Dmitry Malankov – “I’m lucky - we don’t have bosses here, we’re all friends”

Dmitry Malankov is a software developer from Minsk, Belarus. It has been almost 1 month since he moved to Chicago. Prior to this Dmitry had been working for more than 5 years as a software developer in a couple of well-known IT outsourcing companies in Belarus. In this interview Dmitry shares his story and advice for making a successful career change.

Dmitry, tell me a couple of words about your background: where did you study and work before moving to the USA, what experience do you have in IT?

I studied in the National Technical University in Minsk, also known as Polytechnic Academy. My background is mostly outsourcing development in 3 different companies in Minsk. I tried different roles: developer, leader and even manager and it gave me miscellaneous experience. To make a long story short I’d say that technologies are easier to deal with, but anyway people are more interesting.

How did you get acquainted with Forte?

I’ve been to Chicago a couple of times before; this city has impressed me a lot and I decided to try to work here. I made a pretty quick market investigation and got the site of the company.

How long did it take you to join Forte’s team - from the first interview till your landing on the other side of the globe?

The government was very slow this year; they had been holding my documents for more than 5 months. So it took about 10 months including additional paperwork, interviews, visa preparations, trip preparation and other minor things.

What was the hardest part in this process – interviews, documents, embassy, etc.?

I had a technical interview before my arrival, you know, it always takes a lot of energy. Other things were not so hard; some of them were even pleasant.

Tell me about the company you work for: how do you like you coworkers, boss :), projects, responsibilities? Are they the way you expected them to be?

Exactly, they’re good guys, most of them are Russian native speakers. We’re working on a project for a huge American medical care company. My responsibilities are the same – regular software development. And you know what? I’m lucky - we don’t have bosses here, we’re all friends.

In terms of professional and personal development, what new skills did you acquire working for an American company?

Some new tools and practices, different communication style.

Are there a lot of differences between working and living in Belarus and USA? Please name a couple.

In the US you have to pay for everything, rules are strict and punishment is inevitable. Different thinking and humor. Different food. A lot of people from everywhere. It’s interesting place to live, discover and investigate if you like it.

What things you especially like about USA?

Nature, nice little houses and calm suburbs.

And what about those you don't like?

Traffic and expensive parking.

What plans do you have for future?

I’m going to develop a new safe supersonic just to be able to fly fast from Chicago to Minsk on weekends J.

Your tips for success for future candidates?

It’s a very common question, so I answer it in common too. Be open-minded and flexible. Nothing new and it may seem boring but it works.

by Lusya Galkina

Sergii Doroschuk- ''I’m the youngest one ''

Sergii Doroschuk is a software developer with more than 3 years of experience. Sergey started his career in software engineering when he was a student – working for SoftServe, Ukraine. He holds a Master’s Degree in Information Security and Computer Science from Lviv Polytechnic National University.

Sergii, how did you get to know about job opportunities with Forte CG?

One of my friends told me that he was looking for a job in the USA. He found Forte CG and recommended it to me. I also knew a couple of guys who were employees of Forte, they are my ex-coworkers in SoftServe. By the way, my friend who told me about job opportunities with Forte is still in the process of getting visa and I’m here :).

Have you thought of moving to the USA before?

Yep. In 2007 I was in Maryland, participated in Work & Travel. During these 6 months I got a lot of friends and I’m that type of person who likes to try something new and challenge myself in new environment.

How long did it take you to become an employee of Forte CG – from sending your resume till your arrival in the USA?

Exactly one year.

What was the hardest part during this year – gathering all necessary documents, interview in the embassy or?

Interview was pretty fine because when the embassy worker started to ask questions, he found out that I’ve been to the US before, in 2007. Then he started wondering where I’ve been. I told him and at the same time saw a smile on his face. He was exactly from the area where I’ve stayed during my first visit to the US. We continued talking about it and eventually found some common friends.

And speaking about the hardest part, probably it was gathering all documents.

Describe me the company you work for – how do you like the environment, your coworkers, job responsibilities?

The company I work for is mostly in mailing business. The whole process starts from design of mailings, bills and sending them out. Currently I’m involved into a new project that is related to medical billing system. Most of the team I’m working with consists of Russian speaking guys and I was really surprised at that fact. I expected my team to be English speaking but it turned out vice versa. Therefore, I have the same culture and environment as I had in Ukraine, surprisingly :).

What is the biggest difference between working in the USA and your home country?

The age gap between me and my coworkers (the difference is counted in decades), I’m the youngest one :)

What about living ?

If working is almost the same, living is much easier. Mostly in terms of collaboration with governmental structures, I mean such things as communicating by e-mail with officials, filling out documents and forms, buying cars, etc.

Is there anything you don’t like?

Sometimes the number of laws in the US is annoying, especially taking into consideration the ones like “Don’t feed the ducks”, “Don’t swim without a lifeguard”.

And speed limit - the understanding that I cannot give a cop 10 $ -20$ and go my way. Your record always impacts your insurance cost – it’s such a pain.

What about your professional development in the company you are working now?

As I’m staying here less then 3 month, I can’t say I learned a lot. But I’m trying to do my best and pushing new technologies. Recently I developed a part of application we are working on in Silverlight and showed it to my team lead – it was successful :)

What tips can you give to future candidates?

"Don't panic", be prepared for temporarily inconveniences and always consider at least 3 options prior to making an important choice.