We often state that growth is a big part of our culture, so we offer our Centricians the means and methods to improve their skills constantly. Daniel started his career path in Centric six years ago and went from an internship position to technical leadership. Find out how he grew with Centric in the story below.
#GrowWithCentric: From intern to Technical Lead in the future of retail
Technical Lead
Daniel Gavril
How did you start in Centric?
I started working at Centric 6 years ago as an intern, and after the internship ended, I was offered a permanent position on the same project.
What is your position today?
Today I am a Technical Lead with no limits in the technology stack.
What was the drive that got you from intern to tech lead?
I didn't intend to become a technical lead from the start. What drove me to this position has been my managers' support and help, who saw my potential to become one.
Having somebody to help you see things that you are not possible is an advantage I have always benefited from at Centric. In my opinion and from my experience, Technical Lead should be an outcome and not a target.
What motivates you to learn?
The passion for creating software that fixes problems is my primary motivator.
Then comes the need to be always up to date: imagine having a doctor doing surgery with the same technique as 40 years ago :). As the world evolves, we have to keep up the pace.
How do you make time for learning?
This is a very interesting question...I don't usually plan a time to learn.
Life changes unexpectedly and requires us to become flexible most of the time. Therefore, I like to think that for every task I do, I can also find the space & time available to learn a new way of writing code or a principle that might help me in other scenarios. My learning sessions are usually in the morning, before work schedule when there's quietness, focus time available to use, and no urgent problems to finish.
What was your biggest failure, and what did you learn from it?
One of my biggest failures in becoming a technical lead was applying the same expectations for the people around me that I should have been using only for myself.
I learned that people are different, and expectations must be adapted accordingly: asking a fish to fly isn't a reasonable expectation.
What is your favorite success story?
Every email from or about a happy customer it's a success story to me, and these stories are always backed up by hard work from my colleagues.
What kinds of learning and growth practices do you have?
Listening to feedback and asking for one when you think everything is ok.
Also, trying to find people better than you is always a good way of looking in the mirror and finding things that you can as improve.
Another kind of learning as a technical lead is being an example or the technical leader you needed when you weren't one.
Who has been the most inspirational person in your career, and why?
Personally, Jordan Peterson is the most inspirational person in my career. The life principles that he describes in his books helped me define:
And, as has he always pointed out, I try to make the world a little bit better in every moment of my life.
What would you say to somebody that just started a career in IT?
- Practice, practice, practice.
- Problems are solved when the keyboard starts to click, so you need to take action.
