It has been a bit over 6 months since I joined Hokodo and the journey, including the onboarding process, has been amazing. With that in mind, allow me to showcase an assembled image of what a more recent day could look like for a Data Analyst in Vilnius.
Today is Wednesday and I’m working from home. The time saved on avoiding the morning commute is always appreciated and I use it to get some extra rest. This is made possible by the flexibility given by working from home 3 days a week. I work in the smallest of Hokodo’s offices (5 people strong) so we agreed to only come in when someone else is planning to come in as well. After all, the whole point is to spend more time with our colleagues face-to-face. Our hours are flexible, but for myself sticking to a 9:00 to 18:00 schedule makes it easier to set up calls, reach out to colleagues and participate in the general goings on.
I enjoy my coffee while getting ready for the day: checking up on upcoming meetings, going through Hokodo’s Slack channel and our GitLab page. Yesterday, I was making good progress on the changes to our data model and decided to push it over the finish line and submit a merge request (MR). Someone from the team has approved it the day before, meaning the work can continue. To keep the good karma flowing, I choose the earliest non-reviewed MR and review it. Currently, I’m working on a project for the Finance department - to create a tool that will allow us to break down the main numbers from the accounting platform to provide better visibility during audits. A few days ago we had a meeting about what the tool could look like and a Looker dashboard made the most sense. This is just one party to which our Data Analytics team lends a helping hand. Others I had the privilege of assisting so far include the AML, Compliance, Collections, Payment Operations, and Risk teams. It will be another 1.5 hours before my colleagues from the other sites come online, so I use that time to put together an initial version of the dashboard.
It is 11:15am and the team’s daily stand up is about to start. During it we discuss the work done yesterday, what we are planning to do today and a more general catch up about what is happening inside Hokodo. At this point in time we are a team of 5 across the 3 sites: the Head of the Department, two Operations Analysts, one Data Analyst and one Analytics Engineer. We share the pool of work between us, giving everyone a chance to work on something different and expand our knowledge on topics from data management to process automation. This is something I greatly appreciate as one of my goals is to keep up to date with the ever-evolving data industry. There’s still some time until I’ve decided to have lunch, so I use the opportunity to fill in the feedback for a candidate we interviewed yesterday. We are currently looking for another Data Analyst in either Vilnius or London, as well as two dozen more positions across the three sites.
"As I look ahead to the next 6 months, I’m excited to work on some large scale projects and explore opportunities to work more on the engineering side of data. Hokodo hasn’t disappointed and I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead!"
After lunch I check the data-analytics Slack channel. There is a request to make data from our internal platform available in Looker and since I have done something similar before, I pick it up. Even so, a quick call with the requestor wouldn’t hurt and luckily they have a few minutes for me right now. To quote my colleague: “it is, after all, the first commandment of any data person worth their salt to understand the problem before trying to solve it.” The call doesn't’ go to waste as it turns out there are a few more fields they wish to see in an existing dashboard. The work doesn’t take long and while waiting for a review and enjoying the dopamine that comes with completing a task, I take a break. Looking into one of the fun channels in Slack, there is a heated discussion about whether a scone’s first layer should be cream or jam.
Another hour into the project work and I almost miss the start of our knowledge sharing call with the team. Every two weeks we pick a topic of interest that one of us worked on so everyone else could get a better understanding of the subject at hand. 10 questions deep into the q&a portion and we bid each other a good afternoon. Next is a call with my buddy - we had a newcomer join us in Vilnius a month ago and we are having a call to catch up and see how she is doing. While we work in different departments, I do my best to provide support wherever I can. The call ends with a plan to have lunch in person tomorrow.
The day is coming to an end and I decide to use the last half an hour to book a flight and accommodations. Our bi-annual company offsite is coming up soon and me and my Vilnius colleagues will be travelling to the main office for it. Last time I was in London it was for my mid-year review during which we discussed my progress and solidified my personal development plan for the upcoming period. In the evening, the site went out for some beer and darts as we tend to do every month to Hoko-connect (ba dum tss!).
As I look ahead to the next 6 months, I’m excited to work on some large scale projects and explore opportunities to work more on the engineering side of data. Hokodo hasn’t disappointed and I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead!
Want to join Darja in Hokodo's Vilnius team? Check out our latest roles in Lithuania.
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