From a small IT shop to an international project
When I got into Lisbon Nearshore, I thought straight away that I would have a lot of pressure on me and that I would have to give 200%
October 2018The current phase of my career started when I got the offer to work for an industry-leader, international client, through Lisbon Nearshore. My previous work history was written at a small IT consultancy shop, where there was no such thing as hierarchy, complex processes, red tape, etc…
When I got into Lisbon Nearshore, I thought straight away that I would have a lot of pressure on me and that I would have to give 200% all the time to just maintain my position. This made me feel ambitious, but also very anxious and insecure. I did not know what to expect.
What in my mind was a “problem” and a cause of stress ended up turning out to be a great adventure! Even though I still must work harder than ever, there was no one always pressuring me and looking over my shoulder (as I had feared), ready to punish me should I make a mistake. In fact, the only request my superiors had was the fact that they just wanted the work assigned to be done by the end of the week (we do weekly sprints) and should I need help, they would always be at the ready, willing to coach me through my mistakes and/or knowledge gaps.
I love the feeling of being responsible for my own time, the feeling of being free to do the work how I want (within certain limits and restrictions, of course). There are significant advantages when you are evaluated more by your results and less by how much time/focus you spend on each individual daily task. I must say I am impressed and I have matured a lot!
Working at Lisbon Nearshore for a high-profile international client, in a big and diverse team is the biggest challenge I had to face until now in my career. There are obvious advantages, but not everything is a walk in the park. In a project as big as this, if you want to get things done, you will need a certain political acumen to realize who is responsible for which actions to take and understand the role everybody plays, which can be very confusing at first. Whilst if you’re on a smaller company and team, there is less stratification and complexity and it is therefore easier to get the resources where they are needed, and take care of emergencies in a faster way.
Nevertheless, I feel that I am in the right place to fulfil my true potential and I welcome all the challenges coming my way.
by Johnny Boy, Web Developer @ Lisbon Nearshore
