Our Meet the Hiring Manager series allows you to get to know the people who grow teams at VMware. You’ll learn about our hiring managers’ career paths and what they look for in candidates during the interview process. This week we’d like you to meet Rusi Rusev.
- Job title: Manager WWCoE NEMEA
- First job: My first “paying” job was to work as a crew member on a sailing yacht. I was 19-year-old, I have just completed the skipper course, and I was excited to apply what I learned immediately in real life. I will never forget the first sea storm in the first week that took us 3 hours to sail back to the harbor. Everybody was pretty scared. This day I learned that courses are very important but cannot prepare you for real life.
- Fun fact: I am a fan of the rally championship and as a student was taking part in the timekeeping of Rally Bulgaria as part of WRC, so my role was to be a mobile repeater spot for the small radio network around the mountain track. To move to the planned spot, I was driving the road that was already blocked for other vehicles, so it was super fun to move around clean mountain roads knowing you are the only car on that road.
- Favourite social distancing activity: During those times of social distancing to keep the contact with my friends, we started to have video dinners, which actually turned out as bringing a lot of fun.
Tell us about your career journey to date?
I started my career more than 10 years ago and since then I have mainly worked in enterprise companies. Most of my experience is hands-on in development and integration in the Telco domain, in online charging platforms and network automation. A few years ago, I decided that I can do more than this, and I started to manage a team as an Engineering Manager.
For me, it’s exciting to have the opportunity to help individuals to grow in their career path and to see the motivation of the smart people around me.
How is VMware different from any other tech company you have worked for in the past?
The culture is something that makes a big impression once you join VMware – the spirit of open communication and empowerment of the people to make decisions, to innovate, and experiment while solving complex problems.
The business development is accessible to everyone with the feeling of ownership to the customer’s needs. The impact people are making on the world while working for VMware is the third pillar that I recognize as a big difference compared to the other companies.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
I have a big family. Every morning I wake up first for an early walk with my two dogs (dachshunds Marta & Brayda). But of course, the real driver is that this is going to be one more brilliant day in which I will meet with smart people and most probably something new will be invented that will have the potential to change the world we know. In the last 20 years, we are witnessing a huge change in our way of living and doing things just because somebody had a great idea and was empowered to make it happen.
What has been the biggest lesson you have learned as you moved upwards in your career?
I don’t take anything for granted. Everyone is holding their own career in their own hands and people around them can only help to develop more skills and take more responsibilities. This is the mindset that asking for feedback turns to be the most constructive navigation career tool.
What makes the team you lead so effective?
The best team is diverse, constructed by different people that are thinking in different ways and can work together to generate ideas that would not exist otherwise.
People in my team are world-class in software development. They are not only using best practices and standards but also creating them.
They fit very well together, and motivation is to be the best of the best.
We have also a mentorship program in which every newcomer is having a mentor and we have the idea of lifetime mentorship even after the onboarding period to have a special relationship with that person and to have a point of contact for career and professional development related topics.
If someone reading this was coming to interview with you tomorrow what interview tips would you give them?
A job interview often starts with a question about your previous job. My advice to candidates is to prepare for this part. Talk about the problems you had to solve and how you approached difficult situations and environments. Our business is demanding and every hiring manager wants to have solid people who can deal with challenges.
Rusi’s team is looking for a Lead Cloud Automation Developer/Team Lead – Opportunity for Working Remotely. Read bout the job opportunity here.
