1. The blue-minded experience
We’re eager to delve deeper into the blue-minded experience, a term we use to describe our unique work culture at Digitalya.
First of all, we wanted to find out how they felt about the company before joining and why they wanted to be a part of the team.
Vlad Duminica, a part of our Quality Assurance team, said that he found it interesting that we are working with pharmaceutical companies — it’s worth mentioning that he has a background in pharmacology. Another thing that he liked was that we are a relatively small team that fosters a friendly vibe and values collaboration.
Catalin Crainiceanu, one of our web developers, said that one of the most important reasons for joining was the people here. He knew about our culture from his previous internship, and he returned because he felt this is more than just a workplace—you always have someone to talk to.
Mircea Bozianu, another member of our web development team, even though our HR approached him, he accepted because he really appreciated the recruitment process. He felt that it was sincere and welcoming.
Andrei Ungurianu, our Head of Marketing, said he looked for signs to tell him if he could work daily with the people around him. He had the chance to talk directly with his future colleagues and other team members to understand the culture better. What made him say yes was that the two people he would have to work with daily turned out to be great — his marketing comrade, Teodora, and Alex, our CEO. He felt that he could relate to them, be himself around them, build a relationship where he could say what was on everyone’s minds, and find the openness to discuss and challenge each other.
Alex Matei, our UX designer, said he joined the team out of luck. The question is — whose luck was it? Ours or his?
Some of the highlights of their daily work include the variety of tasks, unexpected situations, flexible and dynamic schedules, and, of course, a competitive tennis match with the team at the office.
We asked them if there were any skills they had gained since joining the team, and besides technical knowledge, a common theme was communication, patience, active listening, and learning to stress less.
Professionally, our developers noted that they like writing code that is relevant to today’s trends.
Do you feel like your work contributes to Digitalya’s overall success? What motivates you to go on?
The answer was a resounding yes.
Everyone cares about the quality of the project they work on and the tasks for which they are accountable. They feel happy when someone approaches them for help — teamwork is a big part of our way of doing things. Problem-solving is what adds fuel to the fire. The people are what keeps it going.
“I’m happy about what I do, how I do it, and our future plans. So, I’m confident that we have a great team and that together, we can achieve all our goals with patience and a sprinkle of luck (that’s always nice to have),” said Andrei.
Mircea added that Digitalya is a company that you can retire from — because he feels safe here.
2. Company culture and values
“Trust, openness, and friendliness. If you care for those, we have plenty here. I’ve seen close friendships forming here, new hobbies shared with the team, parties done together, and overall support from one another. I think that when people want to spend time together outside work, it means that there’s a healthy culture brewing inside,” said Andrei when asked to describe Digitalya’s company culture.
“Single-level management — you don’t need endless approvals to take some time off,” added Catalin.
“Help people around you and get help back — that’s how we form a community where we grow together,” said Mircea.
Are our values reflected in the work we do?
“For sure, all of them.
Those that I see most often are: we learn together, we help each other, and power to the team. There are too many examples for each, but as a whole, I see that everyone is open to learning from each other, building on top of that knowledge, providing valuable feedback, contributing, and acting together as a team.
A great thing about us is that we collaborate easily, even if we haven’t done that before (or if you just got hired). And I think that comes from having terrific people who share similar values,” said Andrei.
Vlad also added that he received help from the team very often, both professionally and personally.
Everyone feels like they are a part of this community. “We get to know each other beyond just work, through monthly activities or going out,” said Catalin.
Even though we work from home most of the time, we make a lot of effort to get together occasionally — either by going out together, creating fun games at the office, or going on teambuildings. On top of this, people naturally share their hobbies and interests and manage to get together and form new friendships.
What opportunities for growth, both professional and personal, have you had since joining?
“The biggest one would be that I was promoted to Head of Marketing. I had six months to prove my worth, and I managed to do it. However, most importantly, the leadership team is open to adjusting people’s roles to fit their interests and skills. I’ve seen many colleagues who were offered the opportunity to pursue various interests that they voiced,” answered Andrei.
Mircea added that this is the best situation he’s been in, on both plans. He had enough time to pick up boxing.
3. Challenges and learning
Mircea is very proud of the project he’s currently working on—he completed many complex tasks, and he’s happy everything is going well.
On the same note, Alex’s project is ending, but he is very proud to have been part of it since the beginning. He also finds it funny when other people copy our designs.
“I’m very proud of the OmniSilence bi-monthly newsletter, where we share content for pharma decision-makers. The pharma industry was new to me personally, and I was not sure how we’d handle this project, but in just a few weeks, we managed to get a hold of it. Once the feedback started to come back positive, and I saw that people related to the content, I knew that we were on the right track,” added Andrei.
Vlad feels encouraged to be innovative; his team is always open to his approach, and he can always rely on their advice for some testing methods. On the same note, Catalin is a fan of our tech meetings and of our database with dev resources that everybody shares.
4. Personal touch and advice
Juggling work and personal life doesn’t seem to be a major issue.
“This is not a hard thing to do since I’m never expected to work beyond 5 PM, and even if I do, I can adjust my schedule by starting later. I’m very grateful for a clear separation between work and personal time. I work in a hybrid mode, and fortunately, I can easily set a regular schedule for myself and stick to it, whether at home or the office.
I also don’t think we’re ever 100% in any of those spaces (personal or work), as life is more complex than that. I happen to need to handle personal things while I’m ‘on the clock’ and sometimes think about work-related things when I’m relaxing at home. What’s important is that I can make these decisions myself,” Andrei answered.
On the same note, Alex treats this balance as a task. He feels no pressure to do a certain thing at a certain time. You can manage your time efficiently as long as you do what needs to get done.
Do you have an inside joke related to your job?
Vlad and Catalin shared their favorite jokes with us.
How does being a part of this team make you feel?
“I enjoy being a part of this team—even if it’s only been half a year. I’ve never felt like an outsider,” said Vlad. On the same note, Catalin added that he is confident that we can do even more exciting things together.
Mircea feels seen and appreciated, and it feels good to be a part of this team. So does Alex.
Do you have any advice for someone considering applying for one of our job openings?
Vlad — Do it without thinking too much about it since you have nothing to lose. On the contrary, you have everything to gain; you have a lot of people you can learn from.
Catalin — Apply without thinking; it’s a great workplace, and I recommend it.
Mircea — Be open, think the question through, and try to answer it honestly. If you get stuck, no worries. Our interviewers are sympathetic, so you can say whatever comes to your mind.
Alex — To be open-minded, capable of asking many questions, and sociable. You must be willing to explain what you mean and help others.
Andrei — If anything we mentioned in our answers resonates with you, you are safe to apply, as you will find like-minded people who will make you fit in from day one.
We’re always looking forward to growing our team. If you think you are the missing piece from our puzzle, check out our job openings on our careers page and send us a message. We can’t wait to hear from you.
