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We are talented, we are discoverers, and nothing is impossible at Bitrise! Meet Anna from Hungary. Read about her journey to Bitrise, what it is possible to achieve at Bitrise and beyond, and her most defining career moments.
Why did you choose to work at Bitrise?
It was 2017 and I had been at home with a toddler in the previous 2 years. I’d been looking for the perfect job for about 6 months because I couldn’t return to my previous company (Disney) as I’d been a contractor and I was past my five-year limit. I was quite picky and I wanted something that fits my talents and where it really matters what I do.
A friend told me that there was this techy startup with a bunch of extremely motivated young men and they surely would look for more people soon, including someone ‘who can write’. Well, as an ex-media major, ex-online editor, and ex-community manager, I thought ‘Oh, that’s me!’
So I checked out the job descriptions and there was a role called ‘Tech Writer’ and it mentioned the word blog, so I applied. Also, I had no idea what a Tech Writer did (write documentation) and the founders were also quite flexible in what they were looking for. I had an interview where both parties came to an understanding of what we meant and then I had a trial task. I had to sit down with one of the engineers and write a blog post about a release. And that was a key moment: Tomi could have talked in an alien language for all that I understood. But he went on and on and explained until I got it and then reviewed what I wrote. Usually, Humanity majors are looked down on and ridiculed for not being techy at all but that wasn’t the case. Everybody was all respectful and helpful and they wanted me to succeed! Also, it was - and still is - an intellectual challenge. I’m not a developer and I can and did learn a lot about mobile development and CI/CD, but writing about it always will be a great intellectual challenge. And I love that.
What’s your role at Bitrise? How does your role contribute to your wider career journey and provide opportunities for the future?
I used to call my position Tech Content Creator. I wrote/edited 3 blog posts per week, sent the weekly newsletter, did the social and well, whatever else had to be done: went through the homepage copy, fixed in-product copy, reviewed interviews, looked for T-shirt producers, you name it. We were growing quite rapidly, so a lot of what I did (and what I did not have the qualifications or bandwidth for) were taken over by more specialized colleagues. And I also had to specialize. Writing about the product for years meant that I know a lot about it and I was encouraged to dig into product marketing and transitioned into it 2 years ago. Product marketing is something that I wouldn’t have found by myself and it has great potential. I still have a great deal to learn, though.
What’s your favorite method of learning?
Reading or listening, taking notes, and asking all the questions. :) I realized quite quickly that I can say I know something if I can synthesize what I’ve learnt and explain it to others.
What was the lesson that you learned along the way, that you wish you had known right from the start?
It is okay to screw things up. Then you have to learn from it and do better next time. Also, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Make it work, see how it goes or see it fail and iterate on it if needed.
This sounds too good to be true, but it’s truly like that at Bitrise. Once I was in the office and I’d just learnt that one of the campaign emails that I should have launched weeks ago was still in draft. I was very upset and confused as I did remember setting it live. Barnabas (CEO) was walking next to my desk, saw my exasperation and he actually started to comfort me and say that it was okay and he was sure I would make sure it would be launched on time next time and all. It was so surprising and so true to the company spirit. (In the end it turned out that it was a duplicate and I did launch the other one, but we didn’t know then.)
Do you have any tips you’d like to share with aspiring Bitrisers?
Apply as fast as possible! You’re still not late to the party and the people are great and the product actually solves a problem. It is great to work on something that is… meaningful.
What kind of skills do you need to have to work effectively at Bitrise?
1, Ability to prioritize. At a startup, there is an overwhelming amount of things to do at any given time. Noone can and should do all that. You have to prioritize, pick the things that are important and that make an impact. Drop whatever is not. (Also, ask for help if needed.)
2, Ability and willingness to learn. We keep iterating on everything, including ourselves. Tech evolves very quickly and we have to keep up.
3, Fail. Stand up. Iterate. Try again, this time, better.
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