We continue telling you more about the core of MWDN – its wonderful people. For this post, we talked to Yuliia, a Sales Development Representative on one of the MWDN’s projects.
- Yuliia Matsiuk
- 28 y.o.
- Master’s degree in Genetics
- Lived in Kharkiv. Now lives in Dnipro.
- Has been working at MWDN for two and a half years.
1. Why have you chosen Genetics as the core subject at University?
I liked reading encyclopedias and conducting experiments since I was a kid. Then there was a period of popular science films, thanks to which I realized I wanted to study medicine, biochemistry, or genetics (that’s how the Scully Effect works).
I chose genetics, and after receiving a master’s degree, I even thought of getting postgraduate education. I passed all the exams to enter the program but refused at the last moment. I just realized that everyday scientific activity is not for me.
Besides, to study an interesting subject, I would have to work with live models, and killing creatures for the sake of an experiment was a struggle for me even when I was a master’s student.
There were a lot of interesting theoretical lectures while studying, but I liked the practical part the most. For example, we made tissue sections and learned to distinguish cells under a microscope, carried out various chemical reactions, and grew bacterial cultures in Petri dishes. Thanks to my studies, I still have one nature-connected hobby, it’s birdwatching.
I doubt I will ever use the knowledge I acquired at the University in day-to-day life, but studying nature and genetics was definitely an interesting experience for me.
2. Czech Republic, Georgia, Egypt, Turkey… where else have you been?
My last trip abroad was to Cyprus; it was before the New Year. It was cool, if only because it was snowing and cold in Kharkiv, and it was warm in Cyprus. I’m not into cold weather, so when the peaceful future comes, I will gladly spend the whole winter in warmer regions of the world.
In my travels, I want to see not only tourist places but also the ordinary life of local people to understand their culture. You can’t find everything on Google, sometimes it’s better to talk to locals to find out where the best steak or coffee is and which places you must visit.
In England, I liked the museums (especially Madame Tussauds and the Room of Horrors with live actors). In the Czech Republic, it was the architecture and convenience of public transport. In Georgia, I liked the people themselves and their delicious wine. At the same time, Austria has beautiful mountains, and I especially appreciated that nobody ransacked our car, although we accidentally left the door open.
I don’t forbid myself to dream, and I am already filling in a list of countries and cities I want to visit when the war ends.
3. You worked as a copywriter for some time. What did you like and dislike about writing?
Today I benefit from my copywriting skills in my main work. I plan to get back into writing for the business, but this will probably be my side income. I’m not afraid that ChatGPT will completely replace people in copywriting because the sphere has its specifics. Everyone can put words into sentences, but not everyone can write interesting and informative articles.
4. What made you start working in sales?
At first, I was interested in business analysis, and I invested my time in self-education. Of course, most of that knowledge is not needed for sales, but it was necessary for a general understanding of how everything works in IT. Then I screened open positions and realized that my experience and soft skills would be relevant in sales. And now, I have been working in this field for 2.5 years.
5. Do you think a sales department is a good starting point for a career in IT?
If you don’t want to dive into technical stuff but you have experience working with people and speak English, the sales department is a good start. All the same, you will have to read a lot and learn new things from the technical team because you need to understand the specifics of the product on the project.
6. What exactly you learned to start working in IT sales?
After I started working in IT, I had to adapt my past experience to the new industry. The sales position makes you constantly learn new things because the techniques that gave a good result two years ago are now outdated and don’t work. I read a lot, talk to experts in my field and use what works best for our project. And, of course, in our team, we constantly exchange insights and ideas to improve our joint results.
7. Describe your typical tasks during the week as a sales representative. What are your likes and dislikes about the job?
I work in B2B sales, so my main tasks are finding relevant companies and establishing contact with their C-level managers. I like scheduling calls with leads because they are people from different countries. By the way, after February 24, I received many messages from our potential customers. Someone offered shelter in their country, and someone condemned the aggression of our neighbor and wrote words of support. It was very encouraging in dark times.
I don’t like that not always everything depends on your hard work. In most cases, the 80/20 principle works, but sometimes you put 80% of your effort into getting a 20% result.
8. Is there anything you like about MWDN? Are there points the employer should focus on to make their employees happier?
I like the atmosphere in the company. Sane people where everyone knows their responsibilities. If I have any difficulties, my teammates will help me solve the problem, or they will suggest a relevant person who can help.
Everyone in their own place understands their gaps. But the management has to evolve and become better all the time, even when everything seems to be going well.
9. Are you tech-savvy? Which of today’s technologies excites you the most?
I love witnessing how the development of AI is rapidly gaining momentum. What was once only in the movies and in our imagination is now gradually being introduced into real life. Sometimes it does better, but there are situations when it adds new problems to society.
10. Do you go to the office or work remotely? Which work format do you think is better?
Now I work remotely, although, before the war, I went to the office every day. I think that the remote type of work is more comfortable for employees because valuable time can be spent on loved ones, hobbies, or simple recreation. Plus, it is economically beneficial for company owners not to pay rent for a large office and to find a small room for those who are more comfortable working in the office instead.
I assume that there may be a hybrid type, when most of the time, people work remotely, and a few days a month, they come to the office. In my opinion, that would be a win-win model.
11. Why did you choose ballet?
I loved ballet since childhood, I liked theaters, ballerinas’ tutus, and classical music. At one point, I decided that I needed to make my childhood dream come true to not reflect these dreams on my own kids when I have them. So I found a ballet studio in Kharkiv.
This is an interesting hobby as it combines stretching, cardio, and a set of exercises near the dance bar. Due to an injury, I have never tried on pointe shoes, but I wore the ballet tutu several times.
Other significant advantages of ballet in my life are having an experienced coach and cool girls in my group. We still communicate online and call our group “ballet family,” and believe we will meet again one day at our lessons.
12. What about five cats?
This is a very long story, which requires a separate article because I can talk about cats for a long time 😂 If someone told me 5-7 years ago that there would be so many cats in my family, I would never believe them.
All our cats were picked up from the streets of Kharkiv, and each one has its own story. Now they live as one big cat family with my parents in the Poltava region, and I help my parents with food and treats as needed.
Cats have always surrounded me, and even in Dnipro, I have two cats – Sonya and a cat named Cat (but in Ukrainian). Although these are my boyfriend’s cats, I love them no less than those five I consider mine 🙂
13. No one is okay. What keeps you together?
First, my loved ones. My family and friends are my support. And secondly, physical activity and various hobbies help pretty well. We all understood that we shouldn’t postpone our dreams for later. We should live here and now. Now I do stretching instead of ballet, go to bachata, do rock climbing, and recently tried wakeboarding. I allow myself to show emotions instead of hiding them inside.
Among simple methods of keeping yourself sane are sleep and relaxation. A day off on the couch and some massage do help.
14. What comes next?
I want a peaceful future, without worries, bad news, and with the return of the occupied territories. Our people have experienced enough tragedies throughout history, so I want to believe that we have a lot of good things ahead of us.