Get to know Sisca, a backend developer at Goodnotes! Read on to learn more about Sisca’s experience working at Goodnotes, being a female developer in a male-dominated industry and her advice to women who want to reach their goals in the tech industry!
Hi Sisca! Thank you so much for having a chat with us about what it’s like being a backend developer at Goodnotes! First things first, how did you end up here?
At that time I was contacted by an external recruiter for another job. At the end of the call she said, “Actually, I have another opportunity for you, but don’t put too much hope on this company, as the interview process is quite tough. Not sure if you ever heard of the company, it’s called Goodnotes.” I was like, “Are you kidding me? Goodnotes is the sole reason why I bought an iPad 😱!!!” While the interview process was tough, it was a great chance to meet the team and to get a good idea of the technical challenges I would be facing if I got the job. Luckily I did, and the rest is history! I now work remotely from my home-office in Singapore on the Goodnotes Cloud team.
What made you choose to join Goodnotes when you were looking for a new job?
I had been a Goodnotes user for some time before I joined Goodnotes and as an engineer, I’ve always dreamed of working on a product that I’m particularly fond of. On top of that, upon learning about Goodnotes culture, I felt that it resonated with my personal values on what a workplace should be like. One outstanding example I remember, was reading a blog post on how the company really tries to make the employees happy and focused. Goodnotes cares about little details, such as using silent doorbells, providing noise cancelling headphones, top notch lunches in the office, and many more! I felt that these measures are so pragmatic in boosting productivity and benefit both the company and the employees.
Has Goodnotes been supportive or your personal and professional growth and development?
For sure! We have monthly budget for personal development that we can use to buy books or courses. I use it to buy both technical or even personal growth books! I am very grateful to say that I have met only supportive and encouraging people during my tech career. Every manager, mentor, and teammate that I have encountered played a huge part in my professional development, be it by teaching me good engineering practices, sharing specific tech stack knowledge, and giving me general career development advice.
Did you ever encounter any feelings of insecurity in your professional journey, and how did you overcome them?
Yes. I have often times felt the “impostor syndrome”. At times, it seems to me that everyone else around me is always more of an expert, more reliable, and more knowledgeable. To be honest, I still haven’t fully overcome those feelings, but I am getting closer. In a positive light, my insecurities drive me to become a better engineer, such as motivating me to take a Masters's degree and getting better educated in my domain. At Goodnotes, I feel comfortable communicating this with my peers and manager. They would give me insights on how they overcome those feelings since it is a rather common trend to feel like an impostor among exceptional software engineers. On top of that, in the past, when I talked about my insecurities, I usually also received some positive reassurance that I deserved my position, which was relieving :)
What questions would you recommend women in tech ask when they are interviewing for new jobs?
- Tell me about a female leader in the company
- What support does the company provide for working parents?
Do you have any advice you’d like to share with other women who want to build a career in tech?
Don’t feel intimidated by the fact that the industry is male-dominated. Find support in other women and don’t be afraid to be your authentic self :)
The 2024 International Women’s Day theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. How do you think Goodnotes inspires inclusion in the workplace?
One thing that currently stands out to me is Goodnotes’ inclusivity for working parents and especially working mothers. I am currently expecting my first child. Goodnotes has been very supportive of my coming into motherhood. The company always makes sure that I have adequate support to perform my job while not over exhausting myself in this special period. Goodnotes has a generous parental support with 18 weeks paid parental leaves and having strong culture to support working parents. Also, I love that the leaves also applies for the fathers, which enable fathers to also be the caretakers of their young children!
Which Goodnotes perk is your personal favorite?
I like the home office budget! It’s so over the top I literally deck my home office with cool gadgets and my dream furniture. I haven’t even managed to spend it all. Being a remote employee, working from Singapore, being able to set up a working environment at home that allows me to be productive, creative and inspired, has helped me massively. I also love the remote social budget! It encourages me to get together with the other Singapore based Goodpeople once a cycle for some quality face to face time!
What are some important things anyone considering applying for a job at Goodnotes should know?
The first thing that comes to mind is that GoodPeople are very friendly and welcoming. On my first day, I received a lot of welcome messages in Slack. From my experience so far, the company culture is very healthy. Goodnotes values transparency and open feedback. I have seen people questioning management about their decisions and the management would gladly give an answer. That’s something I’ve rarely seen in other companies. Also, I believe Goodnotes cares a lot about the employees. Some concrete examples are giving top-tier benefits like a learning and wellness budget, home office expenses, and top-notch work equipment!!!
Can you share the proudest moment in your career with us?
Working in Goodnotes has led me to some of the proudest moments in my career. One project that I particularly take pride in was integrating Goodnotes accounts when we launched Goodnotes 6. There are millions of accounts that we are supporting as of now (and the number keeps growing!). The project allowed me to work with multiple other teams and it was also technically challenging. It helped me grow into a better teammate and a better software engineer!