Starting a new job during COVID-19 can be a little bit more difficult than usual, let’s say. To my surprise, everything was pretty amazing and safe 🙌.
The first day 🚀
I stepped into the office really excited to see everyone and start my day. The thing that impressed me first was the attention to detail. For example, there were antibacterial liquids all over the office, which was really nice.
We started the day by getting picked up by our mentors. Fun fact: I knew mine already, we were actually friends! That made my day so much better already. Ah yes, by the way - you do get a mentor to walk you through your first weeks, so no need to panic! They’ll give you feedback on what you do, tell you where to search for information, and all that.
Shortly after, we got a tour of the office. There are two sides of the bunq headquarters, or bunqer as they call it: a short wing and a long wing. We started walking around and met the few people that were not working from home. They were all smiling and being super inviting! In between the 2 sides, you can see a huge space for eating lunch and having fun on Fridays (I will get to that later). There are even signs on the floor to help everyone keep a safe distance (huge points for that!).
Afterward, we met our beautiful team leader, Jana. I remember thinking that I was getting a bit stressed, but her voice calmed me down. We went to pick up our laptops and started to Get Shit Done! A lot of reading and information followed.
Your first day at bunq can seem a bit overwhelming, but I am here to tell you that you CAN do this! It’s a lot of information to take in, but guess what?! bunqers are amazing people and will definitely help you through this. For example, I have an amazing trainer called Ramona, who was of great help. So was Deveney, or my mentor Krystian who helped me with each step of the way.
Alright, so that concludes the first day! Let’s move on!
Back at it again 🤔
On the second day, I was kinda recovering from the first day! It's hard work, but don't forget you're a superstar and bunq chose you for a reason! This day involved more meetings and presentations, so I got to ask all sorts of questions to our trainer Ramona.
rWe also got to see some of our colleagues from Bulgaria. It was right about that time I felt like I belonged. How awesome is that feeling, when you know the place you work at is not just an office, but a big family, united for the same goal?
And as every family does, we get together for some great food around lunch time! There are 3 shifts for this, to make sure everyone can keep their distance. We have chefs that cook fresh meals for us every day, and plenty of choices too!
To wrap it up, our second day was still full of new information. I will give you a tip, though: all of it is always available to you later on and there’s always someone to answer further questions. No need to memorize it all!
Let's get started💡
This is when you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, as I call it! All the basic knowledge is in, and you’re ready to get to work! As a second line customer guide, I got to meet the rest of the support team. It was mostly through Slack calls, but since everyone is working from home nowadays, it felt pretty natural. However, I can’t wait for the time when we can all finally be in the office and really get to know each other!
Work hard, play hard 👯
Woohoo! It’s Friday - or should I say Fri-yay? This was my first day actually interacting with our users. You usually have 4 days to do all the reading and learning, and then you go into work mode. Unless you’re lucky, like me, and get a bank holiday on Monday.
Slowly but surely, with Ramona’s help, we started chatting to our lovely users. That was a pretty good feeling! Sure, I was a bit afraid of doing something wrong, but there’s plenty of help around and no judgment.
Okay, done with work - here comes the fun part! As new bunqers, we were tasked with “the beer run”! What is that, you ask? As the newest members of the family, we have to make sure that everyone has a drink to grab. It really helps to get to know the people at the office better.
The bunq weekly follows, our Friday meeting where we discuss how the week went, and have some more drinks together with dinner. Nowadays, 75% of people attend the weekly online, from the comfort of their own home. Nevertheless, it’s time to let loose, catch up, socialize, and simply have a good time. This is the first time I encounter something like this, and I am loving it! It really feels like a family around here.
I hope this gave you some insights on how we do things at bunq, you will love it! ❤️
