My journeys: Starting at Superdot

This post will be in English, because my Serbian friends and colleagues will be eager to read it without trashy Google translation :).

As you know, I went on professional AIESEC internship to Serbia for 3 months to work and gain experience in marketing sphere. I was asked a lot of times “Why Serbia?” and my answer always used to be “Because I liked the company and the job description”. And it turned out, that I’ve definitely got the point when decided to come here.

My first day in Superdot was my very first work day actually). It was only AIESEC where I used to work sometimes the whole day, but in the company for sure it’s pretty different and serious).

Peter and I managed to break through all the traffic jams in Belgrade, which is actually a great problem of this city. It would be just perfect to have a subway here, but as I was told, for now it is only being talked about and promised.

My home isn’t so far from my job comparatively, but the way itself is long and a bit complicated. If I’ll go by bus and by tram, it would take 1,5 hour, as we’ll get desperately stuck in the line in front of the bridge. So happened to Peter and me, so another day I took an advice to go by bus for 15-20 min, than take a tram for 1 stop to the railway station and there take a train for 2 another stops, which goes directly to the New Belgrade, where my office is located. 10 minutes by feet and finally the mission accomplished!) By the way, the second variant saved me 40 minutes!)

But now I’ve got pretty well accustomed to the capital traffic and learned to enjoy my time in public transport (mainly in train, where the possibility to take a free sit is much higher) with learning and repeating new previously written out English words. The company has given me a special card for public transportations, so the road got much easier)).

Despite the way, when I entered Superdot office at the first day, the weather was really great as if promising a nice start, which actually came true).

I was impressed by the shine, brightness and the atmosphere of fun and happiness that even the air was imbued with. People in Superdot are young, cheerful and smart. I really liked naturally informal and really friendly relationships between guys. That helps a lot to work with pleasure and passion and at the same time stay relaxed and calm. I’m the youngest at the office, and the oldest is our account manager, who’s only 41. Everyone speaks English well, so it’s easy for me to communicate. Serbian language is not much difficult than, for example, Polish to understand, but I can hardly speak :)). Although it has benefits: my brain perceives an office chit-chat something as a background noise and thus I can concentrate on my work.

Figuratively our office, which occupies a small single-stage house, is divided into 2 parts: creation and implementation, theory and practice, agency and producing, “girl-part” and “boy-part”, please underline). The point is, that on the left from the entrance there is a room with designers, account managers, finance, IT and marketing staff and a chief’s cabinet. Here new products are being negotiated, discussed, designed and garnished.
On the right, passing by a tiny kitchen, you see a huge building, where the posters, banners, backboards and other prints, are being produced on large printers. By the way, Superdot possesses the only Durst printer of its kind in the whole South-Eastern Europe.

And also people love this right part, because there are such games as pinball ans table football :).

I noticed that the company really cares about convenient working conditions for its employees. Here we have everything needed for a comfortable and efficient work, including 3 enormous Macs, intended to enable joy and speed of the designers’ art, which I liked the most:)).

My work for now is connected now with Superdot’s new product, called Moo-shema. You might have seen some hints and mentions on My Facebook or Twitter. Superdot wants to put it into wide market of consumers, as it’s really cool and already popular among company’s friends. So, mostly that’s what I’m going to work on now and probably on something else as well a bit later.

What I also want to mention about Superdot is its own unique inner culture, full of old inside jokes that can make all the office to burst into laugh (I still can hardly understand the subtext or the language, so I’m learning all the time:)). Hanging out together outside at the end of working day, often having a snack together in the office (because there’s now any canteen or café nearby), feeding 3 local dogs, who has got names of 3 workmen, hugging each other when wanted – these are habitual and ordinary things for Superdot people. Our chief Ugljesa likes to say, that here in Superdot people like making fun and simultaneously doing a serious business.

And finally)…

I will remember my first day here for a long, at least because of the fact, that I’ve experienced riding a real motorbike for the first time in my life! This happened when Neshke, one guy “from the right part” brought me to the city, as a company charged him to buy a one-month-public-transport-ticket for me. The feeling of riding so fast and unhindered was so amazing, that I’ve completely lost any fear! Though it is really windy and, as I can guess, pretty cold at the late autumn, but I liked it much. An old teen dream has finally come true:)!

Resume:
When I’m asked about my internship at the company and why I like it, I tell that I don’t like, but love it :). And mostly that’s thanks to all people around me and the cool opportunity to learn, to grow and to make something serious and needed.

Some photos from office everyday life: