I am about to complete 5 years at Pipedrive and I can’t help but feeling a bit nostalgic, although excited for what comes next. When I ask myself what I learned during these past 5 years, the first answer that occurs to me is “everything”, but that wouldn’t be interesting for an article, would it? Don’t worry, I will try to be more specific than that.
After the economic crisis of 2008, the job market in Portugal deteriorated even more. For those applying for jobs after that, like me, we got used to awful job offers, if we were lucky enough to have offers. Everytime I opened a job post, the list of requirements was so big that I was already excluded before even applying. But I applied to hundreds and hundreds of them. We all did that. We lowered our standards to a point where all we wanted was to have something paid, even if poorly, to be able to say to ourselves “you’re trying”, “everyone is in the same situation”, “we have to do what we have to do”.
Before joining Pipedrive I worked for a consultancy firm and I was paid the minimum wage with a 4 months contract. After the contract ended, I was presented with an amazing offer impossible to refuse: “We’re very happy with your work and, out of the 10 people that started 4 months ago, we are only going to keep 5 and you are one of them.”. Of course the wage would be the same and the expectations higher. I refused.
Most of the people in that project had two jobs to be able to pay the bills. They were unhappy with what they were doing, some even depressed. The quality of what they did was also really low and, when I looked at our direct report, I was always thinking of how bad I would feel if I was leading that team. But again, I bet she was also fighting to survive like everyone else. Once a week, there was a company delivering baskets of fruit on our floor. Employees would run to the kitchen to be able to get some of the fruits and they would save them to give to their kids at home. People would fight over fruit, which was overwhelmingly shocking for me. How can this happen? How can people work 8 hours a day and live a miserable life like this? And how is this considered normal?
That job showed me everything that was wrong and, trust me, I’ll make sure I will never forget it. When Pipedrive appeared for me, it was a breath of fresh air and the opposite experience. It showed me everything that was right.
Pipedrive completely changed my perspective and helped me shape what I am today as an employee, as a person and as a leader. I felt valued from the moment I had contact with the recruiters and especially when I started, which was something that I never felt before professionally. I was not fighting to survive anymore. I was an asset and I was seen as one.
I remember that, during my recruitment process, it was very hard for me to answer the question “how do you see yourself in 5 years?”. How could I answer that? After years of crappy and temporary jobs, was I allowed to have expectations? Was it worth it for me to have them? I looked at the recruiter and answered honestly: “I don’t really think of the path that I want to follow, I just want to be happy following it”. Never have I thought that this would be the perfect place to do just that.
After 5 years of working at Pipedrive I learned how important it is to promote an environment where people value, respect and feed from each other. And it all starts with recruiting the right people and by “right” I mean people that are completely aligned with the values we want to promote. I learned that people need to be compensated fairly and competitively and that a work relationship absolutely needs to be a commitment from both ends. I learned that you get nowhere if you don’t have amazing colleagues to rely on. And I learned that it is such a good feeling to let yourself be inspired by those who surround you. I learned to be an agent of change and to embrace failure as a growth opportunity. I learned that with passion, anything is possible. And I learned to be valued and value others.
I learned a lot more, but I am afraid I would bother you with pages and pages. No one reads this much online anyways and I am lucky if you’ve made it this far. I just want to end by thanking everyone who crossed paths with me during these past 5 years. You were my main motivation to keep going and growing. And today, I can answer back to the recruiter with full confidence: I am definitely where I wanted to be 5 years ago. I am happy and I am so grateful.
André Vidal 