Finding, hiring, and onboarding new talent has become a new challenge as talent has literally left the building due to COVID-19. The search for talent has now expanded to a much larger playing field with people moving between cities – or in the case of our newest BitBaker – moving to a new country. Talent can truly come from anywhere and is worth searching beyond borders for a great connection.
Our newest BitBaker, Andre Diniz comes from São Paulo, Brazil and connected with the BitBakery team through a good friend who had also moved to Kitchener. It was during a visit to Kitchener that Diniz got connected with BitBakery and our CEO, Wes Worsfold.
Fast forward to November 2020 and Diniz made the move to Canada, just in time for winter. “I’ve always wanted to go abroad, said Diniz. “Canada has always been number one on the list.” From the adjustment to colder weather to the search for a place to order his favourite baked goods – Brazilian cream doughnuts – online, the transition has been fairly smooth.
Growing up in a military family meant Diniz was used to moving. His family moved every two years until Diniz settled in São Paulo for university. With a natural love for math and physics, Diniz always knew he was going to pursue engineering. In his second year, he discovered the right fit for his career goals through trial and error.
“In Brazil, we study general engineering to get exposure to a variety of subjects in our first year of university before choosing a specialization,” said Diniz. “I love using logic to solve problems, and I love design, so my experience with programming in my first year was very influential.” Diniz then landed a co-op in computer engineering and has been programming ever since.
In past roles, Diniz has worked on large projects that, while they made big impacts, the projects would span several years and often get repetitive. What drew Diniz to BitBakery was the varied nature of work and the vast opportunity to constantly improve his skills through new projects and challenges.
“What I love most about software development is learning new things and solving new problems,” said Diniz. “At BitBakery, I get to work on a huge variety of projects where I’m learning more than ever. This keeps me motivated and excited for the next project.”
When not programming, you can find Diniz solving problems in the gaming world, breaking in his PS5 and Nintendo Switch with games like action role-playing game Persona 5 Strikers or nostalgic social simulation game, Animal Crossing. Diniz looks forward to warmer weather so he can engage with Canadian culture in addition to local culture as the city hopefully begins to come to life in the spring.
The lesson learned? As we look to the future, we’re open to unleash these new ways of working for the long-term, with a focus on well-being, equality, and productivity that can work for both employers and employees to embrace the truly global talent pool that is available to drive growth, regardless of where people call home.
