New member of the team: Thomas May, Senior Software Engineer

1. How did you end up at DPM?

I’ve worked at digital agencies ever since I started my professional career. I really like that I have the chance to work for different clients and projects, to experience new technologies and approaches, work with varied teams and learn from each other. That’s something I consider especially important when working as a Software Engineer with web technologies because the environment is still evolving very fast. So changing projects from time to time helps me to keep track and try different things to solve real-life problems.

So it was no wonder that I kept looking around in the agency environment when I was searching for a new job. I finally became aware of DPM because it was recommended to me by some other colleagues working here who I already knew from a previous company.

2. What was your career plan after school and have you stayed true to it?

Definitely not. When I was a child I always wanted to become a chef. But besides cooking for lots of people on holiday camps I never took a professional step in that direction. After school I started vocational training as a Media Clerk at a newspaper publisher and subsequently started a job as Content- and Campaign Manager at a small connected agency. Actually, this was the first time I puzzled around with code in a professional environment, but it turned out that it’s challenging and fun at the same time to me. Therefore I started studying Media Informatics next to the job, switched to another tech agency after a while, and found my home in that area.

3. Can you tell us a little bit about your first months of working at DPM?

Since I started in August last year it was a real roller coaster ride. After a super relaxed onboarding phase, I was dropped into my first project: building a web-based application for a small startup in the middle of an MVP phase. As we reached a certain milestone I had a little space the following weeks and took the time to help out on other projects here and there..until the final phase of the MVP project started. To get it done in time, there was not much time for side topics, but in the end, we managed to do it.

It became calmer again and I took the time to further develop some internal topics. With a strong focus on Frontend technologies, I’d like to standardize the used tech stack at DPM a bit more and explore other opportunities to extend it. Last but not least I’m supporting several sales and architectural tasks and looking forward to the next project I can start to prove my recent research.

4. How do you balance work with your personal life?

To me the question is not that much about balancing, but rather how to combine my work life with my personal life: I not only consider work as an activity to get paid for but also really like what I’m doing. That’s why I also prefer working in an office over working from home, meeting my colleagues in person, and going for one or the other after-work activity.

Besides, I clear my mind with running, hiking, or bouldering, I love cooking (some leftovers from young Thomas’ career plans, I guess) and fiddling around with recipes, exploring Munich by bike, or - of course - bringing myself up to date with the latest tech news.

5. What makes DPM different from other companies?

Everybody who is working here is not just supportive and always has an open ear, but also committed to the company. It really feels like we’re all contributing to the same goals while enjoying working with each other. On the other hand, DPM creates a very comfortable environment and takes care of your personal matters and your professional goals. There is always enough space for education and exchange. Opinions and feedback of recently joined employees are taken seriously on the same level as of the resident ones. The quote “Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business” from Sir Richard Branson describes very well how I experience working here.

6. How would you describe a typical workday at DPM?

Start your day right, grab a coffee or tee and join the Daily. After we’ve synced about the recent to-dos, it’s all about coding, chatting, and committing to getting things done on the project. Oh, it’s already time for a lunch break, but let’s have another match of table tennis before we go back to work. Before we call it a day, let’s do this code review and move the ticket to ‘done’, I’m pretty sure by tomorrow we will have already forgotten half of the stuff. No plans for the evening and want to hang around a bit? - Well, let’s hop over to the fridge and see what’s inside.