Tech Candidate Spotlight – Stefan-Daniel Petcu, Vice President Lead Software Engineer

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Start by telling us about your educational background!

I went to the Polytechnic University of Bucharest where I studied Automatic Control and Computer Science. Having that Bachelor’s degree when I entered the job market 10+ years ago really helped me get shortlisted as a candidate.

What has made the biggest impact on your tech career?

Almost all that I’ve learned since starting my first job has been through practicing my profession and learning from my colleagues, going to conferences, reading books, and watching free videos online. I recommend people set time away to research highly rated books, interesting videos, etc. Aim for things that you can immediately apply in your work. Sometimes you’ll learn about stuff you didn’t even know you were missing out on.

What would you like to learn more about?

I’ve worked as a tech lead for about two and a half years now and I’m excited to continue improving, and then see what’s next. Aside from that, I’m passionate about making the value delivery loop faster – everything from an idea to a live product that can be evaluated and iterated on.

What led you to pursue a career in tech?

I started studying programming in middle school. I used to hate it. It might have been because we started with C and C++. Those are not the easiest languages for a newbie. My brother led me to pursue a tech career. He inspired me to start building websites in PHP and around my last year of high school/first year of university, I realized I enjoy programming in a more beginner-friendly language.

How has your skill set evolved throughout your career?

I spent the first few years of my career as a full stack PHP developer and moved deeper into the backend stack later on. After I moved to London, I got the opportunity (through Hired) to start working as a Senior Consultant at a leading global technology consultancy. I jumped at that opportunity because the company was technology-agnostic and I was eager to develop my skill set beyond PHP. From there, I started working cross-functionally with Java, JavaScript, IAC, and DB technologies. I also improved my Agile development and communication skills.

What did you choose to specialize in and why?

I prefer to have a holistic view of a product, domain, or business. The larger picture is more interesting to me. I like understanding how different bits and pieces integrate with or affect each other.

Is your new role different from previous ones?

I’ll work in the same role as before (tech lead). I’m staying in finance but moving from an open banking start-up to one of the oldest traditional banks. I think some things might change.

What are you most excited about in your new role?

I’m excited about working from the office for part of the week. Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not looking forward to the crowded commute! However, I am really looking forward to getting face-to-face time with my team and having a clearer separation between work and personal time.

What was your job search experience like before you joined Hired?

I joined Hired almost six years ago. I loved the platform from the beginning because the candidate experience is far more curated than what I was used to on other platforms at the time. First off, you have the opportunity to speak directly to recruiters from the companies reaching out to you. I prefer that over having to go through headhunters.

Hired Candidate Experience Managers will also reach out to provide help and support. Interviews progress at a more predictable rate on Hired compared to other platforms. Plus, you’ll know what the outcome of your interview is – no more being left in the dark halfway through the interview process. All in all, my conversion rate (if you will) with Hired is on a different level.

What’s your best advice for jobseekers on Hired?

Follow the tips and advice their website offers. Talk to the Candidate Experience Managers and see how they can help. Some tips from me are to respond to recruiters quickly and pause your profile promotion if you are getting flooded with interview requests.

What would you tell someone curious about Hired?

To try it out! I’ve already recommended Hired to all of my friends in tech. Hired has an official way to refer people too. Guess I’ll start finding more friends!

Any general advice for other tech professionals?

Always allocate some of your personal time to learning things, staying up-to-date with tech, and developing your skills in ways that you can easily showcase. Invest time and effort into writing an eye-catching, clear, and concise CV/resume. Keep up with market trends and what compensation you’ll accept for the value you provide. Don’t let more than two years pass without evaluating your salary against the market.

About JPMorgan

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leader in investment banking, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. Founded in 1858, JPMorgan has 5000+ employees and is headquartered in New York.

Benefits

401K plan/matching, stock options, health/dental/vision/life/disability insurance, paid time off, flexible working hours, tuition reimbursement, management training, mentorship opportunities, and more.

Tech Stack

JavaScript, Java, Python, MongoDB, Cassandra, Kafka, Hadoop, NoSQL, Access, Microsoft SQL Server, ASP.NET, Spark, C#, jQuery, Splunk, Cloud Foundry, MySQL, Ember.js, Spring, C++, Scala, React, Promtheus, Azure, DB2, Oracle, TensorFlow, SQL, Grafana, Kubernetes, MariaDB, AngularJS, Node.JS, .NET, Swift, Dynatrace, AWS, DevOps, Big Data, Mobile, Natural Language Processing (NLP)