My SupportYourApp Career Growth: How I Transitioned From Customer Care to People Operations

Max, our People Experience Manager, started his career at SupportYourApp as a customer support agent in 2018. In his story, he tells not only about his own career path, but about the opportunities open for anyone, the importance of trying something new, and what really makes SupportYourApp special.

First Steps

I can proudly say I’m not new to customer support. It all started back in the days when I was a university student. My first job was that of a sales manager. It gave me a chance to polish my English skills, but didn’t bring any excitement, as people who called us were not ready to listen to sales offers. That company also had a department that provided remote technical support for customers around the world. They needed someone who may not be a technical specialist, but would have good communication and language skills. I applied for this job and stayed there for several years. This was an actual customer support service, and I realized this was my thing.

As for the beginning of my career at SupportYourApp, I believe there was fate involved. A few people I know already worked at SUP, including my close friend. She told me about a referral program, and I assumed she could refer me. But, before that, I posted my resume on a job site. A recruiter from SupportYourApp contacted me the next day and invited me to an interview. 

SupportYourApp: Experience and Insights

First, I started as a support consultant because that’s the job I knew and loved. In about half a year, I got an interesting offer: a Service Delivery Manager’s position. This is a person responsible for communication between the team, the company, and the client. My job was to make sure each party was satisfied with everything: the team — with their conditions, the company — with fulfillment of the agreement, and the client — with terms, conditions, and our team’s performance. I started with several projects at a time, then became a dedicated manager for a perspective client. Unfortunately, that partnership didn’t go well, but still gave me a useful and important experience. The conclusion I made: in the business world, you should often take what people say with a grain of salt. This idea may not seem very inspiring, but it is still helpful and keeps you safe from big disappointments, both in your professional and personal life.

Then, I started with a new project for one of our biggest clients. It required a lot of work, so we started a couple of months before the launch, and engaged many people. But still, it was one of the most challenging periods in my career. Probably everyone has such an experience: when in the most important moments everything goes wrong. That’s what we went through during the launch. Still, we managed to get things going and not to disappoint our clients. That was the most stressful time I can remember, but now, as I look back, I find some charm in it. Now I realize how much our team and our company have grown and evolved.

I continued working on this project for a while and became a team leader. But then some major changes happened in my life. My wife and I were expecting a baby, so we decided to move to another city. And I needed a fixed schedule to devote more time to my family. So, I asked my management to get me back to the consultant’s position. I should say that one of the biggest advantages of our company is that your needs are always treated with respect and understanding. My life was changing a lot, but I still could feel confident about my career.

Discovering a New Role

Speaking about my current position, I believe that a consultant’s background was the best training for it. It’s hard to think of anything that could boost communication skills better. So, I found out about the People Experience Manager’s job. That was a brand-new position at that moment, and it excited me, as all new opportunities do. At first, there were only two of us in the team — me and my manager. Since then, our department has grown a lot. The Internal Operations Department covers everything connected with people: from password changing to all sorts of meetings with team members. As for my job as a People Experience Manager, I contact our team members and talk to them about their experience at the company and anything else they want to discuss. It is crucial that each team member feels comfortable here, and my job is to establish open communication and get everyone’s opinion. At SupportYourApp we never stop working on improvements and growth, and it feels very satisfying to make my own input into this process.

Communication is the most fascinating part of my job. I’m excited about meeting new people, who come from different places and have various backgrounds, skills, and interests. 

Of course, it requires strong communication skills and some ability to think critically and to dig deeper. We always encourage people to be open and honest and to talk about their concerns. If any issues come up, they should be discussed and resolved at once. 

The Main Reason to Stay Here: People

Working with people may be stressful and put you at high risk of burnout. It may happen when I have too many calls scheduled. At these moments my manager, Kseniia, is very helpful. Earlier she was handling all the internal processes herself, so she understands how emotionally exhausting that can be. She is extremely supportive, always encourages us to take breaks and have enough rest, and reminds us how important work-life balance is. Her support and understanding really help me cope with stress because I know she will always accept the decisions I make. 

I’ve been working at SupportYourApp for more than 4 years. I think there is a whole combination of reasons why I decided to stick to this company for quite a while. First — our amazing team. Second — my manager, who I can be totally open with. I can express my thoughts freely and know that I will always be noticed and heard. I like how our management always understands my needs, my life situations, whether I need to go to remote work or change my schedule. 

You Are Your Only Limit

Now I can’t tell for sure what my next career goal is. My motto was always “Be open to new opportunities”. That’s what I did when I started working at People Experience, and that’s what I plan to do. I believe my future position may not exist yet. This may be something totally new, something I can’t even imagine just now.

I know, in our company anyone can find opportunities to grow, if only they are open to something new. Career options can be so different. All you need is a basic set of skills and a desire to develop yourself because mostly you’ll learn during the working process. Also, you should be ready to take responsibility. While building your career, you should be able to authorize your results. If they are good — you did a great job. If they are not — you need to admit your mistakes and do your best to fix them. So, to sum up — openness, ambitions, and a will to learn and take responsibility are key points for building your career. If you have them — you’ll have plenty of options here. 

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