Career in IT in Russia

Recently in Novosibirsk there was a seminar, I really found thoughtful. The seminar was devoted to different choices in IT career in Russia. Leading specialists in IT sectors shared their visions on types of IT companies in Russia, and the most important personal characteristics, all IT companies are looking for in future employees.

Below there is analysis of different types of IT companies and their most common features, as they are seen by one of the seminar’s author, Alexander Orlov. Of course, every IT company has its own unique features, and the below table shows only general trends with exceptions possible. But due to this expert’s judgement, I believe, many young people will be better oriented in Russian IT world, and will find a desired job, relevant to their natures. And I hope this article will be useful for foreign companies, working with Russian partners or contractors, to clearly understand specific features of the last ones.

Types of IT companies in Russia

All IT companies where specialist might find relevant job, were analyzed with “TOP” career development model, where “talent” means factors influencing employee’s skills development, “passion” – desire to work, and “organization” – potential for career growth.

Results are presented at the table

I tried to analyze my company according to TOP model approach. Here are the results:

Fortess

Talent internal and external professional trainings, foreign language courses many clever colleagues, tutorship system established management and development processes clear understanding how money can be earned or wasted Organization technical and career growth competitive salary, often with bonuses system  Passion various technical challenges cutting-edge technologies not stacked to one project for ages support tasks possible

When recruiting people, I always say that Fortess is a stable IT company, and at the seminar I was pleased to hear external proof to my words, as according to Alexandr Orlov, Fortess is in “Offshore development companies (stable)” category. It has its pluses and possibly minuses. But what makes me happy, as a person involved into HR process, is one fact, presented by Alexandr. According to his analysis, in offshore companies (stable), unlike other types of companies, “with time passion towards work doesn’t decrease”, meaning that for most Russian people offshore IT companies will be the best choice of workplace.

Personal characteristics, Russian employers pay attention to

According to statistics, gathered by the author of the seminar, the most asked-for personal characteristics are as follows:

• Result orientation
• Ability to work on the final goal, not ones’ personal tasks only
• Communication skills:  oral and written, public speeches; English is the “must” for most IT companies
• Constant self-development

From my experience, these characteristics are very important for company. In Fortess, for example, we have a published list of values we want to see in our current and future employees. This list includes:

• Responsibility
• Initiative
• Ability to work without constant monitoring, result orientation
• Wiliness for professional growth
• Positive way of thinking
• Ability to work in team, team spirit
• Communication skills

Practice shows that these characteristics have the same or even higher importance, then technical skills. And with brilliant team, which combines both technical skills and personal values desired, we can handle everything

And what does your company look like?