern IT princess cannot be scared with such words as "CSS” :) Her studies in the "Applied Linguistics" specialty, where there is a strong accent on IT and English, is very helpful in the project manager’s work.
"People are creative here , so it’s the right place for me," thought Olia had after her first visit to our office. "There is a stereotype that in an office all people should wear white shirts and everything is black and white. But I discovered a funny, colorful and interesting world," says Olia.
In working with her customers, Layla is not afraid of refusals. A refusal is not the end of the world, it’s just a good chance to use a different approach. "Whatever happens, happens for the best" is her credo — Layla, we hope this will always be true for you :)
Lena “Allison”, HR manager, Kyiv
"The most important thing is to find your place - no matter if it is Kyiv, Lutsk or small village somewhere in the Carpathian mountains." So says the girl who was born in Kyiv and had lived all her life there. This is our charming HR manager, Allison. "What matters is people around you, not the place you live in".
According to her, a big city offers a lot of opportunities, but when you live all your life there, sometimes you need a change of scenery. Yes, Lutsk is a quiet town, but the people are good, she says. Moreover, this new job lets her learn new things from the right people, so Allison does not regret her decision.
It all began with a visit to us, but as we know, people who visit often stay with us :) Allison, it’s great that you have found your place here :)
Misha “Dzhigit”, lawyer, Chervonohrad
While still studying at the Law Faculty, in search of a job Misha walked into our office...and became our faithful “law keeper”. The studies are now over, but we are not letting him go back to Chervonohrad ;) And he does not want to go back either! According to Misha, the job at InternetDevels was one of the main reasons for his staying in Lutsk.
Making western-type contracts can be difficult, as they are not taught at university. What helps Misha in his work a lot is a high level of English and an experience of living in the USA through the FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) program. "Simplicity of human relations at the company is the most important characteristic of the American atmosphere," says Misha.
He wants to continue his career with IT, and thinks that InternetDevels is a perfect fit for this. And you, Misha, are a perfect fit for us :)
Oleh “IOS”, head of PM, Kyiv
"Nothing is impossible" is Oleh’s permanent Skype status. And, when you talk to him, you realize that it really is true!
He came to us to work with Kyiv not by himself, but with his wife and two little daughters. However, the decision came easily, and proved very successful. A completely new life began for him — a life in IT. Kyiv’s bustle and traffic jams, as well as his bank’s dress code of suits and ties have been left behind. Now it’s time for ‘deployments’, ‘releases’ and ‘fixes’, and the cozy slippers that are the traditional thing to wear at our office.
"People are creative everywhere, but in the IT, they have an opportunity to show their custom features. You are so valued for what you are. No one is trying to change you to be someone else." Yes, "custom features"— Oleh is already using IT terminology in his life descriptions. This means that he belongs here now, body and soul. IOS, please stay forever, so everything is always possible for us, too:)
Ruslan “BadCat”, business connection developer, Odesa
Don’t let the “BadCat” nickname mislead you — he is one of the kindest guys around here. Two great passions in Ruslan’s life, cars and IT, became intertwined in a very symbolic way. The first time he learned about InternetDevels was when he saw our name on the car of the company’s owner’s, Leviks. It was a red Subaru Impreza WRX. Of course, being an avid motorist, he could not forget the exact model of the car!
Seeing the name of the company, BadCat googled it and saw scope of it all. He also wanted to try himself in a promising, innovative industry. Later he came across a job ad. Thus, after having lived in his native Odesa, Kyiv and Shatsk, Ruslan is now here!
Maybe someday Ruslan will prepare an off road vehicle and take part in a race. But now, the race goes on in his daily work. Ruslan, always be a winner! :)
Zhenia “Amerikos”, business connection developer, USA
Here is the real true “amerikos”! This is a slang term Ukrainians sometimes use for Americans :) Friends used to call Zhenia that because he had spent 15 years in the US. So he chose it as his nickname for working with us.
Zhenia was born in Kyiv, and moved to the US at a very young age. He heard about InternetDevels from a friend (thanks, friend!), came to visit us a couple of times... and just could not leave us. Not that we are surprised :)
How does the company look in "almost Western" eyes? Zhenia says that he has worked in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk, and our style is significantly different. "There are very few companies with such an interesting approach to employees. Currently in the US there is a tendency to develop people, keep them, not let them go. A good attitude to the employee and to the person is a prominent trend.” Zhenia, please keep us informed of the American trends! :)
Pasha “Gumanist”, InternetDevels CEO, Kyiv
"As a special treat," we have left our most important guy on a motorcycle. InternetDevels CEO, Pasha, is kidding that he came to the company when riding on a motorcycle nearby. But in fact, as a drupaler with 8 years of experience, he knew the company and its owner Leviks for a long time. It’s a small world!
According to Pasha, our company has interesting people and interesting projects, make many commits, and participates in organizing various events. Originally he only planned to come to Lutsk for several months. But we are "especially dangerous" — it’s hard to go away from us, and there’s even a risk that you’ll become our CEO :)
"Every day, we should seek to improve something,” says Pasha, quoting a famous sushi master whose bar in a subway received 3 Michelin star. That’s exactly what he tries to do in his daily work. Gumanist, get maximum stars always and everywhere! :)
