Our CTO, Oleg Smola, shared his experience of 8 years working at Redtag
I’ve learned C++ and passed GlobalLogic Base Camp for students who learned C++ but was not chosen as GlobalLogic crew member.My career in IT began as a .Net Developer at DevCom.
I always liked having freedom in my job to express myself and develop myself. I did not want just to follow instructions and not be able to ask why we made this feature, for whom, and what the result should be. Therefore, I considered changing my position and working in a more flexible, ambitious environment.
By chance, with Nazar, CEO of Redtag, we got to an informal meeting (it was a birthday celebration of our mutual friend). It was 2014, the beginning of the company's work. During the dialogue, Nazar said he was looking for good team members and offered to come for an interview, so I agreed.
The first step was to pass the certification to be able to work with clients. I was very worried before the first certification. After the handover, work with the Netherlands began. At first, I performed various duties, many small tasks on different clients, and later I switched to a large project on an online store. It was a pleasant experience in customer service. Interesting clients, everything is flexible and good project management.
Nazar showered me with questions about Java at the interview, thoroughly tested my English level, and talked about Salesforce's future. I wouldn’t say I was brilliant during the interview, but he liked my communication skills and the values I care about. Thus began a career in the company that has lasted for eight years.
There was a noticeable growth in both my hard and soft skills. Also, I realized my colleagues’ growth and happy client that prospered. We acted as one team, and it was highly motivating.
It was remarkable that Redtag sent employees abroad for a while to work directly with the client. At that time, no one was doing this, which was great. It was a tremendous cultural integration.The company is also always amicable, and you are not limited. You always feel involved and needed, have full support in personal ambitions, and constantly move forward.
Doing great things and making a positive impact on others. Giving a chance to others to grow and customers to prosper and be more efficient. Spreading a growth mindset.
We can also distinguish the so-called "three elephants" on the backs of which Redtag stands, namely Support, Development, and Result.We are for delivery, no matter what! Get it done, no matter what!
Well, these are the parts of working as a Chief Technology Officer. I feel responsible for the entire company. My responsibilities include:
- sharing my expertise;
- executing a lot of people management;
- technical leadership, budgeting;
- development of our SF Academy;
- pre-sale activities;
- customer engagement;
- rethinking what we provide as a company and decision-making and strategic thinking.
That leaves little time for self-development, which is crucial. So I am currently working on delegation and freeing time for self-development. Although all the challenges, I love my job very much.
8 years in Salesforce
14 Certifications
Football lover
Father of a son
Coldplay band superfan
by Yurii Biletskyi, Director of Learning and
Development at Redtag
325 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60654
+1 (312) 885 95 87
B. Khmelnytskoho str, 106
Lviv, 79024, Ukraine
+38 (063) 041 48 99