The ninth in a series of responses to a standard set of interview questions sent to all our employees in the summer of 2020
Please tell us about your professional background before you joined GWS.
I have a bachelor's degree in management. After graduation, I worked at the headquarters of a bank in Warsaw, then I moved to the UK, where I worked as First Line Manager for P&H before I started working at GWS four years ago.
Please take us through the kinds of things you do in your job at GWS in a typical week
It depends and could vary based on the project / project(s) we are working on. Might be a front-end for a new Wordpress / Drupal website, a back-end for a web application in PHP frameworks, creating a Magento 2 shop, or just custom extensions for the shops, server set-up, moving a website across between servers, or doing security updates.
Which aspects of the job you enjoy the most?
I really do enjoy implementing the back-end of applications, where the ideas of our clients can become reality, although the front-end side is not something I do not do - I do when called upon, but maybe not with this kind of passion : )
What has been your biggest achievement / something you are really proud of?
I never see things like in that way. Achievements are in the past, and I believe the way to progress is to look into the future, not into the past.
Websites and Digital marketing are constantly evolving. What changes do you see happening lately that affect the work you do in your role (be it design, development, SEO, copywriting or social media)?
I think nowadays more than ever there is a lot of focus on UX and SEO. Although this is not part of my job, it still does affect the front-end part of applications and websites which has to be implemented.
A lot of new JS libraries / frameworks keep appearing from nowhere (or new versions), which is nice to learn, as I’d say web development seems to be going in the direction of Javascript.
What are some of your hobbies and interests outside work?
I do like to travel, but lately for obvious reasons that’s kind of not on the table, so I have gone back to watching TV series in my free time.
How have you found adapting to a different way of working during the lock-down?
Not really much [of a challenge], to be honest, as I always tend to work with headphones on for most of the day. Using different tools for communications is really something that in my opinion does create more accurate communication between people, as it keeps everyone straight about the topic or task at hand.
From my point of view, the whole transition from working at the office to working at home went pretty smoothly.
Have you got any work hacks you could share?
Have a room at home set aside only for work, while working remotely - this is the only way to balance working from home with living at home.
Where do you look for inspiration: a person, a blog, a brand?
As every developer would say - stackoverflow :-)
Quick fire round:
Tea or coffee?
Coffee
Favourite biscuit?
Jaffa Cakes count as biscuits?
Omnivore or vegetarian?
Omnivore
Mac or Windows?
Mac
Favourite genres of music (e.g. classical, jazz, blues, folk, country, pop, rock, metal, disco, house, rap, trance, EDM)?
Various really, jazz, rap, Ladino
5 musical artists you enjoy listening to?
Yasmin Levy, Marvin Gaye, Cheryl Lynn, Big Pun, Drake
All-time favourite song?
None
Favourite chart song of the past two years?
I do not listen to radio.
Morning or night person?
Night
Favourite subject(s) at school?
Maths
Cereal or toast?
I do not do breakfasts.
Item you couldn’t live without?
None
Work-life balance or workaholic?
Workaholic
Favourite country?
From what I’ve visited, Sweden, but for holidays - Mexico.
Thing you’ve missed most in lock-down?
Dining at restaurants
