Welcome to Peoplelogic’s monthly employee spotlight interview. Our company values each employee as our most precious asset, and we are thrilled to feature the individuals who make our company stand out. From engineering and data science to people analytics and sales, every member of our team plays an integral role in our success.
Today, we are excited to introduce you to our Senior Software Engineer, Teresa Mendes. Throughout this interview, you'll get to know Teresa on a more personal level and discover what makes her a crucial part of our team. Join us as we celebrate the exceptional individuals who drive our company forward!
Spotlight Q & A:
- Ashley: How do you feel the most appreciated or valued at work?
- Teresa: Words of affirmation, quality time, and face-to-face communication. Because through these mediums, I know the other person appreciates my effort and values me.
- A: What’s the thing you look forward to most at work?
- T: Team effort and recognition for my work.
- A: What’s something that recently made you smile?
- T: My front-end UI presentation for our internal team this week.
- A: What’s the coolest or most unusual fact you know, and why do you like that fact?
- T: The CEO, Matthew Schmidt, shows a unique trait of regularly appreciating employees, which is not commonly seen among supervisors and managers in Portugal. This quality aligns with our company's core values and is initiated by the CEO himself without prompting. Thanks to Matt's regular expression of gratitude, I always feel valued and motivated.
- A: If you didn’t have to work, what would you do with your time?
- T: I’d travel all over the world and knit a lot! My favorite thing to knit is multi-colored shawls/scarves. And I never repeat the same pattern, so all my creations are unique.
- A: If you hosted a talk show, who would you invite as the first guest and why?
- T: An important mathematician - to be able to understand their mind.
- A: If you could give your past self any advice, what would it be?
- T: I’d tell myself to be more organized.
- A: If you could have any superpowers, what would they be and why?
- T: Super-speed, telepathy, & invisibility, so I could know everything and always be everywhere *insert chuckle*.
- A: If you could switch jobs with anyone in the company for a day, who would it be and why?
- T: I’d switch roles with our Data Scientist, Filipe Manso. Because his role is the most closely related area of expertise to my current role.
- A: What was the best advice you were ever given throughout your career, who gave it to you, and how did it impact you?
- T: My supervisor/mentor, Hernani Cerqueira, because he’s deeply knowledgeable in his field of ability. He has an awesome end-to-end product vision and his coding abilities are excellent (#bossofcoding). He’s truly an inspiration - I learn from him daily and aspire to be like him.
- A: What do you think sets our company apart from others in the industry?
- T: Our company is completely unique when it comes to our culture! Our employee recognition program is off the charts. It really keeps us all motivated, positive, and working towards a common goal. We also have an elevated level of team trust, which gives us a lot of freedom, flexibility, and autonomy to work in our own way. A final aspect that sets us apart is our flat organizational structure, instead of a traditional hierarchy, which promotes a culture of equality, where every employee is valued and respected regardless of their position or responsibilities. This translates to a natural advantage of mutual respect and compassion among our team, and ultimately drives our shared success. Like we say in Portugal - “Estamos todos no mesmo barco” - meaning “we are all in the same boat!”
