A promising successful young man... This all is about our today’s central figure—Maksim Karpuk. Working in EPAM for only a year he managed to achieve the impossible: completed his degree thesis, worked on two projects simultaneously, and even win the committee members. Our colleague Hanna Halauko asked Maksim how he managed to achieve everything at once.
How did your journey at EPAM begin?
I came to the company as a university student. At first, I had a short interview and then studied in the EPAM laboratory for two months, where I learned more about SAP products and solutions. There was a lot of new information for me. Also, I was still studying within the walls of my alma mater, but the desire to join EPAM was very strong. Upon completion of training in the lab, I, like many other students, passed the selection and got the opportunity to take an internship in one of the company departments.
What was the internship?
I got very lucky: I trained under the mentorship of Ivan Salavei and Artur Shabanau, who taught me a lot and were always happy to help if I had trouble doing something. They made up a short business case, weekly supplemented and expanded it, and I had to solve the assigned tasks. Of course, at first, everything was not so easy, there were difficulties. I also happened to work on one task for more than three weeks, but in the end, I managed to solve it. As they say, only one who does nothing is never mistaken, but I prefer to learn from my mistakes.
The internship lasted about three months. As for the work schedule, there were no time limits: it was ok, if I needed to leave the office early or come to the office a little later, mentors always considered my requests. I understood that the main task was to show the result, so every week we had small meetings where we discussed what was done and questions I might have. At the end of the internship, I had to pass a probation assessment.
Tell us more about the probation assessment.
Probation assessment is the final stage of the internship, after the successful completion of which you officially become an employee of the company. At first, I had to prepare a presentation of my project to the committee, the project I worked on for long four months. Moreover, it was necessary to tell about the project not only from the technical side but also from the business side. After that, members of the committee asked questions and tested my professional skills and knowledge. Hooray! A few days later I received the long-expected email telling me I successfully passed the probation assessment. So, from October 2019 I started to work in the FI department.
Tell us how you as a student who was supposed to not only work but also to write a degree thesis, managed to get to the productive projects so quickly.
Nothing is impossible. I knew what I wanted and continued to work continuously in this direction, to improve my knowledge and skills, which needed to be solidified in practice. Therefore, as soon as I passed the probation assessment, Ivan Salavei immediately began to engage me in the work on the project. I am very grateful to him for that. It was a useful and very valuable experience for me.
For all this time, I managed to work on two projects, and I am still working on them. I got very lucky: both projects are very interesting, I had the opportunity to work directly with the customer on a business trip, where I received the first experience in conducting a user training. Even though it was very exciting, I really liked it, and I would be glad to travel again if there is such an opportunity.
How did you manage to pass the assessment for a middle specialist so quickly?
I decided that a great result of my work in 2019 would be passing the assessment. Even though in October 2018 I came to the company as a junior, I realized that assessment is a great opportunity to strengthen my knowledge: remember everything I forgot and learn something you never knew. Well, I also wanted to grow from junior to the middle specialist as soon as possible.
I started preparing for the assessment a few weeks before the day. I studied information from various resources, watched training videos, and asked colleagues if something was not clear enough. My colleagues were happy to share their knowledge with a less experienced colleague like me.
What motivates you to develop your skills and move ahead?
Firstly, it is the work itself. I love the diversity at work and, it seems to me, I could not work somewhere for a long time doing the same thing every day. Every time you try something new and interesting, you want to show and prove yourself in this field, prove yourself that you can do even more.
Secondly, these are the people you work with. I believe that having good colleagues is one of the bases for successful work in a company. I got very lucky with the team: among my colleagues, I managed to not only get acquainted with new people but also find many friends and soulmates.
What are your career plans?
I would like to continue developing my professional skills. I would like to get certified in my field of study as soon as possible. Only after that, when I am sure that I have enough knowledge and skills, I will start thinking about passing assessment to the position of a senior specialist. Time will show…
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