The first job offer from Armenia arrived at the end of August or in September 2018. At that time, I was looking for work, but the offer did not impress me. The HR agency's website had no information about the country, but the company (Vineti) had already caught my interest back then. Later, a key role was played by , which described Armenia very well and in detail.
In January-February 2019, I developed a clear desire to leave, either for some remote work outside the Russian market or to relocate. I wrote to all the recruiters who had recently made me offers. In fact, I was almost indifferent about where to go. To any sufficiently interesting place. The Russian economy and the current course of the authorities do not give me confidence in the future. It seems to me that business feels this too, and even many good companies act according to a strategy of 'just grabbing what they can now,' which contradicts long-term planning and does not lay down investments for the future. After all, it is precisely when the focus is on the future that truly interesting engineering challenges arise, rather than routine engineering work. This is the impression I formed based on my work experience. Maybe I was just unlucky. In the end, it was decided that I should try to leave, and the likelihood of getting something different would be higher. I now see that my company has a focus on the future, and this is felt in its business behavior.
It is worth mentioning that everything went very quickly. From the moment I contacted the recruiter to receiving the offer, about three weeks passed. Meanwhile, I received a message from a Canadian company. By the time they were trying to get their act together, I already had an offer. And this is pleasant because the process often takes excessively long, as if everyone has a safety net for several months and a desire to spend it.
I was also intrigued by what the company does. Vineti develops software that helps deliver personalized cancer medications and other serious illnesses quickly. It is really important for me what product I am working on, what I am bringing into the world. If you are helping people treat cancer, it's nice to realize that. With this thought, it is more pleasant to go to work and easier to endure negative moments, which will inevitably happen.
The selection process at the company
The company has an interesting three-stage interview structure.
First Stage — this is a technical interview conducted in the form of pair programming remotely. Along with one of the developers from Vineti, you will work on a task. It's not just a method disconnected from the realities of the company; pair programming takes up a significant part of the time. So, in the first stage, you somewhat get to know how things will be on the inside.
Second stage — this is something like pair design. There is a task, and you need to design a data model. You are given business requirements, and you design the data model accordingly. Then new business requirements are provided, and you need to evolve the model to support them. While the first stage simulates an engineer-engineer relationship, the second simulates an engineer-client relationship. You go through all this with those you will eventually be working with.
The third stage — is the cultural fit. Seven people sit in front of you, and you just chat about various topics that may not directly relate to work, to understand if you can coexist as individuals. Cultural fit is not about strictly defined questions. I later saw a few similar interviews from the company, and they differed by about 70% from mine.
All interviews were conducted in English. This is the primary working language: all meetings and correspondence occur in English. Russian and Armenian are used approximately equally, depending on the mutual comfort of the interviewees. In Yerevan itself, 95% of people speak at least one language — either Russian or English.
Migration
I set aside a week before the move to gather my thoughts. I moved in a week before starting work. This week was to realize where I had landed, where to buy things, and so on. Also, to wrap up all bureaucratic matters.
Housing
The HR team greatly assisted me in finding housing. While you search, the company provides accommodation for a month, which is enough to find an apartment that suits your taste.
In terms of apartments, the selection is vast. Given the salaries of programmers, it may even be easier to find something interesting here than in Moscow. I had a plan — to pay the same amount but live in much better conditions. It's rare to find an apartment here that costs more than $600 a month when considering no more than three-room apartments in the central area. More often, interesting layouts are available. For instance, in Moscow, I never saw two-level apartments in the price range I can afford.
It's easy to find something in the city center, within walking distance from work. In Moscow, finding an apartment close to work is quite expensive. Here, it's within reach. Especially on a programmer's salary, which may be slightly lower than in Moscow, but due to the overall affordability, you will still have more left over.
Documents
Everything is relatively quick and straightforward.
- You need to apply for a social card, for which only your passport and one day are required.
- It took about a week to process a bank card (three working days plus it fell on a weekend). Keep in mind that banks close fairly early. This applies to any relocation; you have to get used to new working hours. In Moscow, I was used to the fact that almost all institutions were still open after work; here, it's not the case.
- SIM card — 15 minutes.
- I signed the contract at work before the first working day. There were no special requirements; only the social card was needed to conclude the contract.
Setup in the company.
The process depends on the company, not the country. At Vineti, the onboarding process is formalized. You arrive and immediately have an expectation sync: what you need to master in the first month, what goals to achieve in the first three. If you intuitively don't know what to do, you can always refer to these goals and approach your work mindfully. After about a month and a half, I completely forgot about the expectation sync; I just did what I felt was right, and nevertheless, I acted in accordance with it. The expectation sync does not contradict what you will be doing in the company; it is quite reasonable. Even if you are unaware of it, you will accomplish about 80% automatically.
The technical setup plan is clearly structured. There are instructions on how to configure your machine so that all the necessary services run smoothly. In previous jobs, I haven't encountered this kind of support. Onboarding in companies often consisted of direct instructions from a manager or team colleague, which was never well formalized, but here it's done very well. This is one of those moments when I feel that the business inspires trust.
Everyday Details
- I've never used local public transportation. Here, a taxi costs the same as a minibus in Moscow.
- Sometimes it’s easy to create the illusion that you’re speaking Armenian. I get into a taxi, and the driver doesn't even realize I don't understand. You get in, say barev dzes [Hello], then he says some Armenian words and the name of your street, you respond with ayo [Yes]. At the end, you say merci [thank you], and that's it.
- Armenians are often not very punctual, but thankfully this doesn't affect the workplace. It's a self-balancing system. Even though many people are late, everything runs smoothly anyway. If you relax, everything will be fine. However, when planning your time, it's worth taking this local quirk into account.
Source: habr.com
