What was your first role in the tech industry, and how did it shape your journey 🚐

I applied for a software developer internship at one of the more prominent startups in Austria back then. I didn't really think that i would get the position, but they were on a hiring spree, so they hired me as a junior backend developer instead. Those were great times! I learned an immense amount, made some good friends and my current business partner had started 2 weeks before me at the same company. Unfortunately the company didn't make it, but i'm insanely grateful for the mentoring i got there, without them i wouldn't be where i am now.

Actually, as an intern at the beginning of his career, my journey started as a content writer. Then I became a website editor at Marketing Birds. After this process, I met Contentrain. After learning the necessary information about the ecosystem, I started to work as an intern in the field of "marketing" at Contentrain.

Quality Assurance Engineer for a year right after I graduated. Let’s just say I was happy to get laid off 😂.

Moving from a clinical domain (almost twenty years of combined clinical and academic practice), my first experience was an internship and master thesis researcher in an e-prescription health IT firm. I worked on analysing their UI, workflows and a drug allergy database. It was a rewarding experience for both ends and I am ever thankful to this firm. Thanks @Deniz for this question and for opening up a can of nostalgic thoughts :)

I had always been a Tech Enthusiast. But I am from a Non-Tech Background, I broke into tech with my Product Internship turning into an Associate Product Manager Role. I'm interested in knowing how you made the switch from a Recruiter to a Marketer. Sounds like an interesting story! @ako61142833

I was 19 years old, created the first 2 e-commerce professionally and for a country store and working in-house as an e-commerce specialist and all doer. I was doing ADV, social management, customer care, and taking care of orders and product research. Basically everything 😂

Started as a junior dev, then took the startup plunge. Taught me a lot about resilience and the need for constant learning.

At some point, it became clear that I had much more chances to prove myself in the IT industry: my first role - project manager.

Fun question. I started out in cold call sales at Yelp which was a brutal introduction to the business world, but it taught me a ton of valuable things that have served me well throughout my career. Through putting in the 10,000+ cold calls there, I developed the ability to sell, build relationships, and assess the needs of a wide variety of businesses. I also saw firsthand how rare it is to find genuinely hard-working people, and how quickly you can grow in a field if you are such a person. As I transitioned into a copy/content writer, I was able to combine early-career skills I learned with my education/passion for writing to build a successful freelance brand and serve a ton of great clients worldwide. Question for you Deniz - of the skills that you learned in IT recruiting, which have been most useful in your role as a marketer? (and do you have a recommendation for a book or blog post that would help me get a foundational understanding of those skills?)

My first impactful role was at a startup in Madison WI. It was also my first introduction into the world of ML and changed how I started viewing problems and solutions.