29 May

Posted at 14:08h in Careers blog by Research & Editorial Team

We’ve met with three of the six team members ensuring that our software meets the highest requirements to know what it’s like working in their department. Here is what they had to say:

Take us through a typical week working in QA

A: The job of the QA engineer is a busy job that includes different and diverse tasks. Monday is a good day to review our customers’ integrations status and catch-up to plan the week. The team meets the first day of every week and we decide that week’s tasks and priorities, which we’ll review on Friday, closing the week.
J: We incorporate the priorities coming from the Customer Engineering team in this sprint plan. During the week we invest most of our time working on customers’ integrations to ensure that the product is working as expected for each client’s environment. We review requirements, test scope, design documentation, set up the testing environment(s) for the upcoming integrations and proceed with the testing. From this, we receive a report showcasing the results and bugs raised.
This work requires collaboration with the plugins development team in order to identify needed developments and improvements. It also requires a keen eye for optimization and efficiency. That allows us to improve the internal processes and documentation.
D: During the retrospective we discuss what we can improve and how to achieve it. We identify areas for improvement and suggest solutions to the existing problems. This is very important to scale the department as we grow our customer base.

Which would you say is the most important aspect of the QA engineer work here at NPAW?

D: To achieve our goals we need to be very organized and have a good memory. Being thorough, alert and resourceful is key.
A: I’d add attention to detail and technical approach to the list. Despite not needing any coding skills, it is important to be able to learn quickly about IT and online video delivery technology.
J: Sure, and QA engineers need to be good at multitasking because they need to follow everything that’s changing in the organization and at the same time, keep 100% of their focus on the task at hand i.e. testing in order to avoid mistakes.

For a candidate that’s considering applying or starting a career in QA, what are the best and the worst aspects of the job?

J: For me the best thing is the chance to interact with different media platforms and new technologies.
A: And being the first one to test the product from the users’ perspective.
D: I’d point out the people here as being the best part. The greatest part of working at NPAW is that it’s a mixture of great technical minds with even greater personalities. You always feel accepted and welcomed for who you are while working and growing together. And don’t forget about having fun! If it’s not fun it’s not worth doing it. The part that’s less enjoyable is that if you’re not the biggest fan of precision it’ll be pretty hard to meet expectations.
J: For me, the thing I like the least is that there are some repetitive tasks involved with the job.
A: And a big workload!

And what about the team? How do you feel being part of this group?

J: Everyone is nice and helpful.
A: The QA Team is like a little family who work and laugh together. You can be sure that you are going to get roasted if you do something stupid but we never take it personally. We always try to help each other in every way possible. From speaking to your colleagues’ plumber in Spanish to helping each other find an apartment.
D: It’s amazing to be a part of QA and be involved in developing such unique and advanced products. From the beginning you can experience very friendly atmosphere. Also, the intro training was very effective and clear. The team and the whole office are just incredible, everyone is open for suggestions and ideas.

What is your advice to newbies joining this team?

J: If you have no previous IT experience, but you are motivated, determined and you like to “play” with different devices, we will teach you everything from the beginning and you will enjoy being part of NPAW
A: Even if you don’t have the experience but you have a will to put in the hours and try your best you will be successful at NPAW. You will always have a room full of intelligent people to help you out if needed.
D: Do and remember what Maria [head of QA] tells you!

12 Apr

Posted at 11:11h in Careers blog by Research & Editorial Team

Mirror, mirror on the wall… is NPAW the best one of them all?

The cultural match among companies and employees has spilled and it’s definitely still spilling a lot of ink, so I won’t add too many words on this. It has a strong impact on the quality and the length of relationships in the business environment. That is why, not only recruiters, hiring managers and the main kingpins in the recruitment process but also candidates themselves, need to be as clear and transparent as possible regarding this thing.

Despite the fact that we are all aware of the high cost we’ll pay for pretending, both ones and the others tend to put on their best smile and adapt their answers and behaviors to meet the counterpart’s expectations.

Check out the list of the Top 5 values and the subsequent behaviors that differentiate those that have had a satisfactory and successful path at NPAW and those that have found their place somewhere else.

STOP PROCRASTINATION (WORK HARD, DON’T SLACK OFF!)

I really love the manifesto from GyShiDo, that I´ve found it when I was writing this post and I need to admit that it´s simply brilliant!

We are relatively a small company [71 team-members now] and despite growing fast, every vacancy needs to be really well justified for two reasons: budget (obviously!) and efficiency (something that’s really into our NDA). So, when we hire, we expect to incorporate a new team member that will help us to solve a problem that cannot be fixed either to time constraints, a lack of knowledge, or both. In any case, productivity, autonomy and problem-solving skills are a must, otherwise, we will be in front of what we call “a problem converter” (that person that in order to solve a need, generates other needs to be attended).

If you need to be told: what, when, how, with whom and why or you wish you will be provided with all solutions for every unexpected problem that arises (ups sorry, I meant to say challenge), I’m afraid NPAW might not be your place.

MAKE – EVALUATE – ITERATE – REPEAT

Paralysis due to fear of failure and/or excess of perfectionism won’t be an efficient ally here either. We care about outcomes and their absence can’t be justified.

Tom Wujec in his Ted Talk “Build a Tower, Build a Team” based on the “marshmallow problem” shows us that comprehensive planning may help us feel comfortable and professional. On the other hand, it is very probable that we will be missing key aspects in the problem-resolution approach. This can lead to an expensive failure that will become evident when it is already too late.

The “Fail fast, fail cheap” approach (and I would add “and learn fast enough on your mistakes to avoid them happening again”) requires high tolerance to ambiguity and flexibility to adapt to unexpected changes. Sometimes it can be (very, extremely, really!) frustrating. But it can be even more tiring when you cannot use it as an excuse for suboptimal results. But, let´s face the truth- that´s the price for doing new things.

IT IS NEVER THE END OF THE WORLD

People, customers, projects, resources, jobs, trends… come and go and it’s never the end of the world.  Don’t panic, be rational and find your way to reverse the situation into an opportunity for improvement.

We are on the lookout for people “open to experience” (side note: bonus points! Openness to experience correlated positively with both general intelligence [r = .33] and crystallized intelligence [r = .30]). The ones that we are looking for are able to take -intelligently and previously considered- risks to get a bigger benefit and understand that reality is flexible and evolving- just like they are.

“Can-do attitude” in front of difficult situations is a requirement. If you want to stay in your comfort zone you should better stay away.

DIVAS NOT ALLOWED

You’ve got your needs, preferences and problems. You know that others have it too, right? So as some people say, leave your ego at the door (at least during working hours!).

Your colleagues have also a right to be sad, tired or angry at something work-related or not. Don’t think that others live better, work less than you do or things are easier for them. Respect others’ time, job and decisions, even if you don’t share their beliefs (maybe you don’t even know them). None of us is the world’s navel, and the team will always take priority.

JOB IS MORE THAN A PAYCHECK

If money is your main and only objective, you may not be happy here. You’ll be required to take ownership and responsibility of your role, to go the extra mile and to work harder or longer if needed. May others earn more and work less? I don’t know, I’ve not been there, but I am here in NPAW and I am happy that every time I am trying to accomplish a daunting task, I am given a chance to feel extremely proud of my work and commitment even though at the beginning I might not be 100% sure whether I would be able to finish it successfully anyway. I also need to admit that I am lucky enough to work in a competitive environment that taught me that being (self) demanding and ambitious pushes you and the company to stand out from the crowd.

We encourage you (if you have not done it before!) to think about what makes you really happy at work. Ask yourself a question: what is essential to me? What’s not and what can be waived? Then, be sure and determined of whatever you decided to find your perfect balance at work. You already know who we are, take it or leave it

15 Mar

Posted at 18:00h in Careers blog by Research & Editorial Team

Challenge: (noun) a task or situation that tests someone’s abilities.

Difficulty: (noun) 1. the state or condition of being difficult // 2. a thing that is hard to accomplish, deal with, or understand.

Creativity: (noun)  the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness.

Innovation: (noun) the action or process of innovating.

Jing Zhou, and Inga J. Hoever (2014) pointed out the following: “In the field of organizational behavior, creativity is usually defined as an outcome […] Whereas creativity focuses on idea production, innovation includes both idea production and implementation. As such, creativity is the first and crucial stage of innovation, but predictors of ideation and implementation are likely to differ.” (Research on Workplace Creativity: A Review and Redirection. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior.)

We can then state that there is no innovation without an established goal: something to be done, something to be improved, something to be achieved; nor is without an outcome that is novel, original and useful. Nowadays these are key aspects that drive growth and success for any business but, what makes organizations so innovative?

Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Spotify and SpaceX are some of the 2018 World’s Most Innovative companies listed by Fast Company in their annually well-known list. But also Novartis, Gucci, Sephora, The Washington Post, among others in food, gaming, consumer electronics, and many other industries. Technology, in most of the cases, facilitates or makes innovation possible, but sometimes we forget that it’s a tool, not a goal. These companies are fully aware of this. Amazon’s mission is  “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.”. Spotify’s is to “Give people access to all the music they want all the time – in a completely legal & accessible way.”

Nonetheless we see how sometimes others, instead of focusing on the challenge and the outcome, tend to focus on processes or tools (technologies, programming languages, frameworks, software…).

At NPAW we strongly believe that these are just resources, while it is certain that these can contribute to our purpose and facilitate the implementation of our ideas, they can still be a barrier to the development of more original ones.

Triggers for innovation and mediators have been widely analyzed on individuals and groups in both psychology and in business research. Some have pointed out personal characteristics such as Openness to experience (one of the domains used to human personality which includes fantasy, aesthetic sensitivity, attentiveness to inner feelings, preference for variety and intellectual curiosity.), others focus on the influence of a transformational leadership in creativity or the importance of the outbound ties in the communication network as well as the perceived organizational support to innovation. There is still a lot to discover in this interesting area where even job dissatisfaction can be a trigger for  creativity if specific context characteristics are met (When job dissatisfaction leads to creativity: encouraging the expression of voice (2001) Academy of management Journal).

What we have learned from our experience, from both existing research and the example of World Top Innovative companies is that doing what others do, focusing on tools -using the trendy, fashion methods and tech instead of focusing on outcomes, will only lead, if lucky, to where others have already been. Innovation starts with creativity and creativity is born when there is a purpose of creating, solving and/or improving something. At NPAW the outcome is our motive and making things different is in our DNA, driven by challenge and effort. This has been a decisive element in our solutions and we work hard to see in every problem a chance for differentiation from others. There are plenty of solutions to every challenge, it is by thinking differently and by striving towards improvement that we will find them!

16 Nov

Posted at 13:20h in Careers blog by Research & Editorial Team

“And today is the day. Let’s check if I miss something. I have read about the company, what are the recent achievements and their future goals, what is required for the position I’m applying to, why I want this job, what I’m looking for and what are my expectations for a nearby future…” You can identify yourself in all these statements when you are preparing for an interview, but all fall apart when during the interview you are asked to complete a personality test. That feared test for many. Everything you have prepared for, is going to disappear in less than three, two, one…ok we are going to stop here. We don’t have to be that dramatic and let’s flip over this situation. In the following section we are going to explain in general terms why nowadays personality tests are useful for the hiring process.

All of us have been afraid when in front of a personality test. What will the results be? Am I going to be rejected because of the results? Am I crazy? Let’s take  a breath! We are going to highlight some facts about this kind of test.

The aim of these tests is to evaluate the suitability of the candidate for a specific position in a specific context (team, company, etc…) and provide a set of values related with the personality traits through a set of questions of different nature. The final score offers an overview of the personality profile and the correlation between different factors that have been evaluated. There are no better nor worse profiles, each profile has its own characteristics that will be more or less suitable for a specific job or company. The personality test helps obtaining an overall vision of the candidate but don’t forget that these personality tests are used to support the whole selection process and should not be used alone. They always have to be combined with a person-to-person interview and other kinds of tests or assessments if the situation  requires so.

Sometimes the recruiter is asked to give previously some examples of tests so the candidate can train in advance in order to be prepared. There is no previous training for these kinds of tests. The best way to prepare for it is to become self-aware of yourself, your persona, and know what comes most naturally to you.

Don’t try manipulating the results. The manipulation may have be seen as something useful if you really want the job but after all it’s self-defeating for two reasons. First of all, imagine that you have managed to manipulate the answers and you have obtained the job, maybe what is  going to happen is that you will have to fight more in order to maintain high standards on your work and there is not going to be a fit because the values and norms of the company, team composition and procedures will be positioned far away from the ones that you may prefer, or maybe the manipulation is going to disqualify you on the selection process. Be careful on that!

When in front of a test, don’t be overwhelmed, just take your time to read everything carefully and be yourself. After all what every person wants is a true relation with the company.

What can you expect if you apply for Nice People at Work? Our selection process comes through different steps. After the pre-screening made by the recruiters, the first contact is made through a phone call or e-mail to meet the candidate and also their expectations and needs. The main goal of this step is to create an overall vision by both parts. The company is not the only one that has to come to a decision but also the candidate, it’s a mutual understanding. The second step is the face to face meeting aka the interview. This stage is important because you can verify that the thoughts that have been built earlier, are consistent or not. On the third stage, we provide the technical and/or psychological tests and/or group dynamics, depending on the job requirements. Once the candidate has completed the third stage, the tasks are reviewed by the HR department as well as the team leaders of the specific department. The last stages of the recruitment process are related with the acceptance of the offer and the employee’s onboarding..

Sometimes the selection process can be extended for more than 1 month. Don’t give up on the process, keep in mind that if there is any problem or concern you can let us know, it’s better to keep the process as clear as possible and of course we will be pleased to help.

What happens if you’re not selected? We’ll keep your CV in file and we’ll contact you in regards to other positions that are better aligned with your skills / preferences.

Meet us now! www.npaw.com/careers

26 Oct

Posted at 10:37h in Careers blog by Research & Editorial Team

Our “Data” unit has been growing since the first successful candidates completed online training in Java Programming and MySQL databases as an important step in their recruitment process before completing the technical test. We sat down with them two: Jaume Castell, a 23 year old graduate of the University of Barcelona who majored in mathematics, and Kelsey Barton-Henry, who specialized in economics in Barcelona Graduate School of Economics after getting the BsC in finance (Middlebury, VT).

“My main interests are mathematics, obviously, science and technology” said Jaume, who noted he is quite the sports fanatic as well. Kelsey changed the focus of her studies from political science to economics and finance after a trip to Ghana where she worked to reverse the effects of a contaminated water supply. They were both interested in working with large datasets – to explore what mysteries are lurking beneath a surface of digits and figures while at the same time improving their skills and experience of work with the latest real-time analytics technology.

At NPAW, we try to identify talent and potential and then help our employees with the knowledge they need to be their best and succeed.  Kelsey and Jaume demonstrated having great skill in mathematics and logical problem solving during their interview assessment and the training program showed us their ability to adapt and learn faster than the most. “ I think that including the online training based on Java and MySQL is a very good idea,” said Jaume of the training program, “ It can gives us, the candidates [especially] those of us less experienced with Java or MySQL, the first approach to these technologies and more chances to join NPAW.”

Of the opportunity she was presented with, Kelsey could not be more satisfied, or, more optimistic. “I expect my programming skills to improve greatly, and to gain deep knowledge about big data technology and solutions.” She went on, “Even as I learn more and become a competent programmer, I hope to continue to be challenged everyday at NPAW.”

Individuals interested in NPAW careers should not be daunted.  “Big Data is a field I’m interested for and this is a good opportunity to get well introduced. I would tell them to take the training seriously because it is really helpful,” said Jaume when asked what advice he’d give to those who dream of data. Kelsey goes one step further, “I would tell new candidates to give it a try! The worst that could happen is that you will learn something new!”

Interested in becoming a Nice Person at Work? Visit www.nicepeopleatwork.com/careers for more information!

27 Sep

Posted at 11:10h in Careers blog by Research & Editorial Team

Welcome back to another installment of Meet You, where we sit down with some NPAW team members and ask them about their role in the company. This time, we sat down with Luis Ramos, a backend engineer who has been with NPAW for 7 months now.
Some of you might be curious of what the “backend” team might do? Well, in short, the NPAW Backend team is tasked developing the YOUBORA real time analytics tool and its Smart Modules. Luis is usually involved in the development of its API services. Sometimes those services require a little extra tinkering, and when that happens our backend professionals are ready to provide assistance. In fact, Luis has recently developed a customized feature for a few specific NPAW customers to cater YOUBORA more closely to their needs.
We asked Luis to share some tips of trade to help those interested in joining the Backend team here at NPAW. He responded, “…It’s a very stimulating department, with many goals and objectives which need to be met. We work with many new technologies and always try to improve our work with something better and/or faster”. Persistence is needed, he went on to say, “…You’ll need to push yourself to be better, but together with the team we will surely make it, and with it also improve the whole company work and reach every objective”. He continued, “To feel like a fundamental piece of NPAW is what will make you love to work here””.
Before joining our team, Portuguese born Luis began his career during his university years at a logistics company focusing on developing an electronic invoice management system. Upon graduation, he joined the staff of his university’s physics department, developing testing modules for use in experimentation. He then joined an international exchange project and was brought to Madrid to work as Product Manager, only to be drawn to beautiful Barcelona to work for an Italian firm focused on developing GIS. Before joining NPAW he spent three years starting up a company devoted to developing an intelligent-tourist app.
Luis is an entrepreneurial, persevering, and responsible guy with very clear objectives and a desire provide solutions. He is passionate about identifying challenges, and resolving those problems, in the most elegant, functional, and optimized way possible.
Does our backend team sound like the place for you? We urge you to check out our open positions and apply at www.nicepeopleatwork.com/careers .

03 Aug

Posted at 9:41h in Careers blog by Research & Editorial Team

The first candidates for our opening as a Backend developer trainee are now enrolled in an online training course in Java programming and  MySQL databases funded by NPAW free of charge.

We’ve created an online training curriculum in that’s integrated in the recruitment process for those looking for start their career path as a backend developer working with big data & real-time analytics.

What kind of skills we do expect to find in a successful candidate when looking for people in the engineering team? For us, ideal candidates are:  

• Abstract intelligence
• Ability to understand and solve complex problems
• Strong skills in mathematics and algorithms
• Fast and eager learners
• Open minded individuals  
• Pragmatic problem solvers
• Efficient workers
• Those with a passion for exploring the world and applications of Big Data
• Programming skills (in Java, those joining our backend team)

After analyzing these requirements, we are able to identify 3 different kinds of knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Transversal skills and traits in science professionals: abstract intelligence, ability to understand and solve complex problems, skills in maths and algorithms, interest in Big Data.
• Personal skills and attitudes: Those related to the ability to learn & individual personality
• Technical skills: Java programming

If we apply these different filters when searching for candidates, we  reduce the number of results every time, especially once we ask for the third one, Java programming- as we all know, there is a shortage of developers in Barcelona. But don’t forget that technical knowledge is not that difficult to acquire, and here at NPAW we believe that a programming language is not itself an end, nor is it a specific technology. To us, our only end is solving a problem, the technology is the just the means by which we do so.

So, what happens if people fulfilling all the requirements expected of a Backend Team member, except  pre-existing knowledge of Java programming for example, such as mathematicians, physicians, and others of scientific backgrounds? We found a solution to this dilemma, at NPAW we go the extra mile to familiarize such individuals with Java via our online training courses.

Those interested in joining NPAW, and eager to learn Java, will be given the opportunity to complete  another step in their recruitment process, which they can  complete at their own pace. The final step  will be the technical test (after already completing interview and an psychometric test), and if successful they will be offered a position as a trainee at NPAW, continue learning about Java programming, but more specifically about big data technologies and solutions. After this period, candidates  will be ready to join NPAW with a permanent contract.

We expect to continue growing our engineering team by both hiring entry level and experienced developers. If you’re interested in becoming a part this amazing team, do not forget to check our current vacancies.

02 Aug

Posted at 12:53h in Careers blog by Research & Editorial Team

Here at NPAW, we know our success as an organization is contingent on the success of our employees. To keep the NPAW “ship” on the proper course, we like talk with our team members about their experience  with our company, so we can better understand what it’s like to work for NPAW. We’d like to share those stories with you here in a series we like to call “Meet YOU”. For this post, we sat down with our friend Maria Lopez, and asked her about her experience in our Quality Assurance Department.

What is the Quality Assurance Department? It’s the team at NPAW charged with building in, and testing for, quality in all of our products and enhancements we develop.    Maria has been been working in our Quality Assurance (QA) Department for about a year and four months. She was an intern still in university, completing her studies to become an Audiovisual Systems Engineer. After the original internship period ended, she started working as a full time employee in our QA Department, where she remains to this day.

What does she do? She answers, “I’ve got the responsibility to certify the plugins developed for our customers, to contribute to a successful integration with the YOUBORA platform. To do that, reports have to be generated defining the different plugin capabilities which require analysis, depending on the environment and delivery ecosystem for which it is specifically designed. Furthermore, plugins integrated into our customer scenarios, like apps and desktop programs, must be tested to ensure they are functioning in proper order. Another duty to which we tend, originating from the development team, is testing the User Interface from the user’s point of view. We work to ensure  better usability.”

When we asked Maria about her favorite aspect of the company, her response: the people, those Nice People…at Work. “The people are very friendly and they have always given me a hand when I have not understood something,” she said of her coworkers. The NPAW corporate culture is open and welcoming, and encourages each employee find their talents and grow them to their full potential. In Maria’s case, she is glad she is getting first hand experience in the streaming media industry. But as it relates to NPAW’s role in that industry, Maria says her position in our company also allows her to “recognize the different core competencies within my department so we can constantly improve the quality of the product.”

With such an enthusiastic response from Maria, we went further and posed to her a final question – as an NPAW employee what you say to someone looking to enhance their career, or even start it, at NPAW’s QA Department. She replied, “NPAW is a good company, where you will be comfortable and can contribute to improving the department.” Maria then went on to say, “People with a lot of ideas, enthusiasm and a good criticism level are welcome to our department. Here, we want to hear all kinds of different ideas and progresses.”

We look forward to sharing more insider stories about life at NPAW. It’s a tight knit team in an agile organization, quickly growing in size and reputation to NPAWer online video.  So check back regularly for more insider information about working at NPAW, and consider becoming a member of the Nice team yourself.