I joined Xebia in November 2021. Thanks to the perfect hiring process, I already had the feeling that I became part of a big family on my first day.
Halfway in 2021, Laika Ouarous from Xebia approached me via a personal email. She asked me if I was open to an informal chat. At that time, I was quite satisfied with the position I had at my previous job, but after 1 google search, it struck my curiosity. Due to Covid, I was kind of afraid to take the next step in my career, but that frightening feeling was quickly taken away by the conversations I had with a couple of members of the Xsec (security) team.
The conversations led to a personalized assessment, testing my engineering skills but also my skills as an authority. The assessment was not easy, mainly focused on topics that I softly touched throughout my career and ambition. With this, the foundation was immediately set and I had to quickly learn some new techniques.
After the assessment, I got some feedback and good comments on my approach to the test. There was only 1 step in the hiring process I had to take and that was meeting up with the big boss. I was kind of surprised that Andrew de la Haije (CEO Xebia) wanted to meet every new starter at his firm. Not only was I surprised, but it’s a nice feeling to know that the man who runs the company is interested in who is walking through his halls. Throughout the whole hiring process Xebia multiple times explained the core values, People first, Sharing knowledge, Quality without compromise and Customer intimacy. Andrew is a personification of these values.
In my first week, even due to Covid, Xebia found a fun way to get you up to speed and teach you how to maneuver through the firm. This was done by creating a giant escape room where you had to collaborate with your new colleagues to set the fastest time possible.
Over the past 2 months, the Cyber Security Unit helped me to grow substantially. There hasn’t been a day that I can say I did not learn anything. You sometimes get the feeling that you have something like imposter syndrome, but this is just the amount of knowledge that is available for you to take. To grab this knowledge, Xebians create XKE (Xebia Knowledge Exchange) meetings every second Tuesday of the month. The goal is to share your IT passion, expertise, or new technologies you’ve encountered recently. To top it off, Xebia arranges dinner and drinks to keep the neurons working.
Everything exceeded my expectations, even with the fact knowing that companies are having problems in these difficult times. Cause let’s face the truth, it is not happening every day that a crisis strikes. Despite the covid, I am proud to be part of an organization that knows how to run its business. Everything is arranged down to the last detail. You quickly get to know the company. Not only the culture but also the values they want to bring to the customers.
Do you want to be my fellow passenger on the Xebia train or do you need a solution to get your train up and running? Do not hesitate and contact me or one of my colleagues. I’m certain that we can help you out.
Maikel | mvanamen@xebia.com
