Konstantin, what made you want to apply for your position at craftworks?

Philipp made me want to apply. I know him from university and we were still meeting after we both finished uni. We often chatted about work stuff and he told me many nice things about craftworks. He then told me of an open position. Now I'm here.

Mateo, what did you do before craftworks?

I did many things - mostly project management though. Last I worked in a company in the payment sector focused on production. After some time I was approached by Daniela who showed me that the project management style here is completely different - and now I’m here as well.

Konstantin, can you tell me what your position at craftworks is and what you are working on right now?

I'm a front-end engineer. Currently I'm working on a cost engineering software primarily targeted at the automotive industry.

Mateo, could you tell us more about your position at craftworks and what you enjoy the most?

So my position is that of a project manager who is responsible for the overall organization, planning, internal and external resources and time. I enjoy that the management style here is so quick and agile, and that the overview over the project-related tasks and efforts is pretty clear.

Konstantin, what difference do you notice compared to your previous employment?

The biggest difference is the type of product I develop. In my previous employment I built simple content websites. Now I develop applications where users can actually do something useful which is much more satisfying for me.

Mateo, what led you to this career and did your expectations about craftworks come true?

I used to work in this industry before and I always liked how resourceful and solution oriented everyone was. I got into the process of applying and I liked the way craftworks works, because of the open communication style and how people interact with each other here, which is completely non-traditional and super nice.

Konstantin, what in your work do you enjoy the most?

Developing simple solutions for complex problems. I also really enjoy when I have the opportunity to fix something, make it better and learn something in the process.

Mateo, what energizes you at work?

People.

Konstantin, what advice would you give someone who’s just starting out in your field?

Be open to learning new stuff. Also regularly scrutinize your own work and think about how to improve.

Mateo, what behavior or personality trait do you most attribute your success to, and why?

Reliability. This should be a typical trait for every project manager. I think that it inspires confidence in people you work with, because they can count on you - and you then can also count on them.

Konstantin, how do you keep developing your professional skills?

I try to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself every now and then. Continuous learning is also very important.

Mateo, apart from work, how do you spend your free time?

I like nature. I like playing with new things and, since I get bored really quickly, I try a lot of things (last thing I tried was f.e. paper craft).

Konstantin, how do you prefer to start your day?

With a nice big breakfast.

Mateo, what's the best advice you were ever given?

Don’t say no to new things.

Konstantin, could you tell us more about yourself? For example: what are your hobbies and where do you like to spend your time most?

I really like to do Judo. I have been doing it for more than 20 years now. I also like to go hiking. Besides that, I like physical training in general, playing the guitar and having a nice session of board games with friends.

Mateo, what’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

I’m afraid of heights but I wanted to be a pilot for a long time.

Konstantin, which music is playing on your player right now?

I usually don't listen to music when I work. Currently I like drum and bass.

Mateo, which music is playing on your player right now?

Vulfpeck - It gets funkier

Only 3 short questions left:

Tell me one place you always wanted to travel to?

Konstantin: Petra, the archeological site in Jordan.

Mateo: New Zealand.

What's your favorite meal?

Konstantin: I really like food in general. So I would go for pizza because it is so versatile and almost always satisfies.

Mateo: Linzer Stangerl

Coffee or tea?

Konstantin: Tea, although I very much like the smell of coffee I really dislike the taste.

Mateo: Tea, I hate coffee but like the smell.

Thank you, Konstantin and Mateo!

Thank you for reading our interviews!