When is the appropriate time to kick off your career journey? “Early bird catches the worm”: It’s widely known that the earlier you start, the more chances you get because success comes through experience, failure, and practice. Let’s meet Loi – our excellent intern whose story is from zero to hero at Amanotes.
“The first person I met was not from the Talent Acquisition team”
But it’s Bill Vo, our CEO. At the very beginning of his sophomore year, Loi worked in a one-man studio and created up to 7 games by himself. However, making a game become a hit in the top chart is not a piece of cake compared to creating it. Then, he realized that an experienced mentor is what he needed. With a curious mind, he joined several open groups for startups and developers, became an active member by posting his game prototypes to seek valuable advice and instructions. Luckily, Bill was also a member of one of these groups. Impressed by Loi’s passion, Bill directly contacted and asked him to join the company. “My first impression about this guy is that he’s so young and so passionate. For me, if you have enough passion and time, you can achieve anything.” – Bill shared. Do you see any similarities between this offer and Steve Job’s face-to-face meeting with Sculley – CEO of Pepsi “Do you want to be an ordinary student until graduation? Or do you want to come with me and change the music world?”
Until now, when the company has surpassed 200 employees, our recruiting system still prioritizes young talents who are full of energy and enthusiasm.
The real journey is actually beyond expectation
Despite working for a startup before, joining Amanotes is still a new experience and turning point for Loi. At the first glance, he thought it would take him a month to adapt to the new environment and colleagues. However, he said “Everybody was extremely supportive and went out of their way to get me settled as soon as possible. On my first working day, the whole company arranged a musical orientation to welcome me! There was a full band with singers, guitarists, pianists. This tradition of welcoming newcomers by a music-filled performance remains until today. Then I wondered – how on earth can a company be that warm as home? Yah, the more I learned about the company, the more I knew it was my dream internship”
The first chapter of his career in Amanotes was marked by winning the cup of Bluebird award 2018, which is one of the biggest playgrounds for game/app developers. Loi shared: “Without support and help from seniors and mentors in Amanotes, I wouldn’t have achieved this. I received a lot of support from our teammates. Vu supported me on UX, Hà, Thắng, Thuận supported me on game design, Vỹ helped me in terms of game optimization. They provided me with clear guidance on what makes a game that fits into the market, which I successfully applied to develop a strategic plan for my game.”
The cons of being a developer are the high entry barrier due to the fundamental requirement of certain technical skills, however, the pros are that there is no limitation in growth if you have enough passion to meet the right mentors!
He’s a boss, she’s a boss and so am I!
In Amanotes we value ownership, and expect everyone to be their own leader, even if you don’t have a leadership title within the company, you are still a self-leader. Working in a fast-growing company requires everyone to be as fast, proactive as the same. “After working at Amanotes for 2 years and rotating between different departments: from game developer, product owner to SDK developer, I see that everybody here shares the same mindset of leadership and takes initiative in everything. Lately, I have participated in a Musicalization project where I visualized music techniques in games developed by experts into 17 prototype games in only 2 quarters. This project is a whole new experience for me. My seniors didn’t instruct me step by step. I was encouraged to figure the problem and propose solutions by myself before the team consulted me with the related keywords or direction. Then my responsibilities are to research, learn and apply”
Failure is my best friend
Starting to code at the age of 16, getting his first job at the age of 18. He is too young not to be wrong. It’s not the only time that his idea for a game is rejected due to scalability. The more he failed the more he learned to be a better version of himself. “I treat mistakes as a learning opportunity. This doesn’t mean that I was born that way, actually, I was trained to be fearless at mistakes. My leaders allow me to make mistakes, my teammates support me when I have mistakes, my office friends encourage me whenever I have a hard time. I’m so grateful for this” said Loi. At Amanotes, you have the right to be wrong, however, make sure you know why and not repeat the same mistakes.
Our startup is young and so is he. We both embrace failure, try our best to make the most of it.
I have nothing apart from youth and love for Amanotes
“What I love most about Amanotes is the music spirit which is a perfect match with mine. Before Amanotes, I’m only a developer. After Amanotes, I’m a pianist, a guitarist, a Cajon player. I love how the company provides free music classes and encourages people to develop their inner artist side”.
At Amanotes, the opportunity for professional and personal development is fruitful and abundant. The sky’s the limit at this young and active company. Loi is not the unique case out of over 200 employees, striving for excellence to bring better experiences to users and partners worldwide. If you want to be a part of this youthful house, join us!
Find your perfect match: HERE