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by Seven Peaks on Jan 7, 2022 11:03:00 AM
A story by Vishal Pawar – Senior .NET Developer at Seven Peaks Software
About Vishal Pawar
Vishal Pawar worked a number of years as a senior backend developer in India. Now, he has seized the career opportunity of working abroad at Seven Peaks Software as Senior .NET Developer in Thailand.
He would like to share his story of how he became part of our team at Seven Peaks Software.
Making a path to Seven Peaks Software
Vishal was looking for a company with an international working environment that encourages learning and broadens his experience in working aboard.
“I was looking for a company with an international culture and environment which encourages the developers to learn, find their interest and add their value to the company.”
He then found Seven Peaks Software from a job post on StackOverflow; looking for .NET developers. Then, he searched for more information about Seven Peaks, and he found many benefits that caught his eye -especially the positive reviews.
“I went to Seven Peaks’ website to study about the company. Then, I found many interesting things, such as the many different nationalities and candidates and Seven Peaks has quite a good culture. Afterwards, I just applied for that job.” – He added
The recruiting process at Seven Peaks Software
Right after Vishal applied for the ‘.NET developer’ position at Seven Peaks Software, he stated that he started the recruiting process via email.
“They gave a 15-day timeline to create a project for Seven Peaks. Then, I studied the requirements, and I created a project. It was a very good start to a project for me.” – He shared
After that, he was shortlisted for the next interview round, where he got to virtually meet the hiring manager of the backend department at Seven Peaks Software.
“Initially, I was worried about what I should study and what skills they’re looking for. However, the recruiter said that it was going to be a straight-forward and casual interview; which helped reduce my tensions. The interview was said to be just about whatever I will be doing at the job.”
Vishal was grateful to have his interview with Seven Peaks Software, and he was happy when he heard that the recruiter sent him the offer letter and already prepared him for onboarding!
The transition to Seven Peaks Software
He got an offer by the end of Jan (2021), and was able to work right after he finished his existing contract with his previous company.
“My current company had a notice period of 90 days, like most companies. That was the issue. The HR at Seven Peaks was expecting me to join the team within 60 days, but normally in India, some senior developers need to serve a minimum of 90 days prior-notice to the current company – which was a challenge for me. Therefore, I needed to find a way to convince my current HR [at the time] to assist me in finishing this process within 60 days.”
Seven Peaks Software’s HR took Vishal’s time-sensitive issues into consideration; they were more than pleased to help him, allowing him to finish this process all within a three-month notice period first to officially join the team.
It is recommended to arrive at the immigration around 7:30 in the morning to be able to get a queue number to get into the immigration as one of the first people. Keep in mind that if you arrive before 8:00 am you only get a pre-queue number to enter the immigration and you will receive another queue number when the immigration opens at 8:30 am.
Because even before the immigration visa extension area opens at 8:30 am there is already a queue waiting to get in. If you arrive after 8:00 am you will just have to wait in line and wait for all the people in the pre queue to enter first.
Moreover, make sure you have all your documents ready and check if you have everything you need. Because the people working at the immigration are ruthless and will make you go back home to get your documents. They are having to check and do administration of all the papers day in day out, so you would really help them out by making sure you have all the documents with you.
Important preparations for living in Thailand
Vishal told us that there were many questions going on in his head, especially the question concerning how he will live in Thailand – as even of someone with his experience, has never been to Thailand before!
“There were many questions concerning me at the time, but the HR at Seven Peaks always helped me address them – they took time to find resources for me and he sent me links to how to find a condo for rent in Bangkok near the MRT and BTS stations.”
This proved the role that HR at Seven Peaks Software played in helping Vishal successfully move from India to Thailand on-time without hassle.
“HR also sent me some useful links for expats arriving in Thailand – these resources really helped me to understand and prepare myself on how to arrive into Thailand successfully.”
He expressed the answer gratefully and thanked us for the warm welcome to Seven Peaks Software gave him.
Seven Peaks Software also handled all of the visa processes for Vishal, so that he and his wife could legally work in Thailand.
“My notice period was about to end and meanwhile they have started my visa processing. So they sent me the documents for the visa and for my wife as well.”
However, a challenge still persisted: “We got the visa and we got flight tickets as well. Unfortunately, COVID situation got worse in Bangkok, so they stopped everything – suspending my visa and sadly canceling my tickets.” – he explained.
He got a quick response from HR when he told them of his situation of being unable to travel to Bangkok within the intended date. Seven Peaks were open to changes and decided to solve this issue by allowing him to work for Seven Peaks remotely in India until the situation got normal.
He told us that he felt lucky, and how Seven Peaks Software was so helpful to him.
“That was quite helpful for me because with conditions like that, no one can do anything about it. I was happy that okay, at least remotely, I can work for Seven Peaks’ office in Bangkok.”
Vishal was taken good care of by Seven Peak Software throughout his journey to Thailand. If an issue arises, Seven Peaks Software proved to always be there for him.
Working remotely before arrival
Vishal started his first day working at Seven Peaks Software remotely, nevertheless, he had a perfect onboarding experience.
“It was a joyful onboarding interview, the onboarding process included all of the processes at Seven Peaks such timesheets, all their day to day activities, and what we do so they introduced me to our thought processes.
Then I finally got to start the job. The Admin team at Seven Peaks Software was so helpful, they handled my department to arrange the onboarding processes of my project with my colleagues in the backend team project.
Topics they covered included: what are they doing, what is my role in that project, what’s their expectation from me, and what I should do with the project; they explained everything to me in great detail.”
This onboarding process warmly welcomed him to the team. Vishal shared that he felt inclusive since day-one of working at Seven Peaks Software – even though this all occurred remotely.
Visa processes handled
Seven Peaks Software did their best to take good care of his arrival and ease the documentation process for him.
“They provided all the information that I need to know before I travel and also a very neat and clean document. They sent some sticky notes on the papers that are in the Thai language. It helped me a lot while submitting the papers to the office.”
He said that Seven Peaks took care of him in many ways; from visa-processing to settling down in Thailand.
“There was one time when my Visa was suspended by the Thai consulate in India. Luckily, HR at Seven Peaks took good care of that issue for me as well. Radanat (Ai), the Junior HR at Seven Peaks, sent me all the documents for my new visa. She also guided my arrival and all other necessary bookings.
They contacted me when I was living in India by providing information about the process of how they will take me from the airport to the hotel and more. They guided me with good details, such as the airport gate number and how to get from there to the hotel.”
He felt looked-after by Seven Peaks Software. Our HR team made sure to keep in communications with him throughout the entire journey to make him feel comfortable.
Advice for expats working abroad
Vishal finally arrived in Thailand during May, 2021. He gave more advice for expats who are interested in working in Thailand.
“Due to COVID, to fly from your home country to Thailand is a more complex process because the main travel rules have been changed. However, these challenges can all be solved with the right support. When I entered Thailand, I immediately felt it to be a very good country as the people are so helpful, so it was all well worth it in the end.”
Due to the pandemic, immigration processes worldwide have become much more complicated. Thus, you need to stay updated with Thai regulations. Apart from that he is very happy to live here in Thailand.
The working culture at Seven Peaks Software
Vishal has lots of experience working in different companies, but he finds Seven Peaks Software to have the most unique working culture.
“I like the way you [Seven Peaks Software] care about your employees. It was very surprising for me that Seven Peaks really care about their colleagues.
I must tell you that it’s a very good company, and the culture is very unique – having a one-on-one culture and survey; which many companies don’t tend to have.
Vishal values how Seven Peaks Software cares about their employees – being very impressed by most of the one-on-one calls. One-on-one calls with your manager is a way to discuss what you are feeling and to discuss personal growth, rather than what company wants from you.
Overcoming the challenges of working abroad
Vishal shared his biggest challenge working in Thailand was the language barrier. He exemplified his situation when he talked with taxi drivers.
“Cab drivers mostly don’t understand English, so to show them where I want to go is a bit difficult. So I used Google Maps to show them instead. Some people cannot communicate with you in English, but they will try their best to help – especially as most of them are very polite.”
This proves that finding the solutions to your challenges is not a big problem at all. Even though others may not understand the same language, they will try their best to help. He expressed that in this article and more throughout Vishal’s story.
Interested in the software development & UX/UI design services that Seven Peaks Software has to offer? Visit our Services page with more information.
