Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am an Account Manager at XWiki, working mainly with international clients (USA, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, India, Spain, and many others) and I have been here for almost three years. I help our users understand and configure XWiki based on their needs and, if it's the case, the clients and I draft custom projects together and I manage the successful delivery of their knowledge management systems.
As for myself, I am mainly passionate about technology, psychology, and music, but I easily become fascinated with diverse topics and spend hours and hours researching on them. I enjoy skiing and snowboarding in the winter, cycling and swimming in the summer, reading on the weekends, and volunteering as often as I can.
- Favorite artist: I don't have a favorite artist. I find beauty, skill, talent, and distinctive touches in all the artists that I follow.
- Best book ever read: Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
- Dream destination: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
- Quote you live by: Listen truly; don't just wait for your turn to speak.
- At the office or remote? At the office
The journey to XWiki
What were you doing before XWiki? Did you change careers when joining our team?
I have a rather mixed background, as my work experience contains (basic) web development, marketing, psychology, and sociology research, project management, and administration. My previous job right before XWiki was administrator and Project Manager at a local IT Hub, so I would say that I have partially changed my career, but the core Project Management side stayed.
What is it like to be working in the Account Management team at XWiki? What was your career evolution like?
Diverse and exciting. The activities that we have to do are various and we often work together with other teams such as support, cloud, marketing, and product. During a day, I usually catch up on emails, follow up on the potential clients that I am discussing with, identify new leads and get in touch them, have calls with XWiki users interested in contracting professional services, help people configure their instances, work on proof of concepts or custom offers and manage the ongoing projects that I have. From time to time, I would help with more technical tasks such as migrations, assist the support team on bugs reported by the clients that I manage, improve Client Team and Sales procedures, contribute with blog articles, and manage internal projects.
Ștefana with current and former XWikiers at the company's 15th anniversary (2019).
Open Source impressions
Was Open Source something you had an interest in before XWiki?
I knew about the Open Source concept and I used some resources in the past, but I feel like I did not really understand its true value before joining XWiki. I was passionate about communities, knowledge sharing, and collaboration, so I instantly clicked with the Open Source model. While being at XWiki I understood the true value of Open Source and I have been actively trying to promote it for a few years now.
What's the Open Source value you identify with the most?
Collaboration - sharing and working together for the common good.
Being an XWikier for 3 years and counting
What has kept you at XWiki so far?
Three things come to mind: the people, the values, and the flexibility of our roles. I had the opportunity to try out everything that I was interested in and I reached a point where I feel confident, but still challenged in my role.
With the team, after visiting one of the clients that she manages.
If you ever wished for a job change, what made you decide to stay?
I did change jobs...but stayed at XWiki. I started working here as a Project Manager and I have transitioned to Account Management in the meantime. I had the opportunity to test plenty of roles and assume the responsibilities that I believed fit me best. Therefore, I could say that I never really considered leaving XWiki so far, as I found everything that I needed and more right here.
What were the most important or drastic ways in which XWiki changed during the years you've been around?
XWiki has become more decentralized in the past few years. To me, this is an important improvement, as it allows for more autonomy on individuals and small teams, better motivation and engagement, and more efficient decision-making.
Lessons learned
What would you say is the most valuable lesson you learned during your time at XWiki?
As cliché as it sounds, that it is ok to fail (and learn). I was very reluctant towards sales especially as I thought that I did not have all the necessary skills or knowledge. After shredding this fear and actually starting to work on this domain, I got to enjoy every second of the process.
The XWiki experience
If you could describe XWiki in one word, what would it be?
Transparent.
What is your favorite memory of the years as part of XWiki?
The late nights at the seminar, talking and singing.
At the seminar, enjoying the scenery with colleagues.
