My Career Journey: Support as a Lifestyle

Another success story is here! Our Service Delivery Manager, Vincent, shares stories about his experience with SupportYourApp, working in a multicultural environment, and his expertise on what helps a supporter grow.

Background in Support and First Steps With the Company

I’ve been supporting customers and clients for a majority of my career and have gained a great skill set and experience in communication. I get a lot of satisfaction from helping other people and resolving their issues, especially when they’re complex and require creativity. Actually, I can’t think of a better industry for my skills to thrive than customer support.

I’m originally from Canada, and I moved to Serbia about two and a half years ago. As I was planning to move, I was searching for a job too. Due to my knowledge and previous experience, I knew it should be support-related. That’s when SupportYourApp appeared in my life. I used to work in a very multicultural area of Canada, outside Toronto. So, I’m used to all kinds of different people — it wasn’t something new or worrying to me. And, knowing a lot of Ukrainians from my personal life, a job in an international company with Ukrainian roots just seemed like a great idea. 

I must say I never simply apply for a job, but always want to conduct my research on a company first. I try to check how stable their business is, what culture they put forth, and how they represent themselves on social media. My impression of SupportYourApp was that of a company that cares for its people a lot, and I really liked the atmosphere presented online. I should say, it contrasted nicely with most of my previous experiences. Basically, I saw a great work culture and stability, so I eagerly applied.  

Best Parts of a Delivery Manager’s Career

Some might say I was pretty lucky with a great first project, which not only had the best team and was exciting to work at, but allowed me to excel. And I also had great managers who brought the best out of my team. Under the guidance of my previous manager, I rose beyond my position, as she did before me. That’s how I became a dedicated Service Delivery Manager and continued to create a productive and enjoyable work culture for our clients and consultants. 

Pretty much everyone here, I believe, can say that SupportYourApp is different from most other companies. How do you say our company is different from others? The biggest advantage I can point out is organization. It’s not as easy to handle everything online, but our company still manages it. I like the fact that we have instructions and SOPs for any kind of situation, a lot of resources and learning materials. They make the process of adjustment really simple, especially when you join for the first time. They also let us make all the processes smooth and effective, no matter what specific project we are talking about.

Both from a consultant’s and Delivery Manager’s experience, I should say the best part of my job is always the people. Teammates, clients, consultants — they are the reason I’m here. Interacting with all these different people and exploring their dynamic personalities is the most enjoyable part of a Delivery Manager’s duties. 

During my transition to Serbia, I required a bit of help with official government procedures. It was really confusing, but my Serbian colleagues were more than happy to give me a hand. And I was surprised how understanding our management was about personal situations. For example, from my experience in Canada, if you get sick, you’re still often expected to be at work the next day, no matter what. And as I moved to another continent, immune to nothing, and needed some time to recharge and take care of my health, I was just surprised how managers were ok with that. I truly appreciate the willingness of my teammates to personally assist and support me, and I won’t forget it. This is really the attitude that attracts people here and makes us want to stay with the company for long.

Lessons to Learn for Future Growth

In my previous job, I had an experience that taught me a lot about work attitude. I noticed a technical problem, which existed for years, impacted our work badly, but nobody was really paying attention to it. Still, I persisted and took part in eliminating this error. It wasn’t easy, as it required investigation and a lot of time for convincing my manager, even some kind of confrontation. Still, the issue was fixed. This episode taught me to trust my logic, follow the evidence, and always keep in mind that just because an issue isn’t identified yet, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. If you see an opportunity for improvement, go for it.

I strongly believe this is the attitude that helps you grow in any position. If you’re doing your job every day as instructed, that’s great. But if you’re going an extra mile and thinking what can be done better, and then bring it up to your manager — that’s the kind of work ethic that can really elevate you. Even if your project is great, you can always find some process that could use improvement, show you understand it, and are willing to be proactive. 

Being Here and Now

Our job, no matter how much we love it, is pretty stressful, and we need to take time to recharge and find something that is going to give us resources. For me, it is definitely my family, first of all, my wife — she’s the source I take most of my motivation from. She makes me really happy and when a stressful work day ends I know I can relax with her and let stress disappear. Supporters also need support, sometimes even more than others, and if you have people around who can keep you up, whether they are your teammates, family members or friends — you are really lucky.

Our current reality is that a lot of people are anxious, as they are uncertain about the future. It is especially true for the tech industry, with all its recessions and downturns. Of course, there’s a place for thinking about the future, but it is important to live in the present moment. If someone wants to join the tech industry, they should do it. There is no reason to wait for tomorrow, or the day the situation gets better. There’s never a better time to work on your career than right now. The world is changing faster than any of us could imagine at this point, and the next few years are going to be even more different. All we really need is to have faith in ourselves, it can get us through anything.

Tips for Successful Career at SupportYourApp

I would tell people who may consider joining us to do their research, as I once did. There is no mystery that SupportYourApp is a pretty great company, it’s all out there. We openly show our culture and our values, and if you feel like you share them — don’t hesitate to join.

As someone who takes part in the hiring process, I can highlight one moment worth preparing for. Having a solid resume is good, but the most important impression is made during an interview. Present yourself as you are. Do your best to show your natural charisma, be confident about yourself, don’t forget to smile. Remember — applying for any job, you are selling your services to an employer. You do not just get paid for following instructions, you are selling your skills and professionalism for a certain amount of money. You and your future employer are parties to an agreement. As soon as you embrace this approach, you become much more confident. And in customer support it is especially critical, because we know that if a candidate can present their services greatly, it means they can be trusted with representing our clients. 

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