Welcome to our monthly “Why I joined the Kogan.com engineering team” series! Every month, we talk with members of the Kogan.com engineering team to learn who they are and why they chose to pursue careers at Kogan.com.
Anita is the Talent Acquisition Lead at Kogan.com. She is a huge fan of coffee (strong long black please!) and is always on the lookout for the next greatest breakfast spot in Melbourne. In her time at Kogan.com, Anita has helped grow the team and introduce various internal & external community initiatives. Learn all about Anita, her team, and how she’s making an impact on #TeamKogan.
What attracted you to join Kogan.com?
I was immediately drawn to Kogan.com’s position in the market as a pioneer in e-commerce. When I’m looking for a new job, it’s important that I love the company I’m promoting to potential recruits and that was just the case with Kogan.com. It’s a brand with so much respect within the Australian tech community and has always held a high quality bar for hiring engineers.
Online retail also has so much potential and opportunity (Especially given Covid-19) and I could not miss out on the opportunity to be part of a company riding the online retail boom - that too being the leaders in it!
Another reason I joined was because of the culture and people. I always seek those out when I make a career change, since they are non-negotiables for me in a company. Kogan engineers are so driven, dedicated to their work, and genuinely kind people. My manager is so supportive, provides new and challenging opportunities for me, and really pushes me to reach my full potential. It’s amazing being part of a team where everyone wants to achieve great things together.
Describe what it’s like being a part of the Engineering team.
I was only in the office for five days before the transition to remote work due to the Melbourne lockdown. Even in the short amount of time that I got real face-to-face connection, I have always felt like a true part of the team and still have been able to make strong relationships and friendships with the team. We’ve grown too, and it’s been incredible to see so many new faces as part of our team. We do our best to stay connected through virtual celebrations, Friday e-drinks, or casual 1:1 meetings to check in on how everyone is doing. I can’t wait to get back to the office someday to feel the energy of my teammates and to grab a Parma at our local pub.
What is something unique about the Kogan.com engineering team?
The spirit and determination of the team is incredible. My teammates are constantly supporting me in my work and I always feel like they have my back, even working remotely.
It’s really special to see how much energy and enthusiasm the team puts into their work, and they care deeply. If there is an outage or if things don't go as planned, people are always willing to jump in to help each other and to troubleshoot so things go back to normal.
We also run weekly showcases where the team is there to celebrate wins and honour each other's achievements.
As we are growing our team, I get to meet so many interesting people. The people I meet have so many ideas, they’re passionate about what they do and they really challenge themselves. It’s an exciting environment to be in especially given the tight market conditions within the tech industry.
If you could give someone new to Kogan.com one piece of advice, what would it be?
If you see something that can be improved upon (in the product, culture, processes, etc.), it’s yours to question and yours to improve. Our team is constantly open to change and improvement of all kinds. You just have to be willing to follow through, take initiative, and make an impact!
Come work with Anita and the rest of the Engineering team at Kogan.com. Check out our career opportunities here.
