This post tells my story about becoming a project manager in Netguru and gives you a sort of a “recipe” how to do so.

I’m Zuzia and I work as a Project Manager at Netguru. However, my journey to get to this place was full of turning points and unexpected outcomes. With passion, determination, and the right attitude, I shifted my career to seek and follow the path I really want to take. Here are a few chapters of my story on how I became a PM without a university background in this field.

Even though we all go through the recruitment process at least several times in our careers - with various results - there’s no denying it can be really stressful and overwhelming. Even more so if it’s for a position you would really like to work in. Like with all things, coming prepared can only help you, and since I can still remember my interviews with Netguru (pretty intense - but in a good way!), I’m happy to take advantage of this opportunity to give you some insight into what we ask our candidates.

From this interview, you will learn: How ad-hoc teams could work like companies, improving their workflow and collaboration standards. What the 7 things are that every team on a planet needs to have to operate efficiently. Why John Furneaux, CEO of Hive, doesn’t believe in big organisations as a smart way to achieve goals. What the most insane competitive advantage is that any company can gain if they reinvent themselves in terms of team collaboration

Every person who has ever worked in software development company can agree that estimating work is one of the key pain points in IT. Often the tasks and projects are underestimated, there are a lot of (unpleasant) surprises, the deadlines are not met, the client is stressed out, and the pressure put on the team is almost tangible.

You hear a lot about scrum rituals and artifacts. People write books on how to transfer their theoretical frames into reality. Yet sometimes striving for excellence in inspecting and adapting might lead us to losing sight of the very essence of agile software delivery, which is the self-organising team. A culture of openness and creativity, which results in a true understanding of agility, can only be built based on trust and independence.

Fun fact: when I first looked at the job listing for a Project Manager at Netguru, I wasn’t sure if I would cut it. It’s that intimidating. Then I read through the offer and realised that while the skills required are quite specific, they are not rocket science. This is true for project management positions at other companies, as well.

Let’s talk about health, but not about your physical health . Let’s talk about the health of your process. Didn’t you know that each process has its own health? Have you noticed that sometimes you have a process or flow but you don’t get the result you want?

A month ago, I changed my position in the company and became the leader of the PMO (project, portfolio or program management office  –  pick the one you like). Our main goal is to make things work efficiently. We all know it’s hard.

 I'm sure that you already know how good communication can boost the effectiveness of a team. And it's pretty easy to achieve good results when all team members are in the same room.  Question 1: But how to keep information and feedback flowing between different offices, companies, and timezones? Question 2: And is it really something that you should be concerned about since you show up at the office every day?