Written by daniel in Our Interns, Our Team, Uncategorized.
My work experience at SimilarGroup was an amazing and career-building opportunity. The six months with the company were defined by the lessons learned and the camaraderie of my coworkers.
Having worked previously in sales, I was a bit overwhelmed at first by the technical level of the company. Hadoop, jquery and Firebug were foreign words that sounded more like superhero names than programming platforms and tools. From day one, Or, Nir and the rest of the team were always eager to explain their work and help me understand the purpose of my initial tasks. I quickly became familiar with an assortment of development terms that helped build the foundational understanding of the amazing things that were being done at the company. I soon found out that we weren’t just helping people find similar websites, we were also collecting a huge amount of complex data and analyzing it to help businesses learn more about how people use the Internet.
With more time spent in the office, I eventually earned the opportunity to work in an area where I could make an impact – marketing. Or, the founder, has an innate ability to identify a person’s strengths and allow them to work in an area they are passionate about. At the same time, he exposed me to every aspect of marketing associated with the company, from pay-per-click advertising to search engine optimization to brand building and content development.
Having come from the US, I had never had the chance to work with international companies. Two weeks into the job, Or had me calling global companies and speaking with established executives located in other time zones. The exposure to different cultural differences in doing business was invaluable. It is something that continues to inspire me to reach out to companies around the world.
Working closely with everyone at the company helped me gain a comfort of working in a technical environment. It also would prepare me for many challenges faced in the constantly fast paced world of digital marketing. Working in the Tel Aviv hi-tech industry, you have to learn quickly and teach yourself new principles. The culture and pace at SimilarGroup definitely prepared me for the many high level challenges involving all things digital marketing related, which I now focus on full time at Blue Fountain Media, a digital marketing agency in New York.
The work experience certainly helped my career but the friendships formed with my coworkers were equally as important. Never before had I worked at a company with a culture like SimilarGroup’s. The team and I didn’t just work together, we ate together, went out together and had fun together. Work in the office was a shared passion, not an obligation. The guys all respected each other and challenged each other to get better everyday. This driven mentality is what positions SimarGroup to become one of the most influential hi-tech companies in the big data market research industry.
I recommend SimilarGroup to anyone who loves technology and is looking to take the next step in his or her career. The work environment is not for the weak at heart – more for those who are eager to wake up everyday and learn something new while still being determined to make an impact.